GJ Branham Nashville A/G Jun. 27, 2004 "A Man Sent From God"
Jn. 1:6-8, 15, 19-27
There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
. . . 15 John testifies concerning Him. He cries out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’" . . . 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.’" 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. 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." 35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!" 37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.
Intro:
In several areas John the Baptizer served as an example to us. His role becomes our role. Most obviously, he pointed to Jesus, and we too are to point men to Christ. John the Baptizer could be called John the Testifier, or John the Witness.
But one area in which John serves as our role model is that of individual service. He illustrates for us God’s choice to call men and women who will serve Him faithfully for His purposes.
God still supernaturally calls men and women into His service. Notice the text reads, There came a man who was sent from God...(1:6) John didn’t go on his own. He was sent. He came on a mission from God. I’d no sooner call myself into the ministry than I’d try to perform open heart surgery on myself. (If I’m dying of a heart condition it would only complicate matters, making my situation more painful, by doing something foolish. The same is true of ministry: people are dying of a ‘heart condition,’ but human effort alone can only provide foolish acts offered with the best intentions.) To be part of the spiritual answer to the spiritual problem we have to be spiritually called and spiritually equipped. (See Lk. 24:49)
John was A Man from God, A Messenger for Christ, and A Medium for the Spirit.
A Man From God
There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
God uses people. We are God’s means for reaching the world. The opening lines from E.M. Bounds’ booklet Preacher and Prayer reveal a depth of godly insight pertinent for today.
We are constantly on a stretch, if not a strain, to devise new methods, new plans, new organizations, to advance the church and secure enlargement and efficiency for the Gospel. This trend of the day has a tendency to lose sight of the man or sink the man in the plan or organization. God’s plan is to make much of the man, far more of him than of anything else. Men are God’s method. Men are looking for better methods; God is looking for better men. (p. 1)
God doesn’t look for programs; He looks for people who will hear His voice, and respond to His call, and do His will. It’s not that God doesn’t inspire men to initiate programs, He does. It’s not that He won’t use the programs men implement, He often does. But it is not the program that He holds most dear, it is the people who run those programs.
We can change programs and still be used of God. This is a hard truth for us to swallow. We don’t appreciate change unless it is one we implement.
There was a time when Sunday School started with opening exercises in the sanctuary. We sang a few children’s choruses and prayed a blessing on the Sunday School hour. One of the quaint features of the time was every congregation had a little plastic church-shaped bank, or a little plastic birthday cake-shaped bank. Every birthday folks came up and dropped in a penny for every year they had lived. (That money went to buy pencils, and ribbons, and buttons that said, "Happy Birthday from Nashville Assembly of God" - or whatever church.) Then everyone would sing the Birthday song.
It was fine for the time, but eventually churches saw a need for change. Most felt it would be better to spend our 45 minutes to an hour in class-time rather than counting pennies when grandpa turned eighty-three. Classes can still sing choruses, and teachers can still recognize birthdays, by making those things a regular part of their class-room activity.
All I’m saying was Sunday School was great when we had opening exercises. And Sunday School is still great without them. Who knows, the next generation may come up with a brand new idea, and in one of their staff meetings, one of the teachers might suggest we start with everyone in the sanctuary singing children’s choruses and celebrating birthdays! It’s not the programs. It’s the people who run the programs and the people the programs are meant to serve. God blesses programs because He wants to bless people - not because the program is special.
God is looking for men and women who will allow Him to use them with the gifts and talents He instilled in them in creation. He wants to use our strengths and weaknesses for His glory. He’s not looking for perfect people. He’s just looking for willing people. People willing to be holy and to stand up and give God an honest shot at their lives. He’s looking for people who will live for Jesus. He is looking for people who will allow the Holy Spirit to move in their lives with a capacity to overflow into the lives of others as He chooses.
A Messenger for Christ
John said, I’m just a voice...(1:23). I’m not worthy to untie His sandals... (1:27) Earlier we read, He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. (1:8) When I read these lines, in my mind, I sometimes hear the line from an oldies song, "It ain’t me, babe; it ain’t me babe; no, no, no, it ain’t me you’re looking for."
John didn’t try to walk in Jesus’ foot steps or ‘fill’ Jesus’ shoes. He didn’t try to share God’s glory or steal Christ’s spotlight. He recognized the spiritual hunger of these people. He understood their search. Yet he knew that he was not the One they were looking for. He was no comparison to Jesus.
Rather than try to be all they needed or wanted him to be, he pointed them to Jesus. Any attempt to meet the needs of humanity in our own ability is to put ourselves between those in need and the One they need. Our best intentions may result in preventing others from finding Jesus as the Source of all they need. John didn’t try to be Jesus. He was just a messenger of Christ.
This is one of the means by which we gage success in ministry. When the two disciples heard him (John) say this, they followed Jesus. (1:37) If people are following Jesus because of our ministry, that is one sign of biblical success. We must do what John did. We must stand aside and point men to Jesus. The mission of every believer is to point people to Christ.
A Medium for the Spirit ..
By the term ‘medium’ I don’t want to conjure ideas of witches and seances, but I use the word in it’s more original sense: an intervening substance through which a force acts or an effect is produced... an agency, means or instrument...) Other terms we have often used include, a conduit, or channel, through which the Holy Spirit can flow. We are just the vessels; vehicles of His will.
Listen to the things John said about Jesus. Remember, the apostle John says John the Baptizer came as a witness to the light. (1:8) What he says is his witness.
- Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (1:29)
- I saw the Spirit ...remain on Him.... (1:32)
- He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit... (1:33)
- This is the Son of God... (1:34)
- Behold, the Lamb of God! (1:36)
This is a Spiritual witness. The Holy Spirit bears witness to the identity of Jesus. The apostle Paul told the Corinthians, . . .no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit. (1 Cor. 12:3) When Peter boldly asserted that Jesus was, "... the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus quickly informed him, "... this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven." (Mt. 16:16-17) By the Spirit John knew Jesus was the One to remove our sin. John saw the Holy Spirit rest on Jesus. Through the Holy Spirit he prophesied that Jesus would immerse His followers in the Holy Spirit. And by the Spirit John knew that Jesus was the Son of God. Many years later the apostle John would write, . . . it is the Spirit that bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. (1 Jn. 5:6)
The Holy Spirit bears witness to the authenticity and authority of Christ through ordinary men and women as they submit to Him as instruments of the Spirit of Christ.
Close:
Today God is still looking for a few godly men and women who will serve Him faithfully like John the Baptizer. I believe He is placing His hand on the shoulder of some here.
His call is always to preach, but not always in the pulpit - you might preach over the tool-box, or by waiting tables. His call is always to ministry, but it is not always as a professional clergy. Yet, there is a growing conviction in me that leads me to believe that there are those among us God is calling to full-time "professional" ministry - pastors, evangelists, and missionaries. (That is Mt. 9:37-38, 28:18-20, Eph. 4:11-13, Rom. 10:13-15.)
He will also call others into ministry positions within this local congregation as teachers, elders, deacons, ushers, musicians, greeters and a host of areas of divine calling.
The question is not if God is calling. It is who will answer with Isaiah of old, "Here am I, send me." (Is. 6:8)? What about you?
Will you be a man from God? Will you accept your commission to serve wherever He calls you?
Will you be a messenger of God, a witness to the Light? Will you point others to Jesus?
Will you be a medium for the Spirit of God? Will you bear spiritual witness to the Truth?
If you need to be saved, this is the best opportunity you’ve had today. God is calling for your soul. Give Him your heart today.
If you sense God’s call to a lifetime of ministry why not acknowledge that call in this service? Let me see a show of hands of those who believe the Holy Spirit is dealing with you about ministry. I’m not going to ask you to preach tonight or anything, I just want to give you the chance to respond to the Spirit’s call.
