ARE YOU READY FOR JESUS?
John 1:19-34
S: Celebrate Jesus
Th: Readiness
Pr: We need to be ready for Jesus.
?: What? What do we need to be ready for?
KW: Questions (challenges)
TS: There are three questions that challenge our
readiness for Jesus’ impact on our lives.
The _____ question is…
I. ARE YOU READY TO HEAR THE WORD?
II. ARE YOU READY TO CHANGE?
III. ARE YOU READY FOR THE LAMB?
RMBC 1/16/00 AM
INTRODUCTION:
ILL Notebook: Preparation (neckties)
A man is crawling through the Sahara desert when another man riding on a camel approaches him. As the rider approaches, the crawling man whispers through his parched lips, “Water…please…can you give…water…” “I’m sorry,” replies the man on the camel, “I don’t have any water with me. But I’d be delighted to sell you a necktie.” “Necktie?” whispers the man. “I need water!” “They’re only four dollars apiece.” “I need water.” “Okay, okay, two for seven dollars.” “Please! I need water!” the man exclaims. “I don’t have any water, all I have are ties,” replies the salesman, as he heads off into the distance. By now the man has lost all track of time, crawling through the desert seemingly for days. Finally, nearly dead, with clothes tattered and skin peeling under the relentless sun, he comes upon a restaurant. Summoning his last bit of strength, he staggers to the door and confronts the headwaiter. “Water…can I get…water?” the dying man pleads. “I’m sorry, sir. Neckties required.”
Well…
Are you prepared for what is coming?
Of course, I am not speaking of needing a necktie.
I am speaking of being prepared for our 50-Day Adventure that will officially begin next Sunday.
Next Sunday, our series begins on the theme “Celebrate Jesus: Discover What Makes Him Attractive to So Many People.”
In your mailbox today, you not only received a large copy of our theme verse for the year, but also a smaller card with Mark 1:35 on it.
This is our memory verse for next week.
So come knowing it, not because you are going to be tested on it, but because God instructs to know His Word in our heart.
Now…if you have already obtained your journal, or you intend to today, there is a pre-adventure study for next Saturday.
We want you to be prepared, because we believe God is going to do something very special among us, and we don’t want you to miss it.
The more of us that are wholeheartedly and enthusiastically involved, the more powerful the movement of God is going to be in our midst.
Are you prepared for what is coming?
TRANSITION:
ILL Internet—Stedman (Billy Graham)
A remarkable religious phenomenon broke out in the United States in the year 1948. It started in a tent near the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, under the preaching of a young evangelist by the name of Billy Graham. The crowds were a little sparse in that tent at first, but as the preaching went on they began to grow. Finally certain rather prominent Hollywood celebrities came to the meetings and were converted. At first, as often happens with gatherings of that sort, the press totally ignored them. But when some of the well-known names of Hollywood became involved, the media began to take an interest in what was happening. Eventually reporters were sent to investigate and to interview this rather strange young preacher, who dressed in pistachio-colored suits, wore flaming red ties, spoke with a pronounced Southern accent, and yet had incredible appeal to the masses. It was evident that God was doing something there. That was the beginning of Billy Graham’s career. As news of those meetings spread across the country, other cities invited him to come and preach. He went on to Boston, where all of New England seemed to turn out to hear him. Thus began the great crusades that swept across America in the latter part of the ’40’s and have continued until today even as his physical condition has deteriorated. People still come to see what makes Billy Graham so passionate about this thing called Christianity.
Much earlier in the history of man, there is an interesting parallel.
1. John the Baptist started a phenomenon whose legacy continues until today.
As it was with Billy the Baptist in 1948, so it was with John the Baptist in the late ’20’s of the first century.
He, too, was a young man, in his early 30s, six months older than Jesus.
He, too, dressed rather strangely, even for that day.
He did not wear green suits, but he did wear an unconventional garment of camel’s hair.
He also ate an unorthodox diet of grasshoppers and wild honey.
There was not a bit of an appearance of prestige about him.
Yet, he had a message.
This young man had a very powerful message, which seemed to have great attraction to people.
At first they came out by dozens, then by scores, and finally hundreds and thousands forsook the cities of Judah and Galilee to hear this remarkable preacher out in the desert.
2. John the Baptist became so popular that the religious establishment had to check him out.
There were so many people coming out to see him, he couldn’t be ignored.
For the religious establishment, John was a puzzle, an enigma if you will.
Though he grew up in a priestly family, he was definitely a non-conformist.
There was probably no respected religious body that had authorized his ministry.
There was probably no rabbi that had written him a letter of recommendation.
There was probably no association that had voted to support him or endorse him.
However, he had the one thing that is absolutely essential for anyone who would speak for God.
And it was very evident.
He had the power of God upon his life!
So, when the religious leaders came…
3. Instead of worrying about his reputation, John challenged them with questions that have timeless application.
He was bold to say them then.
But we must do more than step back and say to John, “Boy, you have guts!”
No, it must be more personal than that.
They are questions that we need to be confronted with as well.
OUR STUDY:
I. The first question is ARE YOU READY TO HEAR THE WORD?
(19) Now this was John’s testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. (20) He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, "I am not the Christ." (21) They asked him, "Then who are you? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No." (22) Finally they said, "Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" (23) John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, "I am the voice of one calling in the desert, `Make straight the way for the Lord.’"
First, in answer to the questions…
1. John tells us who he is not.
The investigation by the skeptic leaders begins.
Are you Christ?
I am not the Christ.
Are you Elijah?
I am not.
Are you the Prophet?
No.
The answers are becoming shorter and curter.
He is already becoming impatient with their interruption.
For the answer they were seeking was not going to be answered with the “who” question.
So instead he describes his mission as a fulfillment of Scripture.
For…
2. John tells us who is coming (cf. Isaiah 40:3-5).
He is the voice in Isaiah 40.3-5:
(3) A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. (4) Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. (5) And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
It was not who he was that was important, but what He was doing.
John was building a highway.
It was designed to be a path upon which God would come to people.
This wasn’t a highway for men to get to God, but for God to come to man.
So John was doing what any modern road builder would do.
The low spots are filled in.
The high spots are leveled.
The crooked ones are straightened out, and the rough ones are made smooth.
So John was out in the desert, preparing the road for God to come to man.
He was that voice.
But were these religious investigators listening?
ILL Notebook: Hearing (sound system)
A church was having trouble with its sound system and decided to upgrade with a more powerful sophisticated system and add a more speakers. The pastor asked for comments and as an elderly lady left the sanctuary, she confronted him with her usual salty tone: “I don’t like it! If I wanted to hear what you had to say, I would have moved closer to the front.”
This is the same challenge that these investigators are given.
They can come to the front to hear.
For if they wanted God to come to them, they needed to hear what John had to say.
And so do we…
3. John challenges us to hear the word of a prophet.
One thing for sure.
John was not offering “Gospel Lite.”
He was not interested in presenting a message that “tasted great” and was “less filling.”
He was a prophet—a prophet Old Testament-style.
He was a prophet that didn’t mince words when people’s destiny was at stake.
They needed to hear.
They needed to hear the word of a prophet,
They needed to hear the Word of God.
And so do we…
We need to hear the same message he gave then.
He was a voice with something to say—one thing to say.
And it is our next question…
II. The second question is ARE YOU READY TO CHANGE?
(24) Now some Pharisees who had been sent (25) questioned him, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" (26) "I baptize with water," John replied, "but among you stands one you do not know. (27) He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie." (28) This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
1. We need to recognize that we pretend.
We pretend to be God.
We pretend that everything is OK.
We pretend that we can handle whatever comes our way.
We pretend that we don’t need God.
We think we are good enough the way we are.
But it is all pretend.
We are not God.
Everything is not OK.
We cannot handle everything that comes our way.
We do need God.
We are not good enough the way we are.
ILL Notebook: Change (little by little)
A disciple asked the elder, “O Holy One, what must I do to be enlightened?” “To be enlightened, you must break with your weaker past,” was the reply. “Well, I am doing that, little by little,” the disciple replied. The elder responded, “No one crosses a chasm little by little. To cross a chasm, you must take a leap.”
Repentance is that leap.
2. John calls on us to repent (cf. Matthew 3:2).
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."
Repentance is the determination of leaving the old way behind and going a new way.
It is not done bit by bit.
It is a decision to turn away from what is wrong and enjoy the newness that God wants to bring into our lives.
So John is telling the religious experts of the day how to have a relationship with God.
It begins with taking a true look at God and self and agreeing to the change that must come.
So…
3. John challenges us to demonstrate our repentance in baptism.
People were coming to John from all over Palestine to be baptized.
In a way, baptism became almost a form of protest, shouting out louder than words the emptiness that they felt with the religious system that they were in.
They spoke out the truth that they didn¹t feel like God¹s chosen people.
Instead they felt empty and distant from God, and like the Gentiles, they felt the need to repent.
You see, this had to drive these religious leaders crazy.
Baptism was for the Gentiles, not the Jews.
This was for the heathen, not God’s chosen.
John was treating them as if they were lost sinners, in need of salvation.
The leaders had to find this horrifying.
John was saying that being Jewish and keeping the law was not sufficient.
This was a contradiction to their teaching.
But John didn’t really care what they thought.
He knew that baptism was an outward act that dealt with the internal soul.
It was an outward testimony to what God was already doing on the inside.
These people knew the truth.
They were lost.
They were like the Gentiles.
But these leaders were not likely to get it.
For it is impossible to understand baptism without getting wet.
But, John was not really done with his questions for them.
Because there was more to the story.
Though he wasn’t the Christ, it did not mean that the Christ (the Messiah) was not around.
In fact, He was there.
So he asks another question…
III. The third question is ARE YOU READY FOR THE LAMB?
(29) The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (30) This is the one I meant when I said, `A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ (31) I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel." (32) Then John gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. (33) I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, `The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ (34) I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God."
I find John to be so fascinating for John was pointing people to Christ.
He obviously had no ambition to dwell on himself.
Instead, he said, “Look!”
“Look to the Lamb of God!”
“Look to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
Jesus was there and John understood already the implications of His arrival.
That…
1. Jesus is our sacrifice (cf. Isaiah 53:7).
John understood Isaiah 53.7:
He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
I can’t help but remember Abraham’s words to Isaac when Isaac questioned him about the sacrifice they were to make on the mountain that would someday hold the area of Jerusalem.
“God will provide a lamb.”
And as Jesus arrives, the promise is once again fulfilled, but in a much more powerful way.
For this Lamb would take away the guilt of sin.
This Lamb was going to take away the power that sin has over us.
This Lamb was going to clean up the pollution that sin has on our daily living.
This Lamb was going to heal us of the contamination of our soul.
This Lamb, Jesus, was going to be our sacrifice, and thus satisfy our need of justice…
2. Jesus satisfies the need of justice (cf. Hebrews 9:28).
We are all born with a sense of justice.
We have a deep awareness of eternal justice.
We discern between right and wrong, truth and deceit, and fairness and greed.
ILL
Have you ever considered why lie detectors are fundamentally reliable? Because each of us has an inborn sense of justice. When a contradiction has been surfaced by a leading question, the entire body will respond in a recognizable and measurable way. Evidence again of that "code of justice" imprinted on the human heart.
Jesus satisfies the justice that God demands.
Sin deserves death.
So as the Lamb, Jesus became a curse for us.
As Hebrews 9.28 testifies…
…so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people.
You see, this is the good news that John was announcing.
Their sin was going to be taken away.
Wherever there is sin, there the Lamb will prevail.
Wherever your sin or my sin exists, there the Lamb, Jesus, prevails.
But this was not all that Jesus was going to do.
3. Jesus was going to introduce the Holy Spirit to the world.
The Holy Spirit gives us life.
The Holy Spirit cleanses us from the filthiness of our sin.
The Holy Spirit creates a wholeness within us, because He comes into us as our possession.
Not only that, He claims us as His possession.
The Holy Spirit changes us on the inside and writes God’s law on our heart.
And when He does that, He directs us, so that we might know the will of God in our lives.
APPLICATION:
John’s questions were taking us to one place and one place only.
Perhaps, more appropriately, they were taking us to one person and one person only.
John, all the time, has been pointing us to Jesus.
And we need to listen to this…for…
1. In Jesus, God is with us.
Even as John spoke, there was Jesus.
He was right there.
And He was fulfilling what had been prophesied.
He was Immanuel.
He was “God with us.”
And He still is.
And…
2. In Jesus, God is for us (cf. Romans 8:31).
If God is for us, who can be against us?
God is for us.
God is for you.
He is on your side.
He is not against you.
He is for you.
Which brings us to the final question for this day…
3. ARE YOU READY FOR JESUS?
Just as John was preparing the people for Jesus, his message has not changed.
We too are challenged to be ready.
So…
Are you ready for Jesus?
Are you ready to hear the Word?
Are you ready to change?
Are you ready for the Lamb?
Are you ready for what Jesus wants to do in you and through you in this 50-Day Spiritual Adventure?
BENEDICTION:
Be ready…be ready to listen to what God has to say through His Word, for in His Word He speaks powerfully and lovingly to us; He has things for us to hear and respond to;
Be ready…be ready to change, for as we are confronted with the truth of God’s Word, it should not leave us the same, but rather changed, changing into His likeness;
Be ready…be ready for the Lamb, for it is this Lamb that has taken away your sin; it is this Lamb that is the with-us God; it is this Lamb that is the for-us God.
Now…
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. Amen.
