Choosing Christ: A Powerful Baptism Message
Bishop Henry Fernandez Preached on 2/16/2026Matthew 3:13-17
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33:17
Summary
Bishop Henry Fernandez explains that water baptism is a sacred, public declaration of a believer's decision to follow Jesus Christ, emphasizing that while baptism doesn't save, it is a vital act of obedience that aligns a person with God's kingdom.
Key points
- •Baptism is a public declaration of an inward transformation and a conscious decision to follow Christ wholeheartedly.
- •Church is not a place for entertainment or performance, but a center for spiritual development and an experience with God.
- •Water baptism does not save a person; salvation comes through faith in Jesus Christ, while baptism completes the faith journey through obedience.
- •Following Jesus is a lifestyle marked by authentic, 'unfiltered' worship and a rejection of cultural masks or religious pretending.
- •Jesus provided the pattern for believers by being baptized by John, not because He had sin, but to 'fulfill all righteousness.'
Scripture
Faith
Obedience
Discipleship
Spiritual Growth
Worship
Life application
Commit to a lifestyle of 'unfiltered' worship this week by being honest with God about your struggles and intentionally choosing obedience over convenience in your daily decisions.
Reflection questions
- In what areas of your life are you tempted to wear a 'mask' instead of being authentic with God and others?
- Why did Jesus insist on being baptized even though He was without sin, and what does that teach us about obedience?
- Are you currently following Jesus for the 'fish and loaves' (blessings) or because you are truly in love with Him?
- How can you better support and disciple new believers in your local church community?
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Full transcript
0:00Father, we come to you this morning
0:03as we bring
0:05before you some candidates who are going
0:08to be baptized.
0:11I pray that their testimony
0:14will be a living testament to the world
0:19that you're still transforming lives.
0:23You're still
0:25bringing people into the kingdom.
0:29And now they too have an opportunity to
0:31serve you.
0:32That's if they're in love with you.
0:35That's if they want to see [music]
0:38a transformation
0:40take place in their lives. I pray that
0:43this hour
0:45this moment [music] in the service
0:47will be life-changing
0:49in Jesus' name.
0:51>> [music]
0:51>> Amen. Amen. God bless you. May be
0:54seated.
0:59Just before we
1:01bring these candidates on the outside
1:05to baptize them
1:09I want to kind of remind the church
1:12that
1:14the body of Christ has a responsibility.
1:17And the responsibility
1:20is to go into the world and preach the
1:24gospel.
1:26The world can be the city you live in.
1:31It can also be the county, the state,
1:33the country
1:35the island
1:36that you live on. [snorts]
1:39But we're mandated as a as a church to
1:43preach the gospel.
1:45Church is not for entertainment.
1:51Let me say it again.
1:53Church is not for entertainment.
1:56Church is to have an experience with God
2:01and it is also a center for development.
2:06So that the church can be edified
2:09and God be glorified.
2:12And so we must not forget the
2:14fundamentals of our Christian faith.
2:17While we're celebrating and we're having
2:19fun, we have great worship services,
2:23while we have wonderful psalmists and we
2:25get to dress up or however you come to
2:27church, while we're doing all of that,
2:30let's not forget the core reason we
2:35gather.
2:37It's not about us.
2:40It's not about performance. It is about
2:42taking the mask off
2:46allowing God to see into you.
2:50Allowing God to see the unfiltered
2:53worship
2:54that you are giving him each and every
2:58week. So most of us who are born-again
3:01believers have gone through what these
3:04candidates will go through in just a
3:07moment. We have given God our lives and
3:10we've been baptized.
3:12What is the purpose for baptism?
3:15Have you ever thought about that?
3:18The church is really in a sad situation
3:20here because we we are more interested
3:24in the fish and the loaves of bread
3:26Jesus can give us
3:29versus falling in love with him.
3:33What if there's no fish? What if there's
3:35no bread? Do you still serve him?
3:39Would you still follow him?
3:42Right? Are you going to follow his
3:44footsteps because he showed us a pattern
3:48that all of us must follow.
3:51We followed him by surrendering our
3:54lives to him and we got baptized.
3:57Well, that's what they're going to do
3:58today. The question is what If you've
4:00been born again and you're not ashamed
4:04of the gospel
4:06have you been baptized? Do you study
4:09your Bible daily? Do you pray to God
4:11daily?
4:13Because it is impossible to grow as a
4:17strong Christian and not pray, not read
4:21your word, and not follow the scripture.
4:25>> [applause]
4:26>> Oh, yeah, you can get excited. You can
4:29get dressed up. You can go to church.
4:30You can be happy about all the fancy
4:33stuff we do in church, but do you know
4:37Jesus Christ?
4:40Do you have a relationship
4:42with him? Are you willing to obey and
4:45surrender your total will to him? Let me
4:48read Matthew's gospel chapter 3
4:53from verse 13 to 17 and I want all of
4:56you to read it. We're going to read it
4:57out loud. Now, remember when we're
4:59reading as a congregation, it is not
5:02about who can read the fastest. It's not
5:05about who can be more eloquent in their
5:07reading. We need to read this together,
5:10right? Just a few verses from verse 13.
5:13I want you to read it out loud
5:16and I want you to hear what what was
5:19recorded about John and Jesus. Are you
5:23ready? All right, let's read verse 13.
6:13So and suddenly a voice came from heaven
6:17saying, "This [snorts]
6:18is my
6:21beloved son
6:24in whom I'm well pleased." So you ask
6:29should we baptize
6:31people? Should I get baptized?
6:34Well, do you want God to be pleased with
6:37you?
6:39Do you want him to be pleased with you?
6:45I know most of us we go to church for
6:48entertainment.
6:51But this ministry
6:52we are determined to create a kingdom
6:56culture that glorifies one person
7:00and it's Jesus Christ.
7:02>> [applause]
7:04>> So I want you to come on a journey with
7:06me this morning and for the rest of our
7:09lives on this planet
7:12in following Jesus Christ with full
7:16knowledge of why we do the things we do.
7:21And I've got good news for you. I should
7:24not only be the messenger.
7:27The preacher should not only be the
7:29messenger who carries this message. Each
7:32and every one of us are called what?
7:35Disciples. Look at your neighbor and
7:37say, "Are you a disciple?"
7:40Notice some can't answer you cuz they're
7:42not.
7:44Are you a disciple of Christ?
7:47I want Pastor Jacquett uh Bradfield to
7:51come and I'll come right back.
7:53Here's a man. Come on, sir. A man is a
7:56minister here.
7:57Serve this church. I want to talk to us
8:00about just a few minutes on
8:04what's the meaning behind baptism. You
8:07know why? Cuz a lot of us I hear people
8:10are streaming and don't fully understand
8:12why. Please.
8:14Well, this is awesome
8:17because it's very important.
8:20And this is an awesome time for the
8:22candidates.
8:24Praise God.
8:27So
8:29we wanted to you to understand why we do
8:32this.
8:33This is a part of the process of you
8:37being baptized. We wanted to help you
8:40understand
8:42the importance
8:44and also you to encourage you because
8:48the Bible encourages us to follow in the
8:52footprints of Jesus. So this is a part
8:56of your spiritual journey. It's a part
8:58of what we do.
9:00So then, what does baptism do?
9:04Baptism really sets the tone for your
9:08confession.
9:10But what do you confess?
9:14It is your public confession that you
9:17have accepted the Lord. You have decided
9:20to follow Jesus.
9:22So then baptism does not get you into
9:25heaven.
9:27What gets you into heaven is when you
9:30accept the Lord as your personal savior.
9:35So then the Bible teaches us that we
9:37confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus
9:41and we believe in our hearts. When we do
9:44that, we will be saved. Romans chapter
9:4810 verse 9. But what do you confess?
9:52You confess
9:54that you are a sinner and that you need
9:58God. You need God. The Bible teaches us
10:01that all of sinned and come short of the
10:04glory of God. So, I want to give an
10:07an opportunity to those who have not yet
10:10given their lives to the Lord. Even if
10:12you're going to be baptized and you did
10:14not say the sinner's prayer, I want you
10:17all to pray with me. If you're sitting
10:19in your seat,
10:20I would like to lead you in the sinner's
10:23prayer today. So, let us pray.
10:27Lord Jesus,
10:30I'm a sinner.
10:32I repent of my sins today.
10:35And I embrace the free gift of salvation
10:40through Jesus Christ.
10:43I declare
10:45that I'm born again
10:47in Jesus' name.
10:50Amen.
10:51Well, welcome to the family of God.
10:55You have prayed that prayer today. I
10:56encourage you to read your word, go to
10:59church,
11:01and pray,
11:03and continue to build up your faith,
11:07and to grow in Christ.
11:10Now,
11:11baptism is appropriate. It's not an
11:13option when it comes to the believer. It
11:16is appropriate for the believer
11:19because Jesus admonished us that any man
11:22be in Christ, he's a what? New creature.
11:26Praise God, a new creation.
11:29So then
11:31we are grateful.
11:33We first must deny ourselves.
11:37But, this we are not denying the gifts
11:39and talents that God has given to us.
11:42But, we are saying
11:44that he is now in charge and we follow
11:48him.
11:49So, then, even with communion,
11:53that depicts the death, burial, and
11:56resurrection of Jesus. And so is water
11:59baptism.
12:01When the pastor takes you and you stand
12:03in the water, you are the righteousness
12:06of God.
12:08So then
12:09when he places you under the water,
12:13you're buried with him in baptism.
12:16And when he takes you up, that depicts
12:20the resurrection of Jesus Christ. When
12:23he resurrected,
12:25he was resurrected on the third day.
12:28It is the same idea.
12:31Just like communion with baptism.
12:35So then
12:37what is baptism?
12:39Baptism, then, is your public confession
12:43that you have surrendered your life to
12:46Jesus Christ.
12:48And now, we just want to congratulate
12:51you
12:52because you have made this decision to
12:55follow the Lord in baptism.
12:58Now, you have an opportunity and an
13:01obligation to tell the world
13:04that Jesus lives inside of you
13:08and it's the best thing that ever
13:09happened to you. God bless you. Thank
13:12you today.
13:14And we celebrate the candidates. You be
13:17blessed in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you
13:21so much, Pastor Bradfield. Come on, put
13:23your hands together and thank God
13:26>> [applause]
13:28>> So, today is a very sacred and powerful
13:31day for every follower of Jesus Christ.
13:34Every person. You just heard
13:36from Pastor Jacquett telling us
13:40the purpose behind water baptism.
13:44And what we're about to witness
13:46in just a few moments is not just a
13:49ritual
13:50or a tradition or even formality.
13:54It is one of the most profound and
13:57public declarations
13:59of our faith.
14:01The faith
14:03that a believer can ever make in God.
14:07You see, baptism is a visible sign of an
14:11inward transformation.
14:15Individuals have proudly declared that
14:19Jesus Christ is Lord and savior of their
14:24lives. That's important.
14:27Their
14:29actions today
14:31will proudly declare that Jesus is Lord
14:36of their lives. Each of them
14:39has made a conscious, intentional
14:42decision to follow Jesus Christ.
14:46Not casually,
14:48not culturally, but wholeheartedly. This
14:52is not culture.
14:54This is not something they're going to
14:56do out of formality.
14:59They're doing this from their heart.
15:03And the question I have for all of us
15:05this morning is,
15:07what we do each day,
15:10are those things being done
15:13unto the Lord with all of our heart?
15:15Does the scripture says that you should
15:18commit your ways unto the Lord and serve
15:20him with all of your heart, your soul,
15:22your mind, and your strength?
15:25You see, these individuals have chosen
15:28the faith journey as their new path in
15:31life.
15:331 Peter 2
15:35verse 21,
15:37it it talks about It says, "For this
15:41is or for this or for to this, I should
15:45say, you have been called because Christ
15:48also suffered for you.
15:52For to this you have been called. You've
15:54been called. All of us who are followers
15:57of Jesus Christ, we've been called.
16:00And it says, "Because Christ also
16:02suffered for you,
16:04leaving you an example so that you might
16:08follow in his steps."
16:11John 8 verse 12 now says,
16:15"Again, Jesus spoke to them saying, I am
16:18the light of the world. Whoever follows
16:22me will not walk in darkness,
16:25but will have the light of life." Please
16:28notice, it says, "Will have the light
16:33of life. The light of life." What kind
16:36of a life are you living this morning?
16:40Does your life have the light of Jesus
16:43Christ, or is it saturated with the
16:47light of darkness?
16:49Think about that for a moment. Because
16:52these individuals, the candidates, now
16:54understand that following Jesus is more
16:57than words.
16:59It's a lifestyle marked by authentic
17:02worship and faithful service unto God.
17:06They are not ashamed of the gospel
17:08like many of us.
17:10We're not ashamed of the gospel.
17:12I know we've been criticized lately over
17:15the years, and by rightly so. There
17:18There's some stuff that goes on into the
17:20church. There's some stuff that goes on
17:22by us Christians that sometimes will
17:25have the believer questioning our faith.
17:29Questioning our journey.
17:32But, that should not give us the right
17:36to deny our faith.
17:39If you read our Bible, we will
17:40understand that Jesus himself had
17:43problems with the 12 that he selected.
17:48So, I don't know where we got this idea
17:50from that you are to search for a
17:53perfect church or for people who are
17:57perfect following Jesus Christ.
18:02There's no such thing.
18:04It's even biased. It's biased because
18:07we've got imperfect family members,
18:12imperfect classmates,
18:14imperfect co-workers.
18:16Come on, now. We've got imperfect
18:19friends.
18:21So, it's not about following and going
18:23for the perfect church or the best
18:26church on the planet. That's not kingdom
18:29agenda.
18:31It's following Jesus Christ and saying,
18:35"In spite of our imperfection, I am not
18:38ashamed to be identified with Christ."
18:42That's the message.
18:46You see, you and I need to understand
18:49that what you will see today
18:51are people who desire to worship God.
18:54Watch this, without filters.
18:59Without filters. Without mask.
19:02Without reservation.
19:04Because their worship is real, their
19:07surrender is genuine, and their faith is
19:11alive.
19:13Their worship is real.
19:15It's not faking it, not having a mask,
19:18pretending as if you love God because of
19:21the truth be told, we can come up in
19:22here today and look all holy and
19:25righteous and perfect,
19:28but he knows
19:30every one of us.
19:34He knows
19:35what we thought of last night,
19:37where we've been last night.
19:45Look straight at me. Don't Don't Don't
19:47just please. I want to start no trouble
19:49up in here, but this looks
19:51He knows. You cannot fool God.
19:55Ooh, glory to God. You can't hide
19:58nothing from Him.
20:01Think about that.
20:03So, I truly believe today that God is
20:05pleased with these candidates, not
20:07because they are perfect,
20:10but because they have made a decision to
20:12fully turn their lives over to Him
20:15and pattern their lives after Christ.
20:19I believe that. So, in Matthew
20:223, beginning at verse 13
20:25to 17, the one I just asked you to read
20:27at the beginning,
20:29we find one of the most powerful moments
20:31in scripture. Jesus comes from Galilee
20:36to Jordan
20:38to be baptized
20:40of John.
20:42Now, that did not make sense.
20:45He came
20:47to John to be baptized.
20:50Because this is so significant here,
20:52because Jesus, watch this, he had no
20:55sin.
20:59He committed no sin, yet he went to
21:03John,
21:04"Baptize me." That tells you that
21:07baptism doesn't save you.
21:13So, don't don't get baptized because you
21:15want to be forgiven of your sins. The
21:19only way you are forgiven of your sins
21:21is when you go to God and you say, "God,
21:24I'm taking the mask off. People may not
21:26know who I am, what I've done, so God,
21:28I'm sorry. Forgive me of my sins. I'm
21:30sorry for running my own life. I
21:33surrender everything over to you. God, I
21:36I'm willing to take on this faith
21:38journey." And if you confess with your
21:41mouth and you believe in your heart, the
21:43Bible says you're saved. That's how you
21:45get born again. But being baptized
21:48doesn't get you saved.
21:53Doesn't.
21:54Because if every Listen, man, this is
21:57crazy, man. If you ever look to water
22:00baptism to get saved, every Sunday we
22:03need to have a pool on this stage and
22:06all of us, including this preacher, when
22:09we come here, before we get into
22:10worship, we need to get baptized.
22:15That's why one baptism is important.
22:19If you got saved, you became a Christian
22:21and you walked away from the faith,
22:23but before you did, you got baptized,
22:26and now you return to the faith, you
22:28don't need to get baptized over again,
22:30because baptism doesn't save you.
22:34Jesus, who committed no sin,
22:39went to John and said, "Please, John,
22:43baptize me."
22:44John had a fit over it.
22:47He questioned it. He hesitated. He
22:49didn't feel worthy to baptize Jesus, but
22:52here's the answer.
22:54Jesus said to him in verse 15, "Permit
22:58it to be so now,
23:01for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill
23:07all righteousness." What he was saying
23:09to John, the act we are about to perform
23:13is to complete
23:15the faith journey.
23:19So, if you've been born again and you
23:20have yet to be baptized, you haven't
23:23completed
23:24the faith journey.
23:26When Jesus came up out of the water,
23:28watch this, the heavens opened and the
23:31spirit of God descended like a dove and
23:33then a voice from heaven declared, "This
23:36is my beloved son in whom I'm well
23:39pleased." Notice this, before Jesus
23:42performed a miracle, before he preached
23:45a sermon, before he healed the sick or
23:49even raised the dead, God affirmed him
23:53because of his obedience.
23:59Bef- All of this, the baptism of Jesus
24:03took place before he was thrust into
24:06ministry.
24:09Why is it we people of faith want to be
24:12out there doing ministry
24:15and have not yet fulfilled the basic
24:18fundamentals of the Christian faith?
24:22You know why there's so many disorder in
24:24the Pentecostal, word of faith,
24:26charismatic movement kind of churches?
24:29Because there's no order. We don't
24:31follow practical principles according to
24:33scripture. We just want to be excited.
24:35We just want to be great. We just want
24:37to serve. We want to be a prophet. We
24:39want to be a prophetess. We want to be a
24:41priest. We want to be a bishop. And we
24:42want to be a preacher. We We want the
24:44stage, but we don't want to walk the
24:47journey.
24:50>> [applause]
24:52>> Come on now.
24:54I know I'm telling the truth here.
24:56You see, baptism is not just about going
24:59into the water.
25:01It's about coming in alignment with God.
25:05Jesus came in alignment with the Father.
25:08He was sent here to fulfill what the law
25:12could not do.
25:14You go down there and show them
25:17how to walk out this faith journey.
25:20Show them that they can live in this
25:23world without
25:26displeasing the Father.
25:29Show them that if they're follower of
25:32me, they must be baptized.
25:35You see, baptism is a declaration that
25:39says, "I choose God's way over my own.
25:44I choose obedience over convenience. I
25:48choose Christ over culture."
25:51And to every candidate being baptized
25:53today,
25:54I want you to know that heaven sees your
25:56obedience.
25:58God honors your surrender. And just like
26:01Jesus, your decision to follow Jesus
26:04Christ positions you for divine
26:08affirmation.
26:10He came up out of the water,
26:12the Bible says a dove, the Holy Spirit
26:15came as a form of a dove,
26:18rested upon him
26:20and said, "This is my son in whom I'm
26:23well pleased."
26:24Here's the question this morning.
26:27The way we are living our lives, is God
26:31pleased with it?
26:34Can he send a dove in the form of the
26:37Holy Spirit
26:39and rest upon us and say,
26:42"I'm pleased."
26:45Think about that.
26:48With the way we're navigating through
26:50life, can Can the Holy Spirit says,
26:54"The Father is pleased with you."
26:57He's pleased with the conversations
26:59you're having.
27:02He's pleased with the decisions you're
27:04making.
27:06He's pleased with the people you are
27:09communicating with.
27:11He's pleased with the places you are
27:14going.
27:16Think about that.
27:17Can God be pleased? Because you see,
27:21you can hide [snorts] from the public,
27:25but there's a set of eyes
27:28you and I cannot hide from.
27:33You make your bed in hell,
27:37he's going to find you.
27:39Come on now. He's going to find you.
27:42So today
27:44for those of us who are people of faith
27:46and to those of you who are going to be
27:47baptized,
27:49you are saying goodbye to the world.
27:54I don't know why anybody in their right
27:57mind would put their trust in this kind
28:00of world that we have today.
28:05It's Listen, can I just be real? It's
28:07crazy out there.
28:11I mean, it's crazy out there.
28:15And for those of you who are
28:16contemplating to leave the faith and to
28:20go back into the world, you're out of
28:23your mind.
28:27You are absolutely out of your mind.
28:30The club is not what it used to be
28:33in the '80s and the '90s.
28:42Can we have some real people in here?
28:44Those of you used to clubbing and used
28:46to partying and so forth, come on. Would
28:48you testify to your neighbor say, "It
28:50ain't the same."
28:53It's not the same.
28:57It's crazy out there.
28:59Dating is not the same.
29:04It's not the same like the '60s and the
29:06'70s and the '80s and the '90s. It's
29:10crazy out there.
29:16So, I want to challenge you, the body of
29:18Christ.
29:22Let us take the mask off.
29:26Let us be the church.
29:29Let us not be ashamed to be identified
29:32with Christ.
29:35Let us put all the fluffs and the stuff
29:38that doesn't get the glo- that doesn't
29:40give God the glory, I should say. Let us
29:43live this life and live it in a way that
29:47we don't care who dog us out, we don't
29:49care who talk about us.
29:52>> [applause]
29:53>> Because we're on the right side and our
29:56message should be come taste and see.
30:02That the Lord is good. Do I have a
30:05witness out there this morning?
30:09Come taste and see
30:12that our God is good. Here's what I'm
30:13going to challenge you to do, please,
30:16when you exit these doors
30:19and you go out there into the
30:20marketplace for another week,
30:23live for him.
30:25Don't live for yourself.
30:28Live for God.
30:30And if you confessed him today when
30:33Pastor Jacquith was asking you to say
30:36this in this prayer, if you did today,
30:38I'm telling you,
30:40go out there letting people know,
30:43like the woman at the well, come see
30:48a man.
30:50Come witness a God
30:52who will transform your life forever.
30:56I'm going to ask everybody to be seated
30:58if you can for this moment and just the
31:00candidates, would you stand? We're going
31:01to pray for you, all of you.
31:03Would you Come on, let's celebrate them.
31:07Come on, you can do better than that,
31:09man.
31:13Wow.
31:14Now,
31:15I want you to stretch your hands towards
31:18them.
31:19We've all been
31:21down that road. We've all been where
31:23you're about
31:25to uh what you're about to experience, I
31:27should say, this morning.
31:30I know we're proud of you, but I want
31:32you to know this,
31:34that scripture,
31:36when Jesus come out of the water, he
31:38said,
31:39"This is my beloved son." The Holy
31:42Spirit confirmed
31:44God is confirming you this morning.
31:47He is proud of you.
31:50You have given the devil a black eye
31:53this morning.
31:55Trust me.
31:57We're proud of you. It's a great moment.
32:00Stretch your hands. Father, we thank you
32:03for these men and women
32:06who proudly have declared this morning
32:11that they have decided to follow Jesus.
32:15The world behind them
32:18and the cross before them.
32:21Holy Spirit, may you touch them this
32:22morning.
32:24Wherever there's fear, wherever there's
32:26doubt,
32:28help them to know [music]
32:30that heaven is smiling today.
32:33You're rejoicing
32:35because they are now followers of you.
32:38Thank you for their public confession
32:40today. Thank you for this audience,
32:43whether in this room or virtually.
32:46May you continue to bless and strengthen
32:48them. [music]
32:50And Father, just like how you walked
32:52that journey
32:53and you took
32:55that journey to John, they are about to
32:59go on the outside
33:02to get in that water.
33:04May it be a transformative moment for
33:08each and every one of them.
33:11We give you praise in Jesus' name. Amen.
33:14Come on, celebrate them.
33:16>> [applause]