 Oh yeah, we'll continue then. So we will now look at some of the main functions which the church performs as the body of Christ. In your notes, there are many many functions which the church performs. Due to lack of time, we'll just touch upon a few of them briefly. The first main function of the church, I'm sure if I were to ask anyone would be able to name it. The main role, the main function that God has given to the church is of course, you know, the great commission where we are supposed to go and, you know, evangelize. So that would be the one of the most important functions given to the church and we are all very familiar with 28 versus 18 to 20 and this is what it says in Matthew 28, 18 to 20. It says go and make disciples of all nations and then it says teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. So people generally think that evangelism means you just share the Gospel, the person gets saved and then you say it's nice to meet you and you walk away. No, the whole process just started. The first part was sharing the Gospel with them and helping them to know Christ. Now they have made that commitment. Now they have been regenerated into a new creation that has happened but that's just the beginning of the process. There is still a lot of work for you to do. You are supposed to make disciples of that person. Now that person has to start becoming a follower in every sense of the word, in their finances, in their relationships, you know, in the way they manage their time. So now you are the one who has to help them to become an actual disciple of Christ. So and then what are you supposed to do? You're supposed to teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. So they will not even know a whole bunch of things that they are supposed to obey simply because nobody even told them. So you start teaching them, you start explaining the scripture to them. So gradually as they start understanding different things, they realize that oh okay, I'm a foot or I'm a hand. I have a role to play. See these are all things that someone has to teach. How will they know if they don't teach? So evangelism is not just simply sharing the gospel and you know, allowing that person to get to know Jesus. It goes much beyond that where you also disciple the person. You also teach them everything that Jesus Christ has taught in the scriptures. So even as you're doing that, then you actually start fulfilling this great commission. So the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit which we have learned in our course which we had on the Holy Spirit. So many of those gifts can be used actually even in our evangelistic work. Of course the gift of tongues is probably not something that you would use. Maybe that would not be very helpful. But many of the other gifts that you see in your 1st Corinthians 12, 7 to 11. That's basically where you have the nine gifts of the Spirit mentioned. So many of those gifts if you notice are quite useful actually in evangelism. For instance, a message of knowledge. If God tells you something about that person and you go up to that person and say, I think this is something about you. And the person will say, how did you know? And then you can say, I think God put that bit of knowledge in my heart just so that he wants you to know that he knows everything about you and he cares about you. That becomes like an opening for you to start a conversation with that person. The gift of healing where someone is not well. So you go to them and say, you know what Jesus Christ can actually heal you. He can restore your health because of something that he did on the cross. And so then you know, you pray for that person. That person experiences healing and they become more interested to find out what is this whole thing on the cross which has made this healing possible. So that becomes another opening for you to share the gospel. A word of prophecy, a word of prophecy as you would have learned is mainly a word of encouragement. So maybe God gives you a word that you can say to a person. You may not go to that person and say, thus says the Lord and use, you know, NKJV English. You would be using your own words, but you'll basically be saying what the scripture says, you know, which God has put in your heart. And when you tell that to that person, maybe that particular word of God is what that person needed. You know, so the power in that word of God will work inside them and accomplish the purpose for which it was sent through you. So these are all the different gifts that you actually can use in being a better evangelist. You know, so these are all very, very useful giftings. And of course, depending on the situation that you are facing, you know, God would kind of guide you to use different giftings because, you know, you may be having a conversation with a person and that person may be having a long argument with you about certain theological things. And then God may say, you know what, there's actually a sickness in that person's family. Pray for that. So rather than having that long discussion, what you actually should be doing is opening your mouth and just praying for that need, which is there in that family. And when that gets resolved, automatically forget about that long, I know, debate that that person was having. Now that person will just set the debate aside and just trust the Lord Jesus. So the Lord knows which giftings can be best used for which particular person in which circumstances He will guide us. Even as we just simply trust Him, He will guide us. He will show us what giftings to use when, what approach to take. These are things your Heavenly Father knows how to guide you in those things. So we don't have to worry too much about that. He will help us. And with, you know, as we keep doing it, we'll gain experience. So we will become better and better at it. So the other main thing, of course, that we do is we edify the body of Christ. That's the second main function, which the, you know, which the Church performs, where we try to edify and be a blessing to all the other believers in the body of Christ. So first, we looked at our responsibility towards the world, towards the people who are not yet saved. We need to go to them, share the gospel with them, when they come into the body of Christ, we start building them up, we start educating them, and we use our nine gifts to be able to do that. The second main function, which we see is edification within the body of Christ, where, you know, in how we minister to each other. So we looked at the passage already, right? The membership gifts, Romans 12, 6 to 8. So that's just a small list. It includes many, many other giftings as well, which are not, you know, mentioned over there, because over there, you know, there's no, there's no, in that list, no, it may not talk about someone who does accounts, but you know, someone who is knowledge in accounts and is able to help Christian organizations, that's such a gifting, such a blessing, nowhere they have to deal with all kinds of government regulations and policies, and they don't even know what to do. So here is this person who is educated in that, and they are skilled at it, because God has given them a gifting in that so they go and start helping those little organizations in their accounts, what a great blessing they will be, you know, for the body of Christ in that way. So not all the giftings that we have are mentioned over there in the Romans 12 list, but we all have been given different giftings. And if we can just use it for the kingdom of God, water, great blessing and help we can be, you know, for the kingdom. So there are administrative gifts, there are mercy gifts, prophetic gifts, you know, all kinds of different giftings. And of course, we are also aware of the five-fold ministry gifts. So those would be, that would be efficient for 11 to 13. And we, you know, we don't really need to repeat all the things that you already know. So we are familiar with the idea that these five-fold ministers, their main task is to equip people for works of service. So there are basically two things that these five-fold ministers should be doing. First, obviously, they should be using their particular gifting, you know, for evangelistic work, they should be using their gifting to build up the body of Christ. So they have a responsibility outside the church, they also have a responsibility inside the church, they should be using their gifting for both of these purposes. Beyond that, they must not forget this efficiency for 12, where it says that they're supposed to equip people for the works of service. So someone who has an apostolic gifting, not only is he busy in doing his apostolic ministry work, he must also start looking at the people in the church and recognize who has that gifting. And if we see, we see people who have that gifting, it is his responsibility to go to them and start teaching them how to be apostles. Now, this does not mean that they're going to give up the work which God has given them, and they're going to become full-time ministers. No, they'll continue working in the MNC where they are working. You know, they'll continue serving in the business which God has given to them. But in those places, they will become apostols. They will bring one small group of people together. They'll say, you know, why don't we gather together? There's some interesting experiences that I'm going through in my life. I want to share those things with you. And then you guys can talk about what's going on in your lives. So they get, they start having a chai gathering, where they all get together to have chai. And out of that grows a little fellowship. Now, nobody on earth is going to call that person an apostle. But you know what? Someone took the effort to train that person and teach him how to use this apostolic gifting, and that man is using it in his business place. He's using it in his, you know, in his MNC. So nobody's ever going to call him a apostle, but he's actually using his apostolic gifting. So we have believers, the church is filled with believers with all kinds of giftings. And the five-fold ministry people are the ones who should recognize that gifting in different people and start equipping them, start training them so that they can use, you know, because you see the apostle who's in the five-fold ministry has more experience. He's been doing this for many years. He knows how to do it, how not to do it, how he can improve himself in this gifting. He has so much experience sitting in his head and is not passing it on to the people who have this gifting. And they are the ones who actually go to places where he will never be able to go. If he tries to go into one of the tech parks, the gate fellow will not even allow you inside. But that person can enter the tech park every day. So he can be an apostle over there. You will never be an apostle or a prophet over there. That person can. So if you can pass on your intelligence and your wisdom and your experience to that person and say, but this is the way to be a prophet. You know what? No, this is the way you hear from God and this is the way you speak it out. Don't just say whatever is coming into your head. This is the way to convey what God is telling you. So you train the people in that gifting which you are specializing in. Okay, so if you are a teacher, then you train the other people how to teach. So when you're having the quiet time in your family, this is the good way to teach. If you do it like this, then all your family members will sit up and actually benefit from what is being done during the family prayer. So whatever gifting you have, if you're a five-fold minister, you pass it on to other people. Show them, once you recognize that they also have that gifting which you have, it becomes your responsibility to equip the other believers in that gifting because you have now gained more experience in that particular field. So this is what the five-fold ministry people do. In this way, they also can contribute towards edifying the church. Just to look at another function, one main function of the church is basically when believers gather together for a church service. Some of us will use the term worship, worship service. Some of us will just simply call it, you know, church service. But so when we say worship service, we're not talking about just singing songs. We're talking about the overall worship experience where we are gathered in God's presence. What exactly should happen in a worship service? If we were to look at the early church, they were basically doing four things. That would be Acts chapter two verse 47. If someone can read out, Acts 247. Okay, it doesn't mention in Acts 247. I think it mentions in 45 or 46, you know, when it talks about the four things that they were doing together. This old property and positions to give to anyone who had need. Every day, they continue to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number, daily those who were being said. So you see, they basically were doing four things. They would all listen to what the apostles are teaching. So they would, you know, pay attention to the teaching. Then they would have a time of fellowship together where they are, you know, using their giftings to help each other to, you know, to encourage each other to cause each other to grow. So that's the time of fellowship that they are having. There would be a time of prayer where they're all together interceding, asking the Lord for certain things. And then, of course, they would be having the breaking of the bread. They together, they would remember this is what Jesus Christ did for us. So this is the covenant under which we all are together. So in this way, we can now actually use these covenant rights that we have. So they would, they would reflect on what Jesus Christ has done for them and they would together break bread. So these are things which they were doing, you know, that was their worship service. So maybe all of our worship services, you know, in whatever way we actually conduct it, maybe these four essential things should be part of our worship. First Corinthians 1426 talks about another aspect of worship service. Yeah, someone can read out 1 Corinthians 1426. What then shall we say, brothers and sisters, when you come together, each of you has a hymn or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may build up. Yes. So I, from the, from the, you know, many, many years have, you know, been part of cell groups. So in cell groups is basically where I see this happening. You know, in our, in our formal church services, it's not possible for everyone to participate and do something, but I've seen this happening lots of times in cell groups where each person will have a hymn or a word of instruction or a revelation or a tongue or an interpretation. So when you have a small group of believers gathering together, each person has got something to contribute and what they say, you know, such a blessing to everyone in the group. So in my early, you know, days, not early days as in age-wise or even in my Christian walk, but early days as in when I was first getting familiar with this whole idea of the Holy Spirit and all of that. And in fact, this whole idea of even cell groups. So back in those days, you know, I would go to the cell group and it was like everything was so, so new to me. There would be this group of, you know, people sitting over there and each of them would have something wonderful to say. And I was, I used to sit over there like a sponge absorbing everything that was coming out of their mouths. Some of them would have encouraging words to say. Someone would say, let's sing this particular song because I feel that God is leading us to sing this particular song. So then someone will pick up the guitar and start, you know, playing it and then everyone sings it and the words will be so meaningful to everyone who's over there. And then someone else will say, you know, I think, you know, God is kind of, you know, emphasizing this on my heart because someone is sitting over here who needs to hear this and they would share a short passage. So I used to see all these things happening in the cell groups and I was like, okay, this is the way the early church services took place. They didn't have formal buildings where, you know, 100 people could gather. No, they would gather like maybe, you know, 15 people, 20 people in a house and then everyone would have, you know, like it says over here, a hymn or a word of instruction or a revelation. So our cell group leader, you know, she would say, she would say, next time when you come, you know, come prepared. Ask the Lord during the week, Lord, how can I be a blessing to the cell group? So I want each of you to do that. So during the week, you know, I was like very, very excited, very enthusiast. I say, Lord, I too want to be a blessing to the cell group. So Lord, this week you tell me, you tell me how I can be a blessing. So God would give me something and I would go there very excited and I would share my little bit. And that is how, in fact, I learned how to do ministry. I was not even in full-time ministry at that time, but in those beautiful places where I actually learned how to become a minister first of all, that was my training ground. So cell groups are such a blessing. Those are the places where you learn to receive from people, where you learn to adjust to people, and you also learn that you also have something to contribute to others. They are beautiful places of development. So in our current day setting, it's not possible, you know, to always have that kind of small church settings. So we have bigger churches. You know, we have where you have 400 people meeting, 500 people meeting. It can't be helped. But I think everyone should be a part of the small little church, the cell group thing, because that is where actual growth and development happens. So for the Old Testament people, in fact, that was the only kind of church which they had in those days. Another thing that we see in many of these scriptures is, like it says in Acts chapter 13 verses 2 to 3, it says, while they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, so and so. So they spend times of fasting as well. So that's another important aspect of the worship service where maybe sometimes the congregation meets together to just fast, not think about food, not think about the preparation of food and all that, you know, effort it involves, but just sit over there and focus on God, make time for him and then he will speak. He will speak to the congregation. He will tell them what this Ecclesia needs to do next, because we remember, right, the Ecclesia is a very powerful body. It's meant to accomplish great things. So when they come together and they spend some time in fasting and wait upon him, he conveys information to them and then, of course, this Ephesians 519, which talks about, yeah, someone can read out Ephesians 519. Speaking to one another with Psalms, hymns and songs from the Spirit, sing and make music from your heart to the Lord. Okay, so it says over here, speak to one another in Psalms, hymns and songs from the Spirit and this verse was very difficult for me to understand. I used to think, how on earth are you going to talk to people and say, hey, hi, and to start singing some, that person will think there's something very wrong with you. They'll ask, what did you have in the morning, because they'd be suspicious that you probably had the wrong substances. So you see, it does not make sense, but when Paul was saying it, he meant it in a very practical way, both in the Old Testament times and in the New Testament times. They didn't have much access to written, you know, notebooks and paper and all that. So everything had to be contained in the head. So it was very easy for them to convert all spiritual teachings into either song form or poetic form, because it has a rhythm and it's easy to remember. It kind of gets stuck in your mind. So in fact, they would almost convert everything into a song or a poem and they would memorize it. So it's basically saying over here, speak to one another about these things, you know, the Psalms and hymns and all which you people as a gathering have, you know, composed and collected. So, so encourage each other by reminding each other of, you know, that. So when I go to Rin, I don't say hi Rin and start singing, rather what I would say is, you know, hey Rin, you know, you were telling me the other day that, you know, you're going through this thing and you know what, I remember this verse and I think this verse will be useful to you. I just share the verse with her, not in song form, who I think she wouldn't be able to bear that, but I would just, you know, speak it to her. So what we are doing is, we are talking to each other in these things which God is bringing to us, you know, songs from the spirits. The Lord will tell you on what occasion, you know, to use what kind of words, what you can say to be a blessing to the other people in the group. So these are all things that we are supposed to be doing together as a worship service when we meet together to be an Ecclesia and of course it's also important, there is a social component to our, you know, to our functions as the body of Christ. We are supposed to be concerned about the world outside. We can't just keep thinking about ourselves. We also need to have a concern for the world which is there around us, so which is why Jesus also, when he's talking, you know, in Matthew 25 verses 35 to 36, he talks about some things which the followers of God will do. True followers, the ones who are really genuinely the followers of Jesus Christ, these are the things which they will do. You know, those who are hungry, they will feed them. Those who are thirsty, it says here, they will be given drink to or water to drink. It talks about how when there are strangers who come, they will invite them and show them hospitality. Those who have no clothes, they will, you know, spend the money to buy clothes for them. It talks about how when someone is sick, they will look after them. It talks about how they visit the prisons to encourage the prisoners and help them, you know, and all of that. So these are things which we need to have a social concern for the people outside. We can't always, you know, be happy talking in Psalms to one another and be content. That is important because that is how we are edified. But once we are edified, we also need to go out and show the love of Christ to other people because that's basically how we become the salt and the light. You cannot always stay inside the church and be the salt and the light. You know, there'll be too much salt in the church then. So it's better for us to go out, you know, and spread that flavor among the people who need flavor. There's no flavor in their lives. Now, we who have the presence of God in us, we who have such encouraging things to share, we can go over there and flavor their lives, you know, and bring Christ's joy to their lives. So the social concerns are important. We have, you know, Acts chapter 6 is a very good example. What were these believers doing? They were taking care of the widows who had no support because back then, you know, women on their own had no financial independence. So either you need to have a father or you need to have a brother or at least a son. And if you don't have any men, then you are in a very, very helpless state. People can just, you know, exploit you or they can just ignore you and, you know, push you aside. So such people, the believers were actually, it looks like as if, you know, they were collecting money and buying groceries for them and making sure that everyone needs a met. So they were actually taking an effort to look after the widows. Only thing, of course, they were having problems with the admin. You know, not everyone was receiving the amount of, you know, groceries required. So then they had to, you know, make some arrangements for that. The Holy Spirit tells them whom to choose, whom to appoint, so that thing is taken care of. So it is so important to even attend to the needs of people. Acts chapter 9, verse 36 to 39, you know, okay, verses 36 and verse 39, where it talks about this lady, Dorcas, it says that she was someone who always did good and helped the poor. And this is what it says about her in verse 39. Acts 9, 39, please. Okay, so imagine there, like she's, you know, so they're all standing over there, these widows and they are crying and it says over there, they showed him, see, this is what she actually made with her hands for us. There is a person who could have used her talent as a business venture. You know, Dorcas, you know, clothing manufacturers, she could have started a business. But what did she use her talent for? To make clothes for people who will not be able to pay her for it. They won't be able to pay her for those robes and clothes that she's making. She was doing it because of the love that she has in her heart for the people who are needy. And so you actually literally have the widows standing over there and showing these things, you know, to Peter and say, see, she actually made this for me. You know, so that was the beautiful kind of person that she was. So these are all things. So while we are very, very busy in, you know, catering to the needs of the church, within the church, you must not forget that Jesus Christ said, those who are hungry, you should be feeding them. The people in the prison, you should be visiting them. So we should, you know, kind of strike a good balance. There are churches which have become social organizations. That is going to one extreme. Never forget that your duty is for spiritual matters. So don't become a go to the extreme of, you know, turning your church into a social organization. But at the same time, don't go to the other extreme of just focusing on yourself and your church and your ministry and ignoring the people who are in need. So both the extremes have to be avoided. The well-balanced approach is to focus on spiritual things, you know, and strengthen people in that. But at the same time, also attend to those who are in need and take care of their physical needs as well. So maybe we could, you know, now get into the two sacraments of the church. That's the term that is used in your notes. And what on earth is a sacrament? It's just basically, you know, the practices, the two practices that Jesus wanted us to follow on a permanent basis. So there are many, many different things which different churches do, all of which is good. But at least two basic things every single church should be doing. And that's basically your water baptism and the Lord's Supper, simply because the scriptures are talking about these two things. Okay, so when we do these two things, it helps us to better understand what Christ has done on the cross for us. And when we actually do it, the power of Christ's work on the cross is released into our lives. So we don't do it just to obey. We also do it because when we do it in obedience, the power of God which is there in the work of the cross gets released into our lives through these two physical actions. Okay, so maybe we can first begin by looking at water baptism. Now we first get to know about water baptism in Matthew chapter 3, where you have John the Baptist, you know, he's calling people to come and get baptized. And this is the reason why they actually come to him and get baptized. Why did they do it? Why do they undergo this ceremony for a particular purpose? Matthew chapter 3 verses 5 to 6. People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of Jordan confessing their sins. They were baptized by him in the Jordan river. Okay, so back then in those days baptism was practiced by a lot of religious groups. So it is not like something which John the Baptist introduced. But he gave this whole baptism ceremony a new meaning. He told people, come and do this to show that you are feeling repentant. He's not saying that the water over there is going to clean their sins. He never ever said that. He never said that if they come and no dip themselves in that water, that water will make them spiritually clean. He never said that. He said, do it to show, to show God and to show people that you are ashamed of your sins and that you want to repent and then God will do his work in your heart. So do it as a sign that you are genuinely turning your back on all your past, on all your sinful life and you're saying from now on I'm making a commitment to follow Yahweh. So that's basically why they would come. So it says over here confessing their sins, they were baptized by him. Then Jesus comes along and Jesus Christ is also baptized by John the Baptist. Now Jesus Christ had no sins to confess He had never done any sinful thing. So why does he undergo the you know the entire ceremony? He explains that to John the Baptist in Matthew chapter 3 verses 13 to 15. If we can have someone read out please Matthew 3 13 to 15. Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Zodan to be baptized by John but John tried to detail him saying I need to be baptized by you and do you come to me. Jesus replied let it be so now it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness then John consented. So Jesus Christ does not undergo the baptism ceremony because he has got anything to repent rather he does it it says over here to fulfill all righteousness. This is just something that God asked him to do and so he chooses to do it simply because the Father is directing him to do it and then later on we get to know you know that there's a kind of spiritual significance to that because in Romans 6 it talks about how we were buried with him how we rose with him. So maybe I mean some scholars they say maybe Jesus went through that as a kind of acting out of what we would be spiritually going through in Christ later on. So we don't really know in what way righteousness was fulfilled why in what way God asked him to for what purposes God asked him to undergo this ceremony but Jesus obeyed he complied and he tells John the Baptist we must fulfill all righteousness God is asking me to do this so you must baptize me and you know John the Baptist agrees and so the baptism is done. Now for us believers why do we get baptized we mainly do it because that's basically what the great commission clearly tells us to do. It talks about how when anybody absolutely anybody becomes a believer becomes a disciple of Jesus Christ automatically they are expected to be baptized because that's what it says right it says go and baptize in the name of yeah I know Jesus so we it is something that is expected it's a part of the great commission so we basically do it out of obedience and it also um maybe we can also read Acts chapter 2 verse 38 Peter replied repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Okay so over here it says every one of you okay this is basically where Peter is talking you know immediately after the Pentecost experience you know he and the other people who are in the in the room have been filled with the Holy Spirit and now he's speaking to the crowd and he says every one of you repent and be baptized because in one sense baptism is a outward declaration that from now on I have turned my back on the past I've turned my back on all the simple things and now you know I'm looking ahead so in John the Baptist times they would be looking to Yahweh but over here you know in Acts chapter 2 verse 38 he's asking them to focus on Jesus Christ whom you crucified he says because he's the saviour he's the one who can save you so he so over here he is saying in the name of Jesus Christ you know be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins because Jesus Christ will forgive you of your sins the water will not forgive your sins Jesus Christ will forgive you your sins you repent and you submit to him and show your submission by undergoing the you know the water baptism because that's the outward demonstration of your trust and submission to him so it says over here that this thing should be done in the name of Jesus Christ in the sense we do this baptism ceremony because the authority to do so has been given to us by Jesus Christ you know when he actually spoke the great commission he said go and baptized so it's something that Jesus Christ has authorized the church to do and that is why we do it in the name of Jesus and but the actual baptism is done you know in the name of the Father Son and the Holy Spirit so this is the formula which is used you know in apc when they are doing the baptism so the pastor who is doing the baptism ceremony this is what he says in Jesus name in the sense because of the authority that Jesus Christ has given in the name of Jesus I baptize you in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit okay so we do it in the name of Jesus in the sense because of the authority that he has given us we are now doing this okay so so Romans chapter 6 verse 4 kind of explains to us the symbolic meaning in water baptism it's like you know symbolically you're picturing in your mind oh when I went under the water it's the same as when I was buried with Christ you know because you remember that old sinful person that old sinful spirit was crucified and the person became a new creation so when they come out of the water symbolically they are saying oh yes now I have risen up as a new creation that other person that sinful person has has stayed over there dead buried and now who has come outside a new person which is why it says you know in Romans 6 4 we too may live a new life because now you have come out as a new creation so baptism is also a symbolic acting out of what Jesus Christ did for us originally and of course you know baptism has to be you know through water because it's talking about baptism which is basically immersion something has to be literally immersed inside the water for it to be you know so if you have a piece of cloth and you know you just dip the edge of the cloth in the water you will not say I am baptism or the cloth no you're not baptism of the cloth you're just dipping it when you actually take that cloth and you put it right inside the bucket then you can proudly say I baptism of the cloth yes you definitely have baptism of the cloth because it's not fully immersed inside the bucket so that word literally is talking about immersion so you can't you know sprinkle a few drops on a person and say I baptism so you it basically means that they have not understood that word that word is just talking about actual something being under the water completely immersed in it so which is why we do it you know with through immersion and another important thing that we need to understand about water baptism acts chapter 8 36 to 38 if someone can read out acts 8 36 to 38 as they traveled along the road they came to some water and and and Enoch said look here is water what can stand in the way of my of my being baptized and he gave orders to stop chariot then both Pilip and Enoch went down into the water and Pilip baptized him okay so this is some very important official and he's on the ways to some place and he's so hungry to know the truth that he's you know reading some scroll from Isaiah and then you know so Philip is able to explain to him the meaning of what is written over there and so this person understands what Jesus Christ has done and this person is now eager to become a follower of Jesus Christ so he sees you know even as they're going by they see this body of water over there and he says look look there's some water over there I want to get baptized right now so what are the exact words he uses is what can stand in the way of my being baptized so then Philip does not open his mouth and say ah no no no you're not holy enough you need to first go attend church you need to do all these commandments you know then after you do all those things then you come back to me then I will baptize you no you don't need to be you know you don't need to go through a whole bunch of spiritual rituals to qualify yourself for baptism the minute you have placed your faith in the Lord Jesus you know it is all right once you have understood what Jesus Christ has done for you once someone explains to you you know water baptism is basically this it's talking about what Jesus Christ has done for you so they open up Romans chapter 6 they explain to you what Jesus Christ has done for you if you just understood the basics enough it's enough you don't need to be like extra holy to get baptized because this man says what can stand in the way of my being baptized nothing nothing needs to stand in this way so immediately right then and there Philip baptizes him okay so um and another thing to remember is just because you have undergone water baptism you have not become a spiritual giant automatically no you still have to read the bible you still have to pray you still have to learn how to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit these are all things which you still have to learn but because you have done this act this physical act out of obedience to him honoring what he has told you to do you know the the work of the cross which was done on the you know on the cross for you that will be released into your life and that is why many people once they undergo the baptism they feel a break from many bondages you know in case they were addicted to something in case they were unable to come out of something on their own in case they were suffering from some sickness many times because they are doing it out of faith in Jesus and they are honoring him by doing it in that moment God who honors their faith releases something into their physical body even so even at the physical level sometimes they break out of bondages which were earlier there you know by the by the simple act of obeying the Lord and doing the water baptism so so in the same way even the Lord's table when we do that in obedience when we do it meaningfully the power of the work of the cross can actually physically get released into our situations if we are doing it in a meaningful manner so why do we celebrate the Lord's table it reminds us about the death burial and resurrection of Jesus so first Corinthians chapter 10 verse 16 if someone could read out is is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks participation in the blood of Christ and is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ so the reason that we're actually partaking in the Lord's table is because it reminds us of what Jesus Christ did and we are you know in a physical way choosing to participate to act out what was done for us in the spiritual realm so we take that wafer or that you know piece of bread and we are thinking you know even as we eat it we are thinking oh yes i'm actually united with Christ he told me to eat his flesh and drink his blood so that i can be a part of him you know so in that sense i'm placing my faith in him and in him i have life because i am feeding on him i have life so we don't we don't tell ourselves that piece of bread has got anything divine in it no but it stands it's symbolizing something extremely powerful and true the work of the cross so we realize that this is what it's pointing towards is little piece of bread is pointing towards what Jesus did on the cross for me so we choose to believe that and we choose to participate in what Jesus did on the cross and what Jesus did on the cross actually gets released into our physical life and into our you know natural situations so in that way by faith we choose to participate as a reminder and also to actually experience you know what Jesus Christ did on the cross for us and so when we are partaking of the Lord's table because we have just four you know six minutes left you know we just kind of quick quick quicken up the pace two things very very important regarding you know the communion regarding participating in the Lord's table remember that this is a reminder of your union with Christ and it is also a reminder of your union with one another because you see in the early New Testament church they would use one single loaf of bread and that bread was broken into many many pieces and everybody would be eating it so they're all eating from one single loaf so the meaning came out more clearly today you know you can't have one loaf of bread you know for 400 people it would have to be a very huge mountain of a bread and then there will logistic reasons you know you can't bring it into the church and whatnot so it's just not practical right so which is why today you know we have these independent little wafers and all of that but look at the actual meaning even as each of each person takes that little piece they are saying oh yes I am part of God's body I'm part of one body so not only are we very very aware of our union with Christ and all the blessings that now he can release into our life because of what the cross has done even as we are taking it we also remember that we are in union with the rest of the body they are all part of our body all the part of Christ's body so sorry very very wrong doctrine okay we're all part of Christ's body I meant you know they're all part of our family I meant it in that sense so remember that these other believers sitting around you with the communion cup and the wafer those people are part of your family so how what is your attitude towards them so that is why in that moment if you can remember someone with against whom you have a grudge or something please please this is a very serious thing that you're doing your partaking of that one body of Christ please forgive that person in that very moment you know do not partake of that communion with with division in your heart with strife in your heart so it's so important that we should not only be deeply aware of our union with Christ when we are doing this we must also be very deeply aware of our union with the other believers as we do it then you know the Lord is honored if we take the partake of the Lord's table in this honorable manner so we we are careful to make sure that there is no sin you know which is which is like mocking God so we need to make sure that there's no sin between us and God we make sure of that we also make sure that we have nothing against anyone else you know so we make sure of that and then we also do it understanding what we are doing it's not something that we are doing because our parents did and our grandparents did it rather we are doing it because we have understood that this is symbolizing what Jesus Christ did for me he gave his body he his body was broken for me not just for my forgiveness of sins but for my healing you know for me to be able to have a shalom abundant life you know so he gave himself for so many things and so we remember and we do it meaningfully so when we do it meaningfully obviously what Christ has actually done on the cross for us is released into our life and our situations so you know something that I actually what the Lord told me to do I think since three or four months ago three or four months ago you know because I was going through some very difficult things you know regarding my family and all of that and the Lord you know as I was taking the communion you know elements in my hand I was holding it and the Lord said you know thank me that I am fulfilling my covenant towards you and your family because all my you know I would keep praying every day and say Lord do this do this because you're a covenant keeping God do this for my family and God was saying you're holding the elements in your hand which symbolize my covenant with you are you willing to acknowledge that I am fulfilling my covenant I'm not waiting for a hundred years and then I will fulfill my covenant even right now I am fulfilling my covenant towards you and your family and so ever since then you know when I'm holding the elements I say yes Lord this is a symbol of your covenant with me and you are being so faithful whether I can see it with my physical eyes or not I know that you are a covenant keeping God and you are fulfilling your covenant towards me towards my family and I just say thank you Lord thank you Lord and so when the time comes whatever it is they know that we are asking for as a family it will be fulfilled because he is a covenant keeping God so it's very important to remember that this is a symbol of the covenant that he has made with us and we're holding that it's a reminder that his body was broken for us his blood was shed so that we can have union with God and we are at peace with the Father so you know so we can come to his throne with confidence because of what he has done all right so these are some things that we keep in mind even as we partake of the Lord's table we're completely out of time so you know we'll just close with the word of prayer Lord we just thank you so much for all these lessons that you have taught us today O Lord regarding the Holy Spirit and regarding your church I pray O Lord that we will live with the awareness that we each of us that each of us are very very important parts of the body of Christ and we actually have a very vital role to play in the development and blessing of the entire body whether we realize it or not whether people realize it or not we are very very important each one of us so we pray that you would help us to live responsibly to take the effort to grow in you so that we can be better used by you and I pray O Lord that we would truly be a blessing to everyone around us O Lord you help us O Lord to be responsible members of your Ecclesia thank you Lord in Jesus name Amen Amen Thank you so much