Waterworld

You know, I like movies. My favorite form of diversion, although there are more and more movies you can't watch nowadays. But One movie that came out recently that there was a lot of publicity about was the movie Waterworld. You probably heard about that movie, Waterworld with Kevin Costner. And that movie reminded me of the significance of the element of water in our lives.

I mean, Waterworld, it was all about water. Now, in the movie, I don't know if you've seen it, but in the movie, all of the known land masses had been submerged. That was the premise of the movie. There was no land anywhere. Everything was water everywhere because of some disaster and the remaining population in the world lived either on barges or floating cities or in boats in order to survive.

That was the whole idea of this movie. Now, the making of the movie reflected the actual difficulty of surviving in an all water environment. I mean, it was the most expensive movie ever produced and unfortunately, the movie public didn't enjoy 2 and a half hours of floating gadgetry and it bombed at the box office. But that's neither here nor there. It did remind me, however, of the enormous importance of water, not only in an environmental context, but the use of water throughout the bible to demonstrate a variety of spiritual truths.

God uses a whole gamut of things, of objects to teach. Jesus taught using all kinds of examples. You know, wheat and tares and examples using farm crops and so on and so forth. Well, God has used the idea of water, the element of water, all the way through the Bible to teach us a variety of spiritual truths. And this morning, I'd like to share some of those from the Bible with you.

I guess the most obvious one is in the Old Testament, where God uses water as a means of judgment. Water is the thing he uses to demonstrate his power to judge. First great truth, that we see water being used as is in God's judgment. In Genesis 6:17, God says, I am bringing the flood of water upon the earth to destroy all flesh. Now, if you read the beginning of Genesis, you find out that the forming of the underground springs and the perfect moisture in the atmosphere caused the blooming of creation.

And then, a little later on, because of sin, the raging torrent of the same water for 40 days 40 nights would bring destruction to every living thing. You know, a symbol of blessing and also a symbol of judgment. God was not visible to man, but his judgment became visible through a massive flood of water that served as judgment because of the wickedness of man. Now, this act of judgment on God's part has been preserved, if you wish. It's kind of a museum.

There's a museum relic of this judgment and that is the rainbow. In Genesis 9:14, God promised not to use water as a universal judgment again and he put a rainbow in the sky as a symbol of that promise. And so, when we see a rainbow, we not only see the rainbow, but we see behind it the original judgment on the world expressed by God through water. Now, although God has used water to bless and to judge individual nations, the idea of water is not just for judgment in the Old Testament. For example, the Israelites, they crossed the Red Sea and God separated the water and that was a blessing and they walked all the way through in Genesis 14.

And yet, when the Egyptians tried to cross and chase after them, the very same water came down and destroyed the Egyptian army. We find out also that God withhold the rain from the Israelites for 3 years and then Elijah prayed and God provided the rain. So you see the idea, the water is used as a blessing and it's used also as an act of judgment. Now in the past, God has used too much water or too little water for his own purpose in different parts of the world. But he has refrained from using water as a universal judgment according to his promise.

So that's one symbol that we see of water, the use of water for judgment on God's people and on God's enemies. We see another way that God has used water and that is water as a form or as a means of purification. The use of water for bathing is as old as man and it's natural, therefore, that water be used as a means to cleanse that part of the body that cannot be seen and that's the heart. The old testament describes the elaborate ceremony that the priests and the Levites would undergo before they would begin their ministry. In Exodus chapter 29 verse 4, Moses was to bring Aaron and his sons before the people and he was to put on the vestments, the holy vestments and he was to go in and serve at the temple.

But before he could do any of that, the first command was that Aaron and his sons had to wash. They had to cleanse themselves with water before putting on the vestments, before going in and serving in the tabernacle. In Exodus, chapter 30, verses 17 to 21, the Lord commands the priests to wash and water completely every time they enter the tent of meeting. And this was done under the penalty of death. Imagine, you don't wash your hands before you eat, your mother would ball you up.

But here, if you didn't wash before going into the temple to offer sacrifice, you would die. As a matter of fact, Solomon's temple, when it was built, had 10 bronze lavers, if you wish. These huge lavers where the priests would wash their hands and their feet. And so, the water symbolized the cleansing of the individual in preparation to meet and to serve God. It did not cleanse the conscience, we know that.

Only the blood, as Bobby sang, only the blood of Jesus Christ can cleanse the conscience. But the water did signify a purification of intent. A purification and a preparation to stand before God and to serve him. You know, it's interesting that just as the priests washed their hands and their feet in water, every time they prepared themselves to administer the sacrifices to God on behalf of the people. Every time they did that, they washed their hands and their feet.

You notice, during the last supper, Jesus washed the feet of the apostles with water to prepare and to purify them. To eventually administer His sacrifice to God by the preaching of the gospel to the people. There's the significant link between the two. That's why it was important that all of them wash their feet. They were going to be ministers of God to the people by preaching the gospel and Jesus was preparing them for that ministry just like the priests were prepared through washing in the old testament.

And so God has used water as a way to remind man that he must cleanse the inside as well as the outside of his body. Well, there's another, and I suppose in the New Testament, another use of water and that is water as a means of separation. Water as a means of separation. In the Old Testament, water separated the living from the dead in judgment during Noah's. What was the difference between those who made it and those who didn't?

Well, those who didn't make it were under the water and those who did make it were on top of the water. They were in the ark. The water was a means of separation. For the Israelites, water separated the ones ready to serve the temple from those who were unclean and unprepared to serve the temple. In the new testament, the use of water has been exclusively used in reference to baptism.

As a matter of fact, the word baptism comes from a Greek word which means to plunge or to immerse in water. The term baptism is significantly attached to water, because it meant to bury something or to plunge something in the water. And it is clear from the references in the New Testament that what a person was plunged or buried or immersed in was water. For example, in Acts chapter 8 verse 36, a person hearing the gospel asks the preacher, Here is water. What prevents me from being baptized?

In other words, here's some water. What prevents me from being buried or plunged or immersed? God has used water baptism as a means to demonstrate the separation of a person from a lot of different things. I think we don't think about that very much. We just think of the water.

It's important to go all the way under. A lot of people say, Well, what if my little finger didn't go under? What if a little hair? In my case, no problem, but I mean, somebody, what if a little bit of hair was sticking out? That's usually the issue and I'm saying that's not the issue here.

The issue is that the water, the burial in the water represents a separation. That's the important symbolism here, actually the symbolism that represents what is actually taking place. For example, water to separate disciples from non disciples. You know, baptism, the act of being immersed in the water is the action that separates those who are disciples from those who are not. In Matthew 28:19, Jesus says, make disciples of all nations, plunging them in the water in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

So those who become disciples of Christ are baptized in the water and those who don't follow Christ are not baptized. Baptism in water is the defining physical experience that separates a disciple from a non disciple. If you're not a disciple of Jesus, why would you ever go through baptism? That's almost a humiliating kind of experience. There you are in the water and somebody just dumps you underneath, you're like dying.

There are other characteristics of the disciple, of course. An attitude, purity of life and so on and so forth. But baptism is the primary one. Just like the priests could not serve in the temple without first washing, a person cannot serve God as a disciple without first being baptized. Another symbol, if you wish, another way that water is used is to separate the saved from the unsaved.

Mark chapter 16 verse 16, Jesus himself says, those who believe and are baptized will be saved and those who disbelieve will be condemned. Jesus himself says that those who believe and are baptized, they are the ones who are going to be saved. That means that those who disbelieve and consequently are not baptized, do not go through the separation of water, will not be saved. Now, I've heard people say, well I've seen a lot of baptized people act like unbelievers. You ever heard that?

Well, I know a lot of people who've been baptized and they act like unbelievers, they're worse than the pagans. And I say to you, sure, I've seen a lot of those people too and don't worry about that. God will judge the hypocrites. That's not our job to figure out who's a hypocrite. God will judge the hypocrites.

Don't worry about that. But Jesus says that baptism is the dividing line between saved and lost. Which side of that line do you want to be on? That's the challenge that He makes in Mark chapter 16 verse 16. Another separation, if you wish, of baptism is this.

Baptism is there to separate those who are in the kingdom from those who are outside of the kingdom. In John chapter 3 verse 5, Jesus says, unless one is born again of the water, there's baptism, and the spirit, there's the holy spirit. Acts chapter 2 verse 38 tells you that when you are baptized, you receive the holy spirit. Jesus says, unless one is born again of the water and the spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God. And so, the water of baptism separates not only those who experience the second birth from those who don't, but also those who will see and enter into God's kingdom from those who remain outside.

How do you know if you're in the kingdom or not? Those who are baptized are in the kingdom and those who are not, remain on the outside. Baptism is also the element. The water of baptism, also the element that God uses to separate the forgiven from the unforgiven, Acts chapter 2 verse 38. Peter expressly says that those who are baptized will receive forgiveness, which means that those who don't remain in their sins.

Ananias in Acts 22:16 says that in another way, he says it to Saul and he says to Saul, Saul, Saul, why do you wait? Be baptized and wash away your sins. I mean, Saul Think about it for a second. Here is Saul. He's seen Jesus.

He's heard Jesus. He's experienced the miracle. God has shown him what his life's work is gonna be. You think that this fellow right here would be alright with God, but he's not. Ananias says, Get up and be baptized and wash away.

You're still in your sins. You might know what God wants you to do. You might have an experience of God in a way, but you are still in your sins and you need to wash those sins away. Until Saul was immersed in water, he was still guilty of sin. Well, you know, I think you get the idea.

Alright. I could keep going here, but I think you've got the idea of water being used as a point of separation. The New Testament is filled with examples of this phenomenon. In baptism, we separate the dead body from the living body. Romans chapter 6:3.

In baptism, we separate ourselves from every other allegiance except Christ, where we put on His name 3:26 when he says, All those who have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. They you have put on the robes of righteousness. You have chosen where you stand at the moment that you are baptized. In baptism, we are separated from the spirits of this world and we are given the Holy Spirit of God. Some people have the spirit of wisdom and some people have a spirit of intelligence and some people have a spirit of excellence and so on and so forth.

But nobody goes to heaven without the Holy Spirit. And you only get the Holy Spirit when you're baptized. And so water baptism is the point where we separate ourselves from the spirits that are in this world. The spirits that are of Satan and the spirit that only comes from God and that is the Holy Spirit. In baptism, God separates us from the world and he puts us in his church.

Acts chapter 2 verse 47. And God was adding each day, those who were being saved. He was adding to the church. You're not in the church unless you're baptized into the church. In baptism, God cuts away the strangled hold of death and He gives us eternal life.

Colossians chapter 2 verse 12. In baptism, God separates those who have a guilty conscience from those who have peace. If you want to have peace of mind, if you want to have an easy conscience, the point where you separate a guilty conscience from a conscience that is at ease is the point of baptism. That's what it's all about. Some people say, Why do you people always preach baptism?

Well, because so much is happening in the water of baptism. We wouldn't be doing our job if we were not offering people the opportunity to have a clear conscience before God. And that's what Peter says in 1 Peter 3:27. Baptism is not just the water washing of the body, But in the waters of baptism, we're appealing to God for a clear conscience. We're saying, God, I want a clear conscience.

And God is giving us that, because in the waters of baptism, He washes away all of our sins forever and ever. And so, since the appearance of Christ, who is sent by God to save and to judge water, through baptism, is the means that God uses to separate those who are with him, from those who are not. You know when Jesus said, You're with me or you're against me, right? When Jesus said, You're either with me or against me, the water of baptism is the point. That's the dividing line.

You know when they say, Put a line in the sand. We don't put a line in the sand. The line in the sand is the water of baptism. Those who are with Him have been baptized into His name. And those who are against Him for whatever reason I'm not ready, I don't know enough, I don't want to give up my sin, I don't believe you need to be buried in the water, I was baptized when I was a little baby, blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.

Whatever your reason, you have chosen not to stand with him by being separated from whatever you've got through the waters of baptism. In the movie, Water World, the producers envisioned a world without God, that had undergone the same results as the wicked times of Noah. You know, a worldwide flood. They were kind of pessimistic, I think, in this movie. I mean the conclusion of the movie, the earth would survive.

In the end, they do find a little bit of land there and they keep on going. In the movie, the wicked men of the earth survive and they become more wicked than before. And in the movie, the very best of men of course, played by Kevin Costner, don't become more noble. The water doesn't separate them from their past. The best men in the movie simply adapt to the changing environment.

In this case, Kevin Costner grows a pair of fins and he becomes more like a fish. So he's able to survive in the new environment. Well, our take on reality from a biblical perspective is much more encouraging. From our perspective, the earth does survive the water judgment, but one day will be destroyed altogether by heat and it'll be replaced by a new heaven and a new earth. And wicked man also do survive in our world, but God provides a way for them to purify their lives and become useful once again.

And in our world, instead of a man reverting back to becoming a fish, God himself becomes a man and offers all men and all women the way to become like God. A much more encouraging prospect. And the way to do this, the way to do this is not to figure out how to live in the water. The way to do this is to separate themselves from sin, to separate themselves from this world, to separate themselves from their guilty consciences, to separate themselves from death itself and the way that we do this is by being buried in the water through faith in Christ Jesus, our lord. I encourage you this morning, based on what you've heard to come, if you have not already and allow god to separate you to himself away from all these things and be baptized.

Do not hesitate. Be separated from all those things. Make your choice to stand with Christ as we stand and as we sing.