Moments

Moments

If you don't know who I am, my name is Mike. I'm one of the pastors here, and I'll be speaking for the next 15 minutes on this really special, momentous day as we look at baptisms. If you're a notetaker, my title today is simply this: Moments.

I love that word moment. There are so many words in the English language we say flippantly, but they have so much weight. When we look at our lives, our stories, and our journey, they're simply a collection of many, many moments. Many moments tell a story. And a story tells a life.

Two Kinds of Time: Chronos and Kairos

When we come to Scripture, the Bible was not originally written in English. It was written in three languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. I want to focus for a few minutes on the word time, because it's synonymous with the word moment. In the New Testament, this word for time is translated in different ways. The two words I want to look at read a little bit like Marvel villains: Chronos and Kairos.

Chronos — Tick-Tock Time

Chronos is time that is sequential. It's the time that tick-tocks, tick-tocks. You can't do anything about it. It's illustrated by my watch.

We all have many moments that are Chronos, and many of them are quite mundane — doing the laundry and the dishes, stubbing your toe in the morning when your kids wake you up and you're rushing out of bed. They may be quite dramatic in the moment, but after a few moments they cease to have any significance in your life.

Kairos — Defining Time

Kairos also means time, but in a different way. This isn't tick-tock time. Kairos talks about defining moments. It's not illustrated by my watch, but by my wedding ring.

Every married person knows your wedding ring signifies something. It's a defining moment where, 13 years ago this month, I stood before God and men and women and declared my undying love for Becky through vows and commitments. And Becky shrugged and said, "I think so."

But here's the thing about Kairos moments:

Kairos moments are moments that change every moment that follows after.

When I married Becky, it didn't just change a day. It wasn't just a nice party. It changed something significantly in my life. I now was not just Mike Nichols. Whenever I go anywhere now, I'm often Becky's husband, because out of the two of us, I'm the insecure, introverted one. I hide behind Becky. People say, "Oh, I know Becky. Who are you?" I'm just Becky's husband. My wedding day was a moment that changed everything.

Baptism Is a Kairos Moment

All that to say, what these nine people are doing today, and the seven in the first service, isn't just a Chronos moment. This is a Kairos moment. It's a defining moment where you stand up and you publicly declare that something has shifted today.

What Baptism Is Not

But why is it so important? Why is baptism something we should do? Why did Jesus command us to do it? What does it actually mean?

I hate to burst your bubble, but when you get in this tank, it's not magic water. I haven't been praying over it. I haven't cast any spells over it. I don't think we've even put chlorine tablets in it, Ian. It's good old-fashioned Birmingham Council pop. It hasn't even been blessed. The elders haven't been having an all-night prayer vigil to make sure it's holy. And trust me, I've tried — when you get in it and come out, it doesn't give you a six-pack. You still have to eat healthy. You still have to exercise. It's just water.

So why is it important? Because I want to tell you:

• It is not baptism that saves you.
• Baptism doesn't make you righteous before God.
• It doesn't really change anything about you other than get you wet.

But it is significant.

A Story from a Friend

I just had a friend whose wife has given birth. One of the first things he said when he introduced his beautiful new baby girl to me was, "I would love you to baptize her." I looked at him quizzically. "Why do you want me to baptize her? You're not a Christian. You don't believe in Jesus."

He said, "Well, I just want to make sure if anything goes wrong that she's safe just in case."

I said, "Mate, I want to tell you that baptism will not save your daughter. And baptism will not save you. The only thing that can save anyone isn't a thing. It's a person. And his name is Jesus."

All I'd be doing is getting your baby wet. She'll be unhappy with me. She'll be unhappy with you. It won't do anything. We can dedicate your child to God, but we need to make a commitment that we're going to help bring her up in the way of the Lord. Tell her to come back in a few years' time when she can make the decision for herself, and then we will baptize her.

Why Baptism Is Still Significant

Baptism does not save you. But that doesn't mean it's not significant. This is what Paul says to the church in Rome:

We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

Baptism is significant because it tells a story. It's a metaphor — but it's a holy metaphor — because as you go through the waters of baptism, you are saying, "I put to death my old life and I raise up a new life with Jesus."

All baptism is, is an outward sign of an inward reality.

Going back to my wedding ring: it's not my wedding ring that has saved my marriage. It's not my wedding ring that confesses my love for Becky. My wedding ring was 60 quid from Argos. It was significantly cheaper than Becky's. Anyone can go to Argos and put a wedding ring on your finger. It doesn't mean anything. But what this is — it's a sign of my love. It's an outward reality of something that has happened within me. And this is exactly what baptism is.

Showing Your Colours

I say it like this: baptism is showing your colours. Have you ever heard the saying when someone gets caught off guard and shows their true self? I remember my nan; she always used to whisper to my granddad whenever I threw a tantrum — talking about six months ago, not when I was a kid. She'd say, "Oh, he's showing his true colours, isn't he?"

This is what baptism is. It's showing your true colours. It's going public.

Black, Green, and Gold

I illustrate it with the colours black, green, and gold. And let me say this: it's not because Jesus is Jamaican. I don't think he was. I don't think we'll get to heaven and Jesus has got a PWA accent. But these colours are really significant for me.

You'll often see me wearing green. Not only because it's my favourite colour. Not only because my eyes are green and it makes my eyes pop. It's my favourite colour because it's the colour of the greatest rugby team that has ever graced this planet.

Football's okay. World Cup's happening at the moment. I'll get behind it, do it for the banter. But there is no sport like rugby. When we get to heaven, church — I'm sure it's in the Bible somewhere — we'll be playing rugby. That's why we get the new bodies: you can go into a ruck and never put your back out. You can go into a tackle and never break your arm. Rugby is God's sport.

My team, if we believed in Calvinism, are the chosen team. And I could justify it, because it was started by a vicar at St James Church in Northampton. A vicar started a rugby team called the Northampton Saints. Even sounds holy, doesn't it? The colours of the Saints are black, green, and gold. And what started as a little church team to keep the fat men healthy, they now sit on the top of the Premiership in the UK. And I'm not even a glory hunter — I've supported them for over 20 years when they were rubbish. God has just blessed them, and now they're really good.

On Friday, we played our arch enemies. If you ever meet a Christian who supports Leicester Tigers, they're not really saved. If you don't know rugby — think Man City and Man United, Liverpool and Everton — that's Northampton and Leicester. It was the semifinal of the Premiership. Rugby is a bit different to football: you can sit on the top of the table all year, but if you lose the semi-final, you're out.

But the Saints, hallelujah, Friday night, my dad and I sat in my living room at nine o'clock, grown men shouting and nearly crying at the TV as we watched the Northampton Saints absolutely demolish Leicester Tigers.

I'm a grown man of 37, and I sat there in my top. No one could see me other than my dad. Why did I do it? Because the Northampton Saints mean something to me. I wanted to show my colours. Even if it was only to my wife and my kids and my dad, this is what it means to me. When I die, if you're around, bury me in a Northampton Saints top and a Bible. It's precious. It means something.

And next Saturday, it's the Premiership final. Forget the World Cup. Forget all those matches. Tune in — Twickenham. Northampton Saints versus Exeter. Why is this significant? Because the general superintendent of the Elim Churches lives in Exeter, and Northampton are going to steamroll them next week. Hallelujah.

You're Not Spectating — You're Playing

So why am I talking about rugby? Partly to get a Northampton top on stage. But mostly this: what you're doing today is taking off your old self and playing for a new team.

And more than that — you're not just spectating, watching a group of 15 men run around and get sweaty on a pitch. When you put on this new team, when you publicly declare that you play for team Jesus, you are in the game. And it's not a 90-minute game. It's not an 80-minute game. This is a full life commitment.

Ephesians 4:22–24 says:

We take off our old self and we put on our new self.

Baptism doesn't save you. The waters won't make you better looking. But they are declaring that you're choosing to die to your old life, just as the Lord said, and you're standing up and walking new. It doesn't fix everything, but it gives you new power. The Holy Spirit will be with you and continue to empower you as you stand up and live for him.

The Power of Testimony

You'll hear me say this at every baptism service we do: there is power in testimony.

I can sit for six days, Monday through Saturday, in my office next door. I can pore over commentaries. I can find the funniest jokes on ChatGPT and Google to entice you to listen to a great sermon. It might even give you tingles and goosebumps as I preach. But it doesn't matter how well-crafted or well-preached a sermon is — it can never touch testimony.

Why? Because:

• You can argue with theology.
• You can argue with philosophy.
• You can argue with a preacher about conclusions he's made about Scripture.
• But you cannot argue with what Jesus has done in real lives.

Jesus showing up, taking what was, saving someone, and releasing them into new life. You can argue all you want about doctrines and theologies, but you cannot tell me that Jesus doesn't change lives. Because we're sat here, aren't we? Many of us have sat where these nine have, where we've invited Jesus into our life and said, "Now it's time." Whether it's 18 minutes after being saved or 18 years — famous, well done, we got there.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, and the new is here.

When You Mess It Up

Please don't be discouraged when you mess it up, because you'll mess it up.

All have fallen short of the glory of God. — Romans 3:23

That's not just a passing thing — we continue to fall short. But don't beat yourself up, because:

There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. — Romans 8:1

Guys, you've put on the jersey. You're playing for team Jesus. You'll get it wrong. You'll muck it up. You'll make the proverbial bad pass or bad tackle. But Jesus has saved you. He's got you. And he'll release you into all he has for you.

An Invitation

You may be sat in this church having never been in a church before, thinking, "I think I sort of like it, and it's sort of cool, but it's also really weird." You look around in the worship songs and people are jumping and crying and getting on their knees, and you're thinking, "What on earth is going on in this place? Are people crazy here?" Some of us are. But mostly, we just love Jesus.

When you meet Jesus — when you don't just know about Jesus, but you meet him for yourself — it changes something within you. When you catch a glimpse of what he has done for you and what he is doing in you, you just can't help but worship.

Maybe you're sat here because you're with one of the baptism candidates. Or you might have just wandered in from the parade thinking, "The music sounds quite cool, so I'll check it out." I want to tell you: each and every one of us this morning is not here by accident. God has ordained and purposed each of us to be here. You might be the only person in the room who has never heard about Jesus or doesn't profess to believe in him. But he has a plan and purpose for you as well.

Maybe this is your moment to take a moment to change every moment hereafter.

Maybe this is the moment where you commit to following Jesus for the first time.

You Don't Have to Have It All Together

Please don't think you have to have it all together or know everything to follow Jesus. There's no entrance exam. There are no questions you need to ask. Our general superintendent said it here yesterday from this platform: it's like saying you're too sick to go to the doctor. It doesn't make sense. Jesus invites all of us into this new life.

If you've never done this before but you feel a tug inside your mind or inside your psyche, I want to tell you — that's your spirit connecting with the Holy Spirit. And that's him saying to you, "This is your moment to change every moment hereafter."

A Prayer to Follow Jesus

If that's you, I'd love to lead you in this prayer. Many of us in church have done this before, but can we say it together? If you say this prayer for the first time and you mean it, Romans 10:9 says:

When we confess with our mouth and believe in our heart that Jesus died and rose again, we will be saved.

Let's pray together:

Lord Jesus, I'm so sorry for everything I've got wrong. Please forgive me for being separated from you and from other people. I believe you died on the cross to take away my sin, that you rose again on the third day, and that you are alive and with me now. I receive you now into my life as Lord. Lord, please lead me and help me to live for you from now on. Thank you for your gift of eternal life, now and forever. Amen.

Tell Someone

If you prayed that for the first time, please do not leave this room — or indeed the livestream — without telling someone.

The Bible tells us in Luke 15 that whenever one person — think, in a world of nearly 8 billion people — whenever one person commits to following Jesus, there's celebration in heaven. There are parties going on now because someone has committed their life to follow Jesus.

So please, if that is you, let one of us know. Scan the QR code. We would love to celebrate with you and help you on your journey of faith.