John, Part 2
Series: Clear the Way, Part 2
John 1:6-13
- I never want to assume that we all have the same knowledge … intro:
• A young Jewish man; referred to as youngest Apostle (late teens / early 20s)
• John wrote 5 books in NT: 3 epistles, Revelation, and this Gospel (~90 AD)
• John centers on the truth of Christ: He is the Messiah sent from God to save
• “If Matthew, Mark, Luke are books, the Gospel of John is the movie.” - UNK
- Read John 1:6-13 / Pray
Point 1 - God’s Last Old Testament Messenger
- John was only a man; he is not God – is not divine - but is sent from God (v6)
-- He had been raised with the desire to share a message from God (called; sent)
- PURPOSE: To be the front runner - the final Old Testament prophet
-- RE: After the book of Malachi (final OT) God was silent for ~400 years
-- HIS “WHY”: To prepare the way for the Messiah with accountability to God!
- John came to bear witness of the Light (think: goodness) of God (vv7-8)
-- KNOW: The message is a “given” message; not something he had to prepare
-- Note: Obedience to God is key when it comes to sharing His word Deut. 4:2
- The purpose of his message is clear: “…so that everyone might believe”
-- GR: martureó; to be a witness, i.e. testify (he would preach to give testimony)
-- SEE: His purpose wasn’t even to “teach”; but to LEAD others to Christ
- John had no interest in fame, acknowledgement, or even to be remembered
-- APP: God’s servants all have this in common: called to show people Jesus
-- Not called to organize, to fill a room, to supervise, to manage … but to SHOW
-- IMP: However, this can only happen when the message is inspired by God
Point 2 – God’s True Light Revealed
- OBV: Jesus is the Light that is sent from God (v9 is a double descriptor of Him)
-- Jesus is the true light & only He can lead us out of darkness (sin) John 12:46
- Many claim to be a light like Him, but they lack real authority from God!
-- Examples: Some claim that they are able to:
• Reveal God to men: Have a “new revelation …” (spot as fake “Apostles”)
• Show the meaning and destiny of things: Fortune tellers, mystics, psychics
• Guide people out of darkness through them: Authors of self-help books
• They can ward off evil spirits and bad dreams: Sage, crystals, trinkets, etc.
• Do away with the darkness if you submit to them: Cults: Koresh, Jones
• Cast out demons & heal sickness: False prophets like Benny Hinn
- SIDE: An idol is anything that takes the place of prominence over God
-- Consider: God has given us His Light to defeat the idols we exalted
- WARNING: If you are following “things we created” … not following Him!!
-- Christ is to our sin what oxygen is to humans! He is everything (last week)!
-- Self-appointed apostles, disciples, false prophets, “religious” leaders …
o Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:5, “They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!”
- God gives us what we could not create, find, develop, or manufacture ourselves
-- Why? Because we were blind - spiritually incapacitated; literally handicapped
-- SAD: Most people do not know we are lost because of our own pride (blinds)
-- This is why this message is so widely rejected today – still why it’s so urgent!
Point 3 - Recognize the World’s Two Responses to Jesus
- Need us to dig deep and understand: There are only TWO responses to Christ
1. Rejection (seen clearly in vv10-11) synonyms: denial, dismissal, refusal
- REM: God gave His Light to show us the majestic ability He has to rescue us
-- It was a gift to us to receive and to see what God has done for us Rom 1:19-20
-- Think APP: He made His work obvious so we could not deny His existence!!
- In recognizing Him, we would then have a choice of:
• who we will worship - how we will love - why we will be generous
• where we will follow - who we will listen to - how we’ll be faithful
- But this world - and even His own people (re: Israel) - often rejected Him
-- Consider: the Creation He made, the places He made, the things He gave
-- Even the very beauty of Creation shown to us in the love of a Father’s work
-- All rejected because we were so depraved / sinful we could not help ourselves!
2. Acceptance (results seen in vv12-13)
- Praise the Lord, Christ was received by some who believed! “But to all…” (v12)
-- Those who did, just like some have been today, were transformed eternally
-- Not just spiritually, but physically as well because their life’s focus changed
- APP: When Christ changes a life, there is renewal and a reordering of priorities
-- EX: We stop believing that we are the center of all things (John’s message here)
- RESULT: It gave/gives them/us the authority to become children of God
o GR: exousian; power; right; authority
o GR: tekna Theou; sons; children of God
o GR: genesthai; to become; to be transformed and changed
- When we receive Christ, when they received Him: became something new!
- KNOW: God had a problem with us … we were literally called His enemy
-- We deserve His wrath b/c of what we have committed against Him! James 4:4
-- The result of what Christ offers is NEW life with hope and forgiveness in Him!
- IMP: New birth is not by man: there is nothing the Creation could do to earn it
-- EX: We could not even dress ourselves to hide our shame (sin) from God
-- RE: In order to clothe us in the Garden, God had to kill animals! (Gen 3:21)
- We cannot become sons/daughters by heritage … it’s not through our bloodline
-- Just b/c someone took you to church doesn’t mean you are His; you must choose
- It is not by the will of our flesh; left to our own wants we always choose sin!
-- It is not in the capacity of mankind to make another person a “child of God”
o New life comes only from receiving the Light that Christ brought (rescue)
o New life comes only from the relief that Christ gives (to be forgiven of sin)
o New life comes only from the restoration that Christ gives (this is real hope)
TAKEAWAY
- How do we receive? We receive by believing what He has done! Romans 10:9
- New life comes from a place of rebirth - because it comes from the only One who can give it - our Creator - the One who all things came through (ref to Jn 1:3-4)
- This is the introduction to the message John the Baptist would bring
-- John knew, through revelation, what we needed to hear b/c it came from God
- This same message continues to be shared today; and is still being shared today
-- Will you be found as one who is faithful because you are renewed by Him?
-- Will we be ones who willingly submit to the simplest truth ever presented?
- God created all of this so we would recognize His work so we could know Him
-- Then … He gave His Son’s life to demonstrate His love for you once and for all
-- What we do in these next few moments may determine our place in eternity
- Pray
