Embracing Anabaptism: A Call to Authentic Discipleship

I say this without apology that I believe that Ana baptism is a focus on the very person of Jesus Christ it really is and I know everyone says well yeah don't it doesn't everybody say that well yes but I've asked this question to my Protestant friends and I've asked this question frequently can a person be a follower of Christ without following Christ and in my background and the evangelical mind the answer to that is yeah but it's nonsense a person cannot be a follower of Christ unless you're following Christ and so an emphasis on Jesus Christ as the person instead of explaining away the passages of that referred to Jesus Christ instead of explaining away his teachings we embrace these teachings we embrace the person of Jesus Christ we embrace the atonement and the blood of Jesus for our salvation and we embrace what he did to plant this church on this earth the kingdom of God and this is why we there's a difference there but to quote the very earliest probably one of the very earliest at least and a Baptist is Conrad Greville [00:10:23]

I believe the Word of God without a complicated interpretation and out of that I speak it's simple and profound but so profound I believe the Word of God without a complicated interpretation and out of that I speak I don't really need to dig into the thirteen tenths of the Greek to do something or or whatever it's really very easy to understand so I've I've kind of made the joke before you know if you had an Anabaptist Study Bible you'd you know if it says love your enemies you'd have a line and underneath it it would say what this really means is - you should love your enemies if there's something about the permanence of marriage it's the permanence of marriage it's about the head covering it's about the head covering it the Bible is easy to understand and out of that I speak and I think that this has been a profound difference with Anabaptist understanding up coming to the Bible from the very beginning [00:12:46]

I believe that one of the hallmarks of Anabaptism is simply that taking the Bible for what the Bible says and I believe it's a strong point I believe any radical movement that's been turned the world upside down throughout that the time has simply been a group of men and women who have just taken the Word of God and said let's do it and it's changed the world the second thing is also profound he also said in the letter and this was the way he ended the letter and this is this is simple but it's profound the words of our Lord are meant to be put into practice Wow the words of our Lord are meant to be put into practice that may seem simple to you but do you realize I come from a background that when I began to read the New Testament and read the words of Jesus and just realize he meant what he said I asked the question what if Jesus really meant every word he said because if he meant every word he said everything in my life has got to change [00:14:54]

The church I don't feel I've ever read littles book wrote in the 1960s or something called the Anabaptist view of the church and he mentions that the in the Reformation so I'm the biggest difference was not so much in its theology but in the idea of the church and here's the way I can explain the difference let's go to Burger King let's go like especially you ever seen those new ones that are right off the Turnpike coming up here and they're real fancy they it's part of that turnpike thing and it's got a fancy roof and everything in there and we go into the Turnpike of a Burger King and we said in there and we're having our hamburger that we paid what like seven dollars for or something and and you'll you're there and you're looking around and everybody's in there and it's nice it's stone building it's got a high roof and you know it kind of feels like church you know there you all are everybody's there and you and your your visiting and but here's the difference it's a profound difference the gathering is an accident the gathering is an accident at Burger King right I mean next week there's no real thought that I'm gonna go there and that guys kind of be there at Burger King he's gonna be gone he's going this way he's going that but then let's say we're sitting there at Burger King and this tour bus comes in and everybody comes in you know they got all matching t-shirts and they come in and they they order a hamburger and they come together and they leave together and you see that they're on purpose and they're going somewhere and I believe that's the Anabaptist view of the church it is a purposeful gathering of the Saints a purposeful gathering of the Saints as an embassy of what heaven is to be like to show the whole earth as John D I've always said what the whole earth should be if they would follow the words of Jesus if they'd follow the king so the concept of the church a called out separated people to manifest these teachings of Jesus Christ to the whole earth on purpose is a big difference in an Anabaptist view in the view of the church and this is important [00:19:11]

We strongly believe as Anabaptist that that every single word of God is true every jot every tittle every single Word of God is true we strongly believe that we cannot earn our salvation z' by works we cannot that we believe the blood of Jesus Christ saves us from our sins I'm an evangelist preacher I like preaching revival meetings I'm I'm very strong on the need for that but there is a bigger purpose in the concept of what Jesus came to the earth that our Anabaptist view represents it's more than just getting saved and waiting to go to heaven and this is the difference our focus is upon Jesus Christ and what he came to do not on just getting saved do not in the slightest bit belittle getting saved but the purpose of those two getting saved is to to do to be what Christ has told us to be on this earth [00:20:30]

I believe that it's never been more it's never been more pertinent you know when I was I was member setting in a refugee tent just a few months ago on the Isle of Lesbos and some people had just come out from Syria and I began to to show them the teachings of Jesus and after Isis had gone through many different wars and different things and all the chaos and everything that had ensued I was explaining this the the teachings of Jesus and talking about this answer for Humanity and I remember this this young Syrian Muslim lady and she just started crying this older man who was there listening to us at sea I knew there was a better way if there's ever a time if there is ever a time that I believed that that it that the words of Jesus are pertinent that this Anna baptism is pertinent for today it's today when I watched in the refugee camps that the godly young ladies with their modest dressed and they're and they're covered heads and as they were there that the refugees paid attention to that and said okay this there's something different here and if this was cracking I had one one refugee actually write a letter and says that this very godly if I could quote him exactly the godly demeanor of inside and outside holiness of the of the Mennonites sisters in lesbos is cracking the prejudice that the Muslims have to to the to American Christianity he wrote me a letter and said that the very thing that some girls are quickly wanting to give away is the very thing that's now the key to cracking this this iron curtain of them of the Muslim world oh there's if there's ever been a time it's now there's never been a more time don't lose these things these are the things these are the answers these are the answers that we need today these are the answers [00:31:58]

The concept of being a separated people when I sanctify them before their eyes they will glorify me this is the about what Jesus is trying to do on this earth alright keep going here alright well then where is the line tween culture and the gospel culture and the gospel and again it's kind of related to the other one you know James chapter 2 verse 18 you know that passage James chapter 2 verse 18 talks about faith and works and in this faith and works passage yay verse 18 yay a man may say thou hath faith and I have works show me thy faith without thy works and I will show you that life I will show you my faith by my works again we can't do works to earn our salvation but if salvation is the totality of the person becoming Christ within us then it comes out it has to come out now we can't do a work to air our salvation but if we're saved generally God inside of us it causes us to live this way interesting in the and there's slight I'm confession and the cover letter to the slide I'm confession first let me test when was slight I'm confession written I'll ask you you may know okay thank you in 1527 all right dick throw in my okay in 1527 the slime confession was written on the cover letter it mentions this phrase walking in the resurrection I love that little phrase it means that we don't just have a belief about the Resurrection we walk in the resurrection it's it's permeated us it's it's about our it's about our life it's about who we are and so again this this concept that we have here of giving this this life to the world is something I think that is important [00:45:57]

How can the church Church mesh the vision of the younger generation with the wisdom of the older generation great great question look at it real quick to Acts chapter 2 I love this passage Acts chapter 2 verse 14 but Peter standing up with the eleven lifted up his voice and said to them you men of Judea and all that dwell in Jerusalem be known unto you and hearken unto my words for these are not drunken as you suppose seeing it as but the third hour of the day but this is that which was spoken by the Prophet Joel and it shall come to pass in the last day set the lord that i will pour out my spirit upon all flesh and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams if the vision is clear the purpose is like handing off the baton and I just became a grandpa yesterday praise God Hudson Taylor it's his name praise God just yesterday for anybody I wanted to be back in time but okay but as I'm now a grandpa and I'm handing off the baton if the vision is clear I'm a dream about something but I just don't have the energy to get to do it but the young men have vision to put it into practice this but if our vision is not clear and we're just trying to live our life and and and but yet tack on some conservative values but we're not understanding this this idea of God being a sanctified people and being cold Labor's with God to spread this to the whole earth just one after another handing off that vision one after another handing off that vision and I think the more clear we have our vision the more easier it will be for us to hand the generation to generation' baton [00:52:38]

I think there is a great responsibility in this a great responsibility and the more we understand that vision you don't tend to want to just give your money to something that's just you know but if we imbibe this idea understand why we exist on this earth our will see the successful businessman side by side with successful missionaries side by side with those that are good pastors at home side by side with the disciples and the church planners and those things all about the vision of God being the kingdom of God on earth so those are great 10 questions great 10 questions so I would encourage you I would encourage all of you as I believe there is a mighty work that's opening up that you yourself to yourself this very church is taking a leadership role in what I'm seeing and the refugee crisis amongst the Muslims I see the beachy almost people in particular I'm just seeing everywhere when it comes to the this new Muslim work and so I want to encourage you in that I'm gonna bless you in that but I'm telling you as we go into these fields we have some answers that even the event Jellicle 's now are beginning to see maybe we've done some things wrong and i don't want you to lose these things i want to strengthen these things which remain that are about to die and because I believe these answers are in the scriptures and they're important [00:54:47]