Signs of Love (愛的記號)

[0:00] Good morning, everyone. Daka ho. Okay. First, let's just give thanks to God, actually, because we just heard some wonderful testimonies.

[0:15] ! Should we give, yeah, just give at least a round of applause and glory to God. Yeah. For those of you who I haven't met yet, I'm Pastor William. This is Pastor Barry.

[0:30] And both of us are just so joyful to be here to open up God's Word for you.

[0:50] And we've been sitting for a while, so I just want to invite everyone to do just a very quick, activity. Is that okay?

[1:01] Okay. So, let's start. I want to ask you, how do you show love? And then I want you to try and just show love to the person next to you. Okay? Okay.

[1:11] Okay. Okay. I want to ask you how to show love to the people around you. Okay. One, two, three. Go for it. 3, 2, 1. Okay. Okay. 3, 2, 1. 3, 2, 1. 3, 2, 1.

[1:22] All right. Show some love to the people around you. Yeah. To show love to the people around you. Okay. Fantastic. All right.

[1:35] Make sure you get to know the person next to you, but we are going to talk all about love today. Yeah. So, of course, let's take a little time to meet you with your friends. We will talk about love today.

[1:46] And at PCBC, we usually give the talks from the passage that we just read. Yeah. So, we will follow our经文 here to read. We do understand as well that some of you, maybe this is your first time at church, we welcome you.

[2:00] If you're the first time to come to our church, we welcome you. And we welcome you, especially if you've not seen baptisms before in a church. If you've not been to the church, we welcome you.

[2:13] And so, allow me a moment just to explain baptism briefly. Yeah. I also want to quickly talk about what's the church. Here at PCBC, we don't baptize babies, as you can tell.

[2:26] Yeah. At PCBC, we don't baptize babies, as you can tell. But we don't baptize every adult either. We don't baptize every adult either.

[2:37] Rather, we baptize believers. And we believe this is kind of one of the family habits that the Lord Jesus gives us. Yeah. We are for the church to worship. And we believe this is kind of one of the family habits that the Lord Jesus gives us. In a moment, what you'll see is people immersed underwater, and they're raised up again.

[2:53] Yeah. And then, we'll see that the church will be baptized again. And then, we'll see that the church will be baptized again. And the Bible talks about this baptism as a wonderful picture of what every believer goes through to be born again, death to life.

[3:07] In the Bible, we're going to see that the Lord Jesus gives us a true love of the life. Stacey, we just heard declared that the love of his life before.

[3:19] Yeah. Like Stacey with us, we're going to see that the love of his life before. And so, baptism is kind of like when you get the wedding ring, right? Just like a wedding ring symbolizes the union of marriage, baptism symbolizes every believer's journey from death to life in Jesus.

[3:40] Just like婚礼的戒指,象徵着婚礼的結合, baptism symbolizes every believer in Jesus' life in Jesus' life. And Annie, June, Stacey, Eden, Cardia were so thankful for the Holy Spirit's work in your life.

[3:58] Annie, June, Stacey, Eden, Cardia, we're so happy to see that the Lord Jesus gives us a true love of the Holy Spirit. At the end of your water baptism, you'll receive lots of gifts and cards and flowers and well wishes.

[4:11] Yeah. That you'll be able to receive a lot of gifts and gifts and gifts. You'll formally be added to the membership of our church. Yeah. You'll be able to be able to be a part of the church.

[4:21] Don't forget to sign the book on your way out. But by God's grace, you still get to decide day after day to keep trusting Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

[4:32] But you still need to be able to trust God. You still need to be able to trust God. You still need to trust Jesus as your God. And I know that today, if you're here as friends and family today, the thing that would bring these five the most joy wouldn't just be to receive a gift from you.

[4:48] Today, the thing that would bring these five the most joy wouldn't just be to receive a gift from you. It's not just to receive a gift from you. Rather, if you're here and you don't know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, their greatest joy I think would be to know for certain you've received that gift as well.

[5:03] But if you believe that Jesus is your own救主, they will be happy to hear that God is a gift for you.

[5:15] In the Bible, Romans 10, verse 9, it says, If you confess of your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Let's talk about love for a moment.

[5:36] How we show love. How we show love. As we just saw, and I just noticed, Barry, you're pretty old because you do this. Yeah, you're old style. And I'm Gen Z, I think.

[5:48] I don't know. He's like this. And I'm sure each of you show love in different ways, right? There's lots of other actions that symbolize love.

[6:02] Might be the phone call, have you eaten yet? It could be a bouquet of flowers, perhaps. It could be a bouquet of flowers, perhaps.

[6:12] An act of sacrificial service. Maybe your love language is affirming words. Each of us show and receive love differently, don't we?

[6:29] And yet here in the scriptures we heard, is how God shows love. This is God showing love by appearing to our world as Father, Son and Spirit.

[6:53] We believe He is one God in three persons, our blessed Trinity. Now, I get it. For many of us, to even talk about the Trinity is about an exciting and sitting your final exams.

[7:11] Yes, I do. I do understand. To say what is 3-1, 3-1, 3-1, the feeling is like to do the last question. No thanks. I'll leave it to the experts. Thank you very much. I'll leave it to the experts.

[7:24] But let me put up this quote from Gary Miller. We'll try and get the slide up. Not that one. But we'll try and get the slide up. Gary Miller, he'll try and get the slide up. And listen to him explain. He says this.

[7:35] It may seem strange now, but for the first 400 years of the Christian Church, more energy was poured into working out the right beliefs about the Trinity than anything else.

[7:46] Yes. Now, it looks like it's very strange. But in the first 400 years, the first time he was given the truth to do the right beliefs about the Trinity than anything else.

[7:59] Men like Irenaeus, Augustine, Athanasius. Back then, they were like Beyonce, just needed one name, right? Just like Enerle, Ococci, and Atana, those kind of scholars, they said that they're very clearly.

[8:11] They're very clearly, they're very clearly. They're very clearly, they're very clearly. They're very clearly, they're very clearly. These men, they made it clear to know God is to meet the Trinity. And so, before we witness these baptisms, I want to share just three lovely things we see from Jesus' baptism and the Trinity there.

[8:27] And so, we see three things in the next slide. We see a precious family, a perfect redemption, and a pattern for unity.

[8:39] We see this in the next slide. We see this in the next slide. We see a perfect family, a perfect family. We see a perfect family. So, firstly, let's consider how only our triune God pictures a perfect family.

[8:52] Well, first, let's look at the three-year-old God's family. Listen to verse 16 again. As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. At that moment, heaven was opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and a lighting on Him.

[9:08] And a voice from heaven said, This is my Son, whom I love. With Him, I am well pleased. The Bible says, Jesus was baptized, and he went up out of the water. And then, the light was opened, and the light was opened, and the Holy Spirit of God came out of the water.

[9:22] And the Holy Spirit of God came out of the water, and the Holy Spirit of God came out of the water. There was a sound that said, This is my beloved Father, which I have a beloved Father. What we see here is a loving family, a loving union of three.

[9:33] Here, Matthew, he's an eyewitness, one of Jesus' early followers. He's paying careful attention to who shows up at Jesus' baptism.

[9:48] Here, in this, the Lord, as a witness, he's very interested to see what there is. And in these same waters, the river Jordan, where God's people once made a risky crossing, we have a family announcement from God himself.

[10:05] And in the same way, the Lord's disciples had a new place to show up at the new place. Our three-year-old son is in here to reveal a new place, a new place for a perfect family.

[10:18] That Father's voice coming from heaven saying, This is my beloved Son. I'm so pleased with him. This is my beloved Son. I'm so pleased with him. This is my beloved Son. This is my beloved Son. This is my beloved Son. This is my beloved Son.

[10:29] I really like him. Of course, today, Pastor Barry and I, we are two proud dads. And two thankful pastors.

[10:41] And two thankful pastors. And yet, how much more delighted must God the Father have been at His son's baptism?

[10:52] But you can imagine that Jesus saw Jesus to worship Him is more than happy and more than holy. He said, I love you.

[11:04] I love you. How special it must have been for our Lord Jesus to experience that closeness, the delight of His Father and the presence of the Holy Spirit. So in the Lord Jesus, He is just in experience on the Lord Jesus' love.

[11:19] And the five of you come from wonderful families. Maybe you are from a very good family. But our families are not perfect. But our families are not perfect.

[11:30] Here at Jesus' baptism is a perfect family photo. But in Jesus' baptism, we see a perfect family photo. It's a picture of the gospel, isn't it? It's a picture of the gospel, isn't it? It's a picture of the gospel, isn't it?

[11:41] The gospel is this. When you join by faith to God, you become not just an outsider, but a family member. This is a picture of the gospel, isn't it? When you are in the door of the church, you are in the door of the church.

[11:56] You become a stranger to fully known and fully loved by the God of the Bible. Yes. You become a stranger And you become happy with holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy but it's important that we can see the Lord's offering.

[12:38] One thing you might have noticed by now is that we do baptism a bit differently in 2025. And compared to what we read in the Bible, well, this is not the Jordan River.

[12:57] We're in an auditorium in East Auckland. We're doing the ceremony not in the languages that Jesus spoke.

[13:14] And yet, just as today's baptism points to deep spiritual realities, Jesus' baptism, if we see it, will point to us to deep spiritual realities for us today as well.

[13:25] But as today's baptism is the most important thing to deep spiritual realities, Jesus' baptism also指向 to us every person today is a more important thing to deep spiritual realities.

[13:36] When we see these scriptures again, we actually see Father, Son, and Spirit all taking part, all announcing themselves, and presenting a long-awaited rescue plan.

[13:47] At this point, there's a holy holy When our first parents, they failed to obey God's good word in the garden, it all seemed completely lost.

[14:04] But even back then, the father promised one day a son of Adam would crush the serpent's head.

[14:21] It is the voice of the Father that is in Matthew 3.17. And actually, these words from the Father echo this important verse from the Old Testament.

[14:36] To see where is the Holy Spirit? Because in 600 years for Jesus' baptism, the prophet Isaiah made these predictions.

[14:49] In Isaiah 42 verse 1, it says, Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight.

[15:03] I'll put my spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations. Look at my prophet, my servant, my servant, my servant. I really like it. I already gave my spirit to him. He will give him the Lord.

[15:14] He will give him the Lord. He will give him the Lord. A delighted voice. A chosen servant. A chosen servant. A chosen servant. God's Spirit upon him. That sounds familiar?

[15:26] Is it not familiar? Is it not familiar? And this is, at Jesus' baptism, where the spotlight shines on the chosen one who will bring salvation to us. So in Jesus' baptism, all the people of the Holy Spirit are put in the one who was chosen to us.

[15:45] After Jesus' baptism, the story goes on, doesn't it? Look at Jesus' baptism, the story of the Holy Spirit. Only Jesus had his Father's authority to forgive sins. We know that Jesus has the Holy Spirit to forgive sins.

[16:00] Only he could calm the storms. Only he could calm the storms. Only he could heal the sick and raise the dead. And of course, he was the one who laid his life down and raised himself up to life again.

[16:17] And this is why, as Christians, we believe the greatest symbol, sign of love is the cross.

[16:28] So, in the Bible, we know that love is the key. And when we get to know the Trinity, we realize more and more every member of our Triune God saved us.

[16:41] We know that the three of the Holy Spirit in the Holy Spirit is like this. Cardia talked about Ephesians chapter 2. Yes.

[16:52] Lee Yassam just said that. Ephesians chapter 2. In chapter 1, Paul opens that letter by praising the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

[17:04] That's why there's holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy 还记得我们崇拜之前唱的一首歌? 就是说,那个诗的时候关于三维一体的真神是拯救了你和我。 正如我们需要这位三一神去拯救我们,我们也需要这位三维一体的真神继续促使我们成长。 因为我们没有一个人可以独自过活的,做一个独立的基督徒。 当然我们需要大家互相扶持。 但是却是圣灵亲子的工作去让我们在生命里面结出果子。 是那位圣子耶稣成为我们信心的创始成终者。 是那位的天父不断地展示他对我们那份喜悦和坚定的爱。 收心的五位,我们很期待,究竟上帝看你们生命里面会结出什么属灵的果子呢?

[18:51] 。 。 。 。 是那位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位一位 not because of the gifts we bring.

[19:36] You're not worth more or less based on what language you speak or what grades you get. Rather, your true identity and worth comes from being loved by our Triangle.

[19:51] And finally, very briefly, only the Triangle God presents us a pattern for unity.

[20:11] Look again at our verse. One thing we can notice is that each member of the Trinity plays a different part.

[20:23] We've noticed that the three-year-old of the Trinity's every part in the body is all responsible for different characters. The Father doesn't hover over like a dove. The Spirit didn't get wet in the water.

[20:36] The Spirit didn't get wet in the water. There's unity in the Godhead, but there's difference as well. There's a unity in the Godhead, but there's difference as well. No one is worth more or less.

[20:46] It's not just that they're rebuilding.

[21:16] We're putting the busway on our doorstep, but that's a big change. Yes, not just outside the door, but that's a big change. But there's many uncertainties about the direction of our English ministry next year.

[21:30] But we're still facing a lot of not-assisted. For example, it's about our English language. And just this time last week, we couldn't come to a consensus over calling a pastoral candidate.

[21:41] So how will we show love amidst all these challenges among us?

[22:00] It's one thing to show love this way or this way. You can do different kinds of ways. But we look to the triune God. But the most important thing is we're looking to look to our God.

[22:12] He presents the ideal pattern for love and unity. In the Lord's love, we see that love and unity. After all, there's no blame game within the Trinity, right? Yes. The Father doesn't scold the Son and point fingers.

[22:26] Yes. There's no unforgiveness, no bitterness between the Son and the Spirit. There's no unforgiveness, no bitterness between the Son and the Spirit.

[22:38] There's no bitterness between the Son and the Spirit. And so if that's true, then let's get to know the Trinity more deeply as a church. If it's like this, it's really allowing our life to be more aware of the Trinity.

[22:49] Our triune God is at work amidst all the challenges we face. Our three-year-old God is not in our life. We're working. Just as Paul once said, it's the same Spirit, the same Lord, the same God who's at work in every church, no matter how messy.

[23:06] Just as Paul once said, it's the same Spirit, it's the same Spirit, the same Lord, the same Lord, the same God who's at work in every church, no matter how messy.

[23:19] And so we love you, church, and we praise God for all that He's doing among us. In this situation, we can still praise God. Let's pray. Let's pray. Let's pray. Let's pray.

[23:32] Father, we hear your voice again, and we are so grateful to hear of your love. Father, we hear your voice again, and we are so grateful to hear of your love. We really appreciate you.

[23:44] Remind us of how good it is to follow Jesus. And we ask you to follow Jesus. to follow Jesus. And we ask you And we witness these baptism now.

[23:56] Help us rejoice with the Holy Spirit. And when you talk through We give you great glory and praise.

[24:06] In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.