January 8, 2012
Morning Worship
Text: Matthew 3:1-10
Subject: John the Baptist
Title: Preparing the Way for the Work of God
I hope everyone has had a productive year so far. We’re looking forward to what God is going to do this year in His church. I said last week that I believe this is the year that God makes His presence really known among us. It began last Sunday night at our prayer meeting. WE had an incredible time in the Holy Spirit and we are expecting more.
I want to share with you today a little about John the Baptist – about who he was and also about the message that he brought. What we are going to see today is that John was paving the way for something new to the “religious” mindset. That involves change and that is a word that has invoked fear into the hearts of people from the beginning of time.
I believe the message of John the Baptist is as relevant for today as it was over 2,000 years ago. I believe the Lord is calling His church to rethink what it considers its purpose. I believe that God has something better for us today that will only be recognized when we commit our hearts to change. Newton’s first law of motion states, Everything continues in a state of rest unless it is compelled to change by forces impressed upon it…
We have the Holy Spirit of the Living God that is at work within us so for the church change should be a given.
Let’s look today at what God began with the ministry of John the Baptist and see how it relates to God’s plan for the church.
Read Matthew 3:1-10
I believe this is God’s word…
I believe it is for me…
I accept it as mine…
And I appropriate it to my life today…
In Jesus’ name!
I. JOHN’S MINISTRY… If we are going to look at the ministry of John we have to look at it in the context of the man. What was his purpose? Verse 1 tells us, “ In those days John the Baptist came, preaching…” As far as we know the last known prophet in Israel was Malachi. Immediately after the time of the Babylonian captivity a group of people rose up to a level of prominence in the Jewish culture. They were the scribes. Originally the scribes were the keepers of the Old Testament. It was the scribes who copied the manuscripts and diligently studied them to make sure there were no errors. As long as there was a prophet in Israel that was their role. But when the prophetic voices ceased during the inter-testament times, the scribe rose to a new position of importance. They became the teachers of the Law. This was especially significant because during this time the language of Israel began to shift from Hebrew to Aramaic. Though the two languages were similar, there was enough difference that the scribes became the ones to enlighten the common people on the true meaning of the scriptures. Out of the various interpretations of the scribes arose the sects of Judaism – the Sadducees, Pharisees, and the Essenes… OK, back to our passage. John the Baptist comes on the scene as a new voice, not at all like the others of the time. He was a prophet in the Old Testament sense. Luke 1:14-17 gives us information about John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you (his father), and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink (the Nazarite vow), and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. 16 Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” John went out preaching. It is interesting isn’t it that John went out preaching in the desert. Is it possible that this was symbolic of the spiritual climate in Israel at the time? Is it possible that since the desert was considered to be a place where demon spirits lived, that John the Baptist went out in the Spirit and power of Elijah to begin to take back territory that had been surrendered to satan so many years before? Verse 3, This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” # John’s ultimate purpose was to prepare the hearts of Israel for the coming of their Messiah and he did so by the message he preached.
II. JOHN’S MESSAGE… If John is preparing the way for the Lord, and we know he is – that’s what the scriptures say – Then what do you think his message will be? It is the same message that Jesus would later begin His ministry with… “Repent”! There are some very interesting concepts that accompany that one word. 1) We all know that the word “repent” means to turn away from – to do a 180 – and go the opposite direction. In the Christian sense it means turn away from your sin. 2) Repentance is not merely physical in nature. You can stop sinning and turn around and go a different direction in your life, but just the physical act isn’t enough. The word “repent” actually means, “to think differently.” Keep that in mind… That is a message that was significant to the Jews who were hearing John’s message. We’ll talk more about that a little later. Mark 1:4-5,
4 And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. I find this to be pretty cool, don’t you? It was the lay people who were actually leading Israel into revival. Why? Because they understood this baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sins as a symbolic act of what God was doing in their lives. John might have been doing the preaching but it was God who was doing the calling. However, the religious leaders saw it in a different light. More about that later also… The second part of John’s message was this… Repent… for the kingdom of heaven is near… Now obviously, this is where John’s message overlaps Jesus’ message. Mark 1:14-15, 14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” Luke 4:14-15, 14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. John prepared the way for Jesus’ message and His methods… in the power of the Spirit! OK so here is the question. What is the Kingdom Message? The Kingdom Message is the message of salvation. Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3). Also, in Luke 7:28, I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” That message is continued with the thought of the Millennial Kingdom and carries on through eternity in the eternal kingdom. But, it is foolish for us to think that the kingdom message is only for eternity. Luke 9:62, Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” So the kingdom message also includes what those in the kingdom (the church) can do in this life. Revelation 1:5-6, …To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father. One more passage, Matthew 11:12, From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. I’m trying to connect the message of an eternal promise of salvation to the kingdom at work in you today. In order to do that I want to take you to one last element of this passage.
III. JOHN’S AUDIENCE… We’ve already seen how the lay people responded to John’s message. They were coming from every part of Judea to go out into the wilderness to hear a message of repentance and then responded by agreeing to be baptized. Now here is where the objections of the “religious” people come into play. The Pharisees and Sadducees were so sure of the fact that since they were God’s chosen people there was no need to be baptized. Sure, they would confess their sins before God and once a year a sacrifice would be made for the nation of Israel, but to say that they needed to be baptized was ridiculous. Water baptism was only for Gentiles who wished to become Jewish. Apparently these men had come out to watch John and hear what he had to say. But John saw through their religious deception. Verse 7, But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? The Sadducees denied an eternal kingdom – if there was a kingdom of God it had to occur only in this life. For them the blessings they received during this life was an indication that God approved of them. The Pharisees denied the work of the kingdom in this life and were relegated to following a system of rules and regulations. They knew there would be an eternal kingdom but they missed out on how to get there. Verse 8, Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. Do something that will show that you have changed your thinking…
Look at verses 9-10, 9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. That’s pretty plain isn’t it? For those “religious” leaders repentance meant doing something that showed that they had a change of mind and a change of heart. What does producing fruit mean to us today? Let’s look at the word fruit. This is the Greek word karpos and it describes not just fruit, but fruit that has been plucked. It comes from the base word that means to take by force. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 11,… , the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. The same word that is the base word for “fruit”. This is a key to what fruit God is expecting to be seen in us. Let’s look at the meanings of the original words. Kingdom = a realm; of heaven = the sky… by application the kingdom of heaven is God’s plan at work on the earth. I want you to stretch your imagination a little on this though. Look at the KJV, 12And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. What if “the kingdom of heaven” here is referring to the kingdom of the sky or the atmosphere in which case this would be referring to what Paul called in Ephesians 6, … the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms – the prince of the power of the air…? If that is the case then since the time of John the Baptist, when the kingdom message was first preached, up to now, the abode of the enemy has been under attack by forces that it cannot stand against. … and the violent take it by force… The word violent here is better translated energetic. The energetic are putting God’s plan into action by taking back what the enemy has stolen, by force. Luke 4:5-6, 5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. Jesus won back that authority with His work on the cross and His resurrection in power. He told Peter in Matthew 16:19, I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” So here is the key to understanding the kingdom of heaven – knowing what Jesus has done for you then receiving it and acting upon it. As a child of the King of heaven, If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer (Matthew 21:22) If you are going to produce fruit, then what Jesus said in John 15:7-8 gains new meaning, 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. Finally if you are going to be fruit bearers then you need to know from 1 John 3:8, He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. Yes the devil’s work involves sin, but also, The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10)
If repentance means to change the way you think, then you cannot limit what area that is about. Is it just eternal life? No , but for this life also.
If the kingdom is for eternity only, then why do we claim Jesus as our King today?
If bearing fruit is limited to the fruit of the Spirit, or making disciples, then why does Jesus admonish to show that we are His disciples by holding to the Word and then asking the Father in Jesus name?
So you have a choice today.
You can chose not to repent of your sin –to think differently about your sin - and be lost…
You can choose not to be a part of the kingdom that is at work now in this world.
You can choose not to bear fruit for the glory of God.
Or you can choose all of the above.
Choose Jesus and be saved!
Choose to work for the kingdom!
Choose to bear fruit through the power of God working in you.
