John’s life was dedicated to making known what the Lord
would do. He
was declaring to thousands what was still to come. He
was preaching something entirely out of faith, trusting that the Lord would
fulfill what He had told John.
Matthew 3:1-6
In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness
of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For this is he who
was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
make His paths straight.’”
Now John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt
around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem and
all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they
were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
John gave up his life on account of the Lord.
John
3:30 “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
He opened up himself as a servant, and said, "God, do with me what you want."
And God
brought Him into the desert to do His work.
John had gone out into the Wilderness, and there he had stayed
and waited upon the Lord.
Now, he did not leave that place to preach. No, he
stayed and trusted that God would do the rest.
So, the people came to him and heard of Christ because he
waited and trusted that the Lord would work.
Because, as Luke 1:66 says, “the hand of the Lord was with
him.”
He had faith that even in the Wilderness, God would work.
John’s Trust:
Matthew 11:2-6
Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ,
he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come,
or shall we look for another?” And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what
you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are
cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good
news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”
John
was thrown in prison and was not rescued. He
began to wonder who Jesus was, and why He didn’t come to get him out. He began to doubt Jesus. And
Jesus says, “blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” Basically,
“Yes, I haven’t rescued you from that desert, am I still enough?”
So,
John has to say, “Is this Savior still enough, even if I can’t see Him? Is
He still good even if I don’t see Him working in my life right now?"
I
believe He came to this understanding:
1 John
6:67b-68a “’Do you want to go away as well?’ ‘Lord,
to whom shall we go?’”
If Christ is who He says He is, there’s no point in going elsewhere.
Only He is worth it.
Philippians
1:21 “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
In
Matthew 14, we see John being beheaded.
Becoming
a martyr and believing that through all of it, Christ was enough.
He
believed when it was illogical to do so.
Matthew 11:11
“Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has
arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the
kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”
John
was the greatest among men because of his reliance on God.
He made the decision to say, “Christ is enough.”
He gave it all, to the end.
He made the decision to say, “Christ is enough.”
He gave it all, to the end.
Remember this:
Luke
1:66: “the hand of the Lord was with him.”
God is always with you.
Deuteronomy
31:8 “It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; He will not
leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
