God equips the called, he does not call the
equipped
Matthew 3:1-12
Matthew
3:1–12 (NLT)
1In those days John the Baptist came to
the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was,
2“Repent of your sins and
turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
3The prophet Isaiah was speaking about
John when he said, “He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way
for the Lord’s coming! Clear the
road for him!’ ”
4John’s clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he
wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey.
5People from Jerusalem and from all of
Judea and all over the Jordan Valley went out to see and hear John.
6And when they confessed their sins, he
baptized them in the Jordan River.
7But when he saw many Pharisees and
Sadducees coming to watch him baptize, he denounced them. “You brood of
snakes!” he exclaimed. “Who warned you to flee the coming wrath?
8Prove by the way you live
that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.
9Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re
safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you,
God can create children of Abraham from these very stones.
10Even now the ax of God’s judgment is
poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not
produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.
11“I baptize with water those who repent
of their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is greater than I
am—so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be his slave and carry his
sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
12He is ready to separate the chaff from
the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area,
gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending
fire.”
So, we are
back! And again, I wont to look at this two ways! One where do we see God in
all this and two how can we apply this to our everyday lives!
Where do we see
God in this?
VS 1 In
those days John the Baptist came to
the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was,
2“Repent
of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
·
For 300 years God went silent
·
No prophets
·
No messengers
·
Nothing
·
But God told us through his last prophet one
will come before Jesus
Malachi 3:1 (NLT)
1“Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare
the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom
you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
·
Maliachi
paints the picture of the first coming of Christ!
Malachi even points
to what will happen when he arrives!
VS 7 But
when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees
coming to watch him baptize, he denounced them. “You brood of snakes!” he exclaimed. “Who warned you to flee the
coming wrath?
8Prove
by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.
9Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe,
for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can
create children of Abraham from these very stones.
·
John called out the ones who were not prepared
for Jesus
·
Who had been taking advantage of Gods Silence
·
And that is what God said would happen!
Malachi 3:2–3 (NLT)
2“But who will be able to endure it when he
comes? Who will be able to stand and face him when he appears? For he will be
like a blazing fire that refines metal, or like a strong soap that bleaches
clothes.
3He will sit like a refiner of silver, burning
away the dross. He will purify the Levites, refining them like gold and silver,
so that they may once again offer acceptable sacrifices to the Lord.
God sent John to
prepare the Way for JESUS!
VS
3 The prophet Isaiah was speaking about
John when he said, “He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way
for the Lord’s coming! Clear the
road for him!’ ”
Isaiah 40:3–5 (ESV)
3A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the
way of the Lord; make straight in
the desert a highway for our God.
4Every valley shall be lifted up, and every
mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the
rough places a plain.
5And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has
spoken.”
·
God sent John to because the way of life of Gods
people was about to change
·
God sent someone to clear the path
·
To get folks attention
·
And that leads us to out next point God equips
the called, he does not call the equipped!
Why is it
important that we follow?
Because, God calls his people to do extraordinary things,
and he calls ordinary people!
1. God does not
call perfect people
4John’s clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his
waist. For food he ate locusts and wild
honey.
·
Dressed funny
·
Ate funny
·
Was not the best with his social skills?
·
He was load
·
He was brutally honest
o “REPENT”
o “BROOD
OF VIPERS”
·
He wasn’t educated
·
He wasn’t Polished
·
He could have been from the dirty south!
·
But God used him in a powerful way
·
Why??
2. Why?? Why does
God call, then equip?
to show trust in
our faith, is bigger than our ability
·
John’s life was
characterized by blind devotion and absolute surrender to Jesus Christ and His
kingdom.
o He followed!
o He simply followed
o No questions ask
o He built that relationship
o Had complete trust in his savior
o That’s why!
To show that Belief in Gods promises yield big results
·
John’s voice was
a “lone voice in the wilderness” (John 1:23) as he
proclaimed the coming of the Messiah to a people who desperately needed a Savior.
o He believed that God would do what God said he would
do
o And he boldly followed
o And proclaimed the coming of a savior
o His faith did not make him popular
o But he was standing alone, but knew he was never alone
as long as he followed!
He was
·
The predecessor
for the modern-day evangelist as he unashamedly shared the good news of Jesus
Christ.
·
He was a man
filled with faith and a role model to all of us who wish to share our faith
with others.
What can we learn
from John the Baptist
First, whole-heartedly believing in Jesus Christ is
possible.
·
John the Baptist
could have believed in and worshipped any number of gods available to him
before Jesus arrived on the scene.
·
He believed this
with his whole heart and spent his days “preparing the way” for the Lord’s
coming (Matthew 11:10).
·
But the road was
not an easy one to prepare. Daily he faced doubters of various influence and
popularity who did not share his enthusiasm for the coming Messiah.
·
Under hard
questioning from the Pharisees, John shared his belief: “‘I baptize with
water,’ John replied, ‘but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one
who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie’"
(John 1:26-27).
·
John believed in Christ
and his great faith prepared him for hardships, but it kept him steadfast on
his course until the time when he could say as he saw Jesus approach, “Look,
the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).
·
As believers, we
can all have this steadfast faith.
Second, anyone can be a strong and serious witness for Jesus Christ.
·
John’s life is an
example to us of the seriousness with which we are to approach the Christian
life and our call to ministry, whatever that may be.
·
We pattern our
lives after John’s by first examining ourselves to be sure we are truly in the
faith (2 Corinthians 13:5).
·
like John, we are
to know and believe that “to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21), so we can be fearless in the face of persecution and death.
·
John lived his
life to introduce others to Jesus Christ, and knew the importance of repenting
of one’s sins in order to live a holy and righteous life.
·
And as a follower
of Jesus Christ, he also was unafraid of calling out people such as Herod and
the Pharisees for their sinful behavior.
Third, John shows us how to stand firm in our faith no
matter what the circumstances.
·
Paul reminded
Timothy that “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be
persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12).
·
But for many of
us who live in freedom, persecution takes on a very mild form.
·
As he lived in an
occupied country, John had to be aware that anything contrary to utter devotion
to the king or emperor was asking for trouble. Yet his message was unchanging,
bold and strong.
·
It was John’s
belief, his message, and his continual rebuke of King Herod that landed him in
prison. While it is hard to know for sure what John was feeling as he sat in
prison, we can be sure that he might have had some doubts about the Lord who
tested his faith. In fact, John gets a message out to Jesus asking, "Are
you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?" (Matthew 11:3).
·
As Christians we
all will have our faith put to the test, and we will either falter in our faith
or, like John, cling to Christ and stand firm in our faith to the end.
