Deuteronomy 1:11 The LORD God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as ye are, and bless you, as he hath promised you!
THIS IS THE ONLY TIME
WE WILL SEE AND LIVE THIS EVENT
Calendar for July 2011
July
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This year, July has 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays and 5 Sundays.
This happens only once every 823 years.
This year we're going to experience four unusual dates.
1/1/11, 1/11/11, 11/1/11, 11/11/11 and that's not all...
Take the last two digits of the year in which you were born - now add the age you will be this year,
The results will be 111 for everyone in whole world.
Forerunner Generation Spirit of John the Baptist
Matthew 11:11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
What Made John the Baptist Great?
Introduction: When we think of the greatest men and women of the Bible, we think of Moses, Abraham, David, Sarah, Ruth, Elijah, Peter, and Paul. Yet, Jesus Christ said that no one had ever been born who is greater than John the Baptist.
What made John stand out that Christ singles him out as the greatest human being born up to that point in time?
I. He was Spirit-filled
A. Luke 1:15 “For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.”
B. We need to realize that it’s the Holy Spirit who drew us to belief in Jesus Christ. It is the Holy Spirit Who wants to mold us into the image of Christ. It is the Holy Spirit who intercedes for us as our Advocate.
C. Every believer is indwelled by the Spirit, but not every believer is controlled by the Spirit.
D. Ephesians 5:18 “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit.”
E. To be filled with the Holy Spirit means to have opened yourself to the Spirit, committing every area of your life to Christ, seeking to glorify God in everything,
and dedicated to do God’s will.
II. He lived a Separated life
A. Matthew 3:4 “And John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.”
B. John’s food and clothing was far from fashionable.
He lived a strict, separated and disciplined life. He did not conform to the world around him.
C. Matthew 11:18 “For John came neither eating nor drinking…”
D. Mark 6:20 “...Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man…”
E. We need to fashion our lives from a heavenly perspective not based on this world’s.
F. An advertising billboard campaign in Los Angeles by New York fashion house Charivari displayed these words: "Just because you live in LA it doesn’t mean you have to dress that way." Just because we live the world doesn’t mean that we have to be like the world.
G. Philippians 1:27 “Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel”
III. He was Steadfast in his stand
A. John the Baptist was uncompromising when it came to truth and righteousness.
B. His messages were not watered down or permissive.
He called sin - sin and confronted the issue of sin regardless whether he was speaking to the people, the priests, or the politician. , confronted backsliders with the nearness of eternity and compelled men to fruits of righteousness and obedience to the word of God.
C. Luke 3:7-9 “Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ’We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down
and thrown into the fire.”
D. Luke 1:17 tells us that John came in the spirit and power of Elijah. Elijah was known for his bold uncompromising stand for the Word of God. Remember his confrontations with Ahab and the prophets of Baal on Mt Carmel.
John had this same boldness.
E. In Luke 3:19 we read that Herod was “rebuked by him (John) concerning Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,
and for all the evils which Herod had done”
F. "There was a time when the church was very powerful--in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed . . . Whenever the early Christians entered a town, the people in power became disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being "disturbers of the peace" or "outside agitators" . . . Things are different now. So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound . . .
If today’s church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club.
G. 1 Thessalonians 2:4 “But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak,
not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts.”
IV. He was Submissive to the God’s Will
A. John recognized early in life God’s call on his life and gave himself completely into it.
B. John was humble. He refused to accept names and titles that men tried to put on him.
C. John 1:19-23 “Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ." And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No." Then they said to him, "Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?" He said: "I am ’The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Make straight the way of the Lord," ’as the prophet Isaiah said.”
D. John 3:30 “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
V. He was a Soul Winner
A. John 1:6-8 “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.”
B. In John 5:35 Jesus Christ called John “a burning and shining light”.
C. Luke 1:16 said that he would “turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.” Like John that is our calling. Christ said “you shall be witnesses to Me.”
D. There was a guy who prayed this prayer every morning: "Lord, if you want me to witness to someone today, please give me a sign to show me who it is." One day he found himself on a bus when a big, burly man sat next to him. The bus was nearly empty but this guy sat next to our praying friend. The timid Christian anxiously waited for his stop so he could exit the bus. But before he could get very nervous about the man next to him, the big guy burst into tears and began to weep. He then cried out with a loud voice, "I need to be saved. I’m a lost sinner and I need the Lord. Won’t somebody tell me how to be saved?" He turned to the Christian and pleaded, "Can you show me how to be saved?" The believer immediately bowed his head and prayed, "Lord, is this a sign?" Are you looking for a "sign" to start witnessing? By way of the Gospel Radio Group, General William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, once told his students, "If I had my choice, I wouldn’t send you to school, I’d send you to Hell for 5 minutes and you’d come back real soul winners."
Forerunner Generation Spirit of John the Baptist
This generation will be the Forerunner Generation.
They will operate in the Spirit of John the Baptist.
This generation of Forerunners will prepare the way for the Rapture of the Saints. They will see the fulfillment of Joel 2:28:
Joel 2:28-29 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
Acts 2:16-18 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
In Isaiah 40:3 the Bible records this: A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. This generation will cry out in one voice with a unity among the saints of God. It will no longer be about doctrines, denominations, but about seeing Jesus consuming the hearts of humanity. This generation is going to be taken to the desert and dry places, in the Spirit, and receive a mandate and impartation to prepare the way for the Rapture of the Church of Jesus Christ. They are going to go into the highways and byways proclaiming the Year of God’s Favor. They will preach the gospel in the spiritual wilderness of the world and make the way clear, with power, that leads to Heaven, which is Jesus Christ.
In Matthew 3:4 the Bible records this: John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. This generation of Forerunners will not be given to excessiveness. This generation will be more concerned with fulfilling the call of God on their lives as opposed to the latest fads and fashions of
Hollywood and New York City.
In Luke 1:14-17 the Bible records this:” He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth,
for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. 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." This was a prophetic word given through an angel to the father of John the Baptist. This generation will be a joy and a delight to the generation of its fathers. The generations that went before this coming generation will be the groundbreakers and intercessions for this generation of Forerunners.
This generation will have great favor, grace, and blessing from the Father. It will see blessing after blessing because of its uncompromising message of intercession and prophetic evangelism. This coming generation will be children of God that will not let impure things into their bodies, minds, nor thier spirits. They will not be on fire for God one week and backslidden the next. They will be sold out believers burning all bridges to the old life. This generation will lead millions to Jesus. This is the Spirit of John the Baptist.
The Spirit of the Forerunner.
In Luke 3:11 the Bible records: "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same." This coming generation will have a heart for the poor that Jesus had. They will minister to the poor by meeting their physical needs. They will feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give drink to the thirsty, invite strangers in, and visit the sick and the prisoners. They will see a massive revival of salvations, healings, and deliverances among the poor because the poor will know Jesus Christ cares about them.
They will be a generation committed to ministering the Gospel will boldness. The Spirit of Boldness will be all over this generation. They will minister the Spirit of Revival with no reservations, no holding back, and no compromise. They will minister honesty to the people of this world. This coming generation will not be a “seeker sensitive” generation but one that is full of the Holy Spirit, grace, mercy and power.
In John1:29 the Bible records: "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This generation will seek to lift up the name of Jesus Christ and will be a “Bless Jesus” generation instead of a “Bless me”. Everything this generation does will be to lift up the Lamb of God, which is Jesus Christ. They will live with the reality of when the name of Jesus is exalted; He will draw all men to His saving grace.
John 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men unto me.
Forerunner Generation Spirit of John the Baptist
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My name is William Poovey, and I pastor at Bethel Church in Olar, SC. I have been a long-time user of Sermon Central and truly appreciate its content and contributors. Some of the best sermons I’ve ever preached have been reworked material from this website. As you use the material from my sermon bank, understand that it is work that has been done from not just myself, but from hundreds of other pastors as well. If you see part of your message, or a lot of your message with my name on it and this upsets you, please email me and I will quickly respond and cite you as the main source. My intent is not to claim someone’s work as my own. I am disclaiming up front that I use the resources from Sermon Central and appreciate the tool. I simply want all those who use my work to know that some of these messages were inspired by the Holy Spirit working through other pastors. Because I do use the messages of other pastors I waive all claims of originality or origin of creativity for the messages posted under my messages. I pray God blesses your preaching ministry for the glory of His Kingdom.
Respectfully,
William Poovey
