IDENTIFYING The COMPETITORS For BELIEF-III—John 1:19-28
Attention:
Signs—What are they really trying to say?
On a California freeway:—‘Fine for Littering’
In a New York jewelry store:—‘Genuine Faux Pearls’
In a Boston fast-food parking lot:—‘Parking for Drive-Through Customers Only’
Billboard on Florida highway:—‘If You Can't Read, We Can Help’
On the Triborough Bridge in New York:—‘In Event of Air Attack Drive Off Bridge’
On a Lockhart, Texas, gas station & mini-mart:—‘We're out of Rolaids, but we've got gas.’
At the basketball court in a Gastonia, North Carolina, YMCA:—‘Anyone caught hanging from the rim will be suspended’
In a Grand Rapids restaurant:—‘Half baked chicken’
In a Dayton barbershop:—‘During vacation of owner, a competent hair stylist will be here’
On a Jacksonville, Florida, bookstore:—‘Rare, out-of-print, & nonexistent books’
On the wall of a British Columbia cleaning service:—‘Able to Do the Worst Possible Job’
Likewise, there are many competitors for your belief.
John was approached by others regarding his spiritual niche.
*We must identify/concern ourselves with/ the spiritual niche of those vying for our belief.
How can/are we to identify the niche of those vying for belief?
9 considerations/keys/objectives/principles for identifying/categorizing those vying/competing for belief.
We’ve previously discovered that...
Identifying competitors for your belief employs...
1. TRUSTWORTHY INFORMANTs(:19)
2. QUALIFYING QUESTIONs(:19b)
3—Identifying competitors for your belief employs...
UNQUALIFIED CONFESSIONs(:20)
Explanation:(:20)Led/Listen
:20—“He confessed, & did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.””
The answer is necessarily guided by & thereby limited by the qualifying questions!
If you ask ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ questions you will get simple unqualified ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ answers.
John made sure that everyone knew that he was NOT the Messiah(“Christ”).
Mat. 24:23-25(Mk. 13:21-23)—““Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false christs & false prophets will rise & show great signs & wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand.”
Since John denied being the Messiah, they assumed that he must still be of major importance in some way having to do with the consolation of Israel that was promised thru the coming Messiah(“Christ”).
We may define ourselves negatively by ‘who we are not.’
Unqualified Confessions, for the ask-er, keep things within a framework within which I have chosen & am comfortable working. A framework which is easily & nicely managed without challenge. Tradition & rule-keeping lend themselves easily to this scenario. If something will not fit within the mold of personal Tradition it is discarded as faulty.
“Confessed”2X—omologew—1) To say the same thing as another, i.e. To agree with, assent; 2) To concede; 3) To profess; 4) To praise, celebrate. Strong—To assent, i.e. Covenant, acknowledge.
From—omou—At the same place or time—&—logov—Something said--“A word”(including the thought); by implication--A topic(subject of discourse), also reasoning(the mental faculty) or motive; by extension--A computation. = ‘Same word.’
English= ‘Homologue.’
“Deny”—arneomai—1) =To deny;2) To deny someone—2a) To deny one's self—2a1) To disregard his own interests or to prove false to himself, 2a2) Act entirely unlike himself; 3) To deny, abnegate, abjure; 4) Not to accept, to reject, to refuse something offered. Strong—To contradict, i.e. Disavow, reject, abnegate.
“Christ”—Cristov—Adj.—= “Anointed”—1) Christ was the Messiah, the Son of God; 2) Anointed. Strong—Anointed, i.e. The Messiah, an epithet of Jesus.
Argumentation:
**Jn. 3:5-12—“Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you[Nicodemus], unless one is born of water & the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, & that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ “The wind blows where it wishes, & you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from & where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus answered & said to Him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered & said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, & do not know these things? “Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know & testify what We have seen, & you do not receive Our witness. “If I have told you earthly things & you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?”
Nicodemus would not allow his belief to suffer violence(at least tentatively—See Jn. 19:38-40) at the hands of Jesus.
*Jn. 19:38-40—“...Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; & Pilate gave him permission. So he came & took the body of Jesus. And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh & aloes, about a hundred pounds. Then they took the body of Jesus, & bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.”
The problem with the Pharisees & Sadducees was that they had their theology ‘all figured out.‘ They would not budge on it in relation to the Messiah/Christ. And those who followed them ‘SUPPOSED’ that the Pharisees &/or Sadducees wielded accurate biblical theology. They could give an Unqualified Confession of belief, BUT such belief is flawed & impersonal being dependent upon others.
Mat. 5:37—““But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ & your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.”
**?Can you actually ‘in your heart-of-hearts’ give an Unqualified Confession when pressed? “Are you a Christian, a Jesus follower?, a Disciple of Jesus the Christ?” Can you truly give a resounding ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to your faith in Christ?
Illustration:
If we qualify the confessions of others in ‘broad’ categories only(within my pre-determined context), then the confessions we receive are limited to broad categories without considering the finer points of God’s truth...The things that really narrow it down making it exceptional & exclusive. Without those finer points of our belief clarified, we will see all religions as the same & Jesus’ salvation becomes assumed rather than certain.
**I honestly & unashamedly & convincedly confess that I am not Jehovah’s Witness, I am not Mormon, I am not Islamic, I am not politically correct, I am not Catholic, etc./You get specific information but the negatives are not fleshed out/In order for the answer to carry weight the terms must first be understood/Do I know everything about these I deny?—No!/But I know enough to take them out of the realm of touchy-feely spiritualism & judge them by God’s judgement!/UNQUALIFIED CONFESSIONs
?Are you able to give a resounding & Unqualified “NO” to these as well?
**Eph. 4:11-15—“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, & some pastors & teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith & of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to & fro & carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ-- from whom the whole body, joined & knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”
Application:
?You employed UNQUALIFIED CONFESSIONs to identify the competitors for Your belief?
Jesus is competing for your belief & so are others(people, the devil, etc.)!
? You Identified those competing for Belief?
4—Identifying competitors for your belief employs...
EXHAUSTING Our LIMITATIONs(:21)
Explanation:(:21)Limitations of Belief
:21—“And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.””
We set up responses tied directly to what we believe. This is where our faith can be challenged...as well as challenging the faith of others.
The inquirers knew his name was John, but due to his message & actions, they asked him his place in reference to the fulfillment of three specific people from OT(& talmudic) prophecy who(in their understanding) would signal the end times. Their inquiry of John regarding his being the Christ had been denied, but it was obvious to all that there was a major biblical significance to his presence(ministry).
ELIJAH:
“What then? Are you Elijah?”
Aside from the Christ(:20), the Jews had obviously tied a particular re-appearance of “Elijah” to God’s timetable regarding the Christ.
“Elijah” is specifically linked to God’s end-time workings as depicted in 2Kgs. 1:8 & referenced in Malachi 3:1 & 4:5-6...
2Kgs. 1:7-8—“Then he[king Ahaziah of Israel] said to them[the king’s messengers], “What kind of man was it who came up to meet you & told you these words?” “So they answered him, “A hairy man wearing a leather belt around his waist.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.””
Mat. 3:4—“And John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; & his food was locusts & wild honey.”
Mal. 3:1—““Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” Says the LORD of hosts.”
Mal. 4:5-6—“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great & dreadful day of the LORD. And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come & strike the earth with a curse.””
“He said, “I am not.”
John denied his being the literal “Elijah”, yet this must also be consistent with Jesus’ statements regarding John’s identification with Elijah:
Mat. 11:11-15—““Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, & the violent take it by force. For all the prophets & the law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
Mk. 9:11-13—“And they asked Him, saying, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” Then He answered & told them, “Indeed, Elijah is coming first & restores all things. And how is it written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things & be treated with contempt? But I say to you that Elijah has also come, & they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him.””
Mat. 17:1-3, 9-13—“Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, & John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; & He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, & His clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses & Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.”.....“Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.” And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” Jesus answered & said to them, “Indeed, Elijah is coming first & will restore all things. But I say to you that Elijah has come already, & they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.”
The PROPHET:
“Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.””
Along with “Elijah”, the Jews had obviously tied a particular “Prophet” to God’s timetable regarding the Christ. The expected Prophet
Deut. 18:15-19—““The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear, according to all you desired of the LORD your God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, nor let me see this great fire anymore, lest I die.’ “And the LORD said to me: ‘What they have spoken is good. ‘I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, & will put My words in His mouth, & He shall speak to them all that I command Him. And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him.”
Acts 3:19-23—[Peter stated]““Repent therefore & be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, & that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. For Moses truly said to the fathers, ‘The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. ‘And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’”
The Jews were correct in their linking “the Christ” as well as both “Elijah” & “the Prophet” to God’s end-time timetable. The mere fact that “the Jews” sent a delegation to John in the wilderness reveals a great deal regarding the influence & perception of his ministry.
Though they thought perhaps John was either “Elijah” or “the Prophet,” John emphatically denied both of these specific designations. Yet John’s denials are also consistent with John’s identity thru Jesus.
When we have Exhausted the Limitations of our belief, then our belief/faith is challenged even farther. Then we have opportunity to think & step ‘out of the box.’
?Are you willing to go beyond what you ‘know, asking the tough questions of God? You can do that & not be ungodly. You will find that Christianity explains the human condition, far & above leaves every other religion/belief/faith, both personal & corporate, in the dust!
Argumentation:
**Lk. 5:1-6—“So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, & saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them & were washing their nets. Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, & asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down & taught the multitudes from the boat. When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep & let down your nets for a catch.” But Simon answered & said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night & caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, & their net was breaking.”
There is nothing left, then God steps in.
**Mat. 12:22-28—“Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind & mute; & He healed him, so that the blind & mute man both spoke & saw. And all the multitudes were amazed & said, “Could this be the Son of David?” Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.” But Jesus knew their thoughts, & said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, & every city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.”
What happens when your spirituality/faith has exhausted itself or found its limit? Either drop it(as worthless) or maintain it(as valuable).
**Mat. 22:23-30—“The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him & asked Him, saying: “Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife & raise up offspring for his brother. Now there were with us seven brothers. The first died after he had married, & having no offspring, left his wife to his brother. Likewise the second also, & the third, even to the seventh. “Last of all the woman died also. Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her.” Jesus answered & said to them, “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.””
Job 11:7—[Zophar to Job]““Can you search out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty?”
*1Cor. 2:9-12—“But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.”
Col. 2:1-4—“For I[Paul] want you to know what a great conflict I have for you & those in Laodicea, & for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, & attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father & of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom & knowledge. Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words.”
**1Cor. 13:9-12—“For we know in part & we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.”
If we ‘invent’ things to ‘fill-in’ what we do not know or understand—it is a sure sign of idolatry & self-service.
Isa. 40:28-31—“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint & be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run & not be weary, They shall walk & not faint.”
**Acts 17:22-34—“Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus() & said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through & considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: God, who made the world & everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven & earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, & all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, & has determined their preappointed times & the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him & find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live & move & have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ “Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art & man’s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, “We will hear you again on this matter.” So Paul departed from among them. However, some men joined him & believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, & others with them.”
The Athenian Philosophers had Exhausted their Limitations!
Illustration:
*Tug of War/Pulling contest/A test of strength & endurance/Eventually my strength is spent & my competitors are identified very quickly!/EXHAUSTING Our LIMITATIONs
Imagine you are in a wilderness/You need fire for heat & very carefully packed & checked your supply, but you have used the last of your matches/No flint igniter/Your last means of making fire is gone!/You have nothing else in your arsenal/Seek out an alternate/EXHAUSTING Our LIMITATIONs
If Reality doesn’t fit with what I believe then the Limitations of my Belief can be rectified thru personal & corporate Bible Study, Preaching, personal & corporate Prayer, Christian Fellowship, etc.
Application:
?You employed EXHAUSTING Our LIMITATIONs to identify the competitors for Your belief?
Jesus is competing for your belief & so are others(people, the devil, etc.)!
? You Identified those competing for Belief?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Conflicting/Confusing Signs—What are they really trying to say?
Action:
Identifying competitors for your belief employs...
3. UNQUALIFIED CONFESSIONs(:20)
4. EXHAUSTING Our LIMITATIONs(:21)
1. TRUSTWORTHY INFORMANTs(:19)
2. QUALIFYING QUESTIONs(:19b)
Presented 03/23/2014am to:
FBC Cbelle
206 Storrs Ave.
Carrabelle, FL 32322
