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welcome to everyone it's good to be in the house of our god on this lord's day for our call to worship you can turn with me in your bibles to isaiah the prophet chapter 35 isaiah chapter 35. i'll begin reading in verse 1. the wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice even with joy and singing the glory of lebanon shall be given to it the excellence of carmel and sharon they shall see the glory of the lord the excellency of our god strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble knees say to those who are fearful hearted be strong do not fear behold your god will come with vengeance with the recompense of god he will come and save you then the eyes of the blind shall be opened and the ears of the death shall be unstopped then the lame shall leap like a deer and the tongue of the dumb sing for waters shall burst forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert the parched ground shall become a pool and the thirsty land springs of water in the habitation of jackals where each lay there shall be grass with reeds and rushes a highway shall be there and a road and it shall be called the highway of holiness the unclean shall not pass over it but it shall be for others whoever walks the road although a fool shall not go astray no lion shall be there nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it it shall not be found there but the redeemed shall walk there and the ransomed of the lord shall return and come to zion with singing with everlasting joy on their heads they shall obtain joy and gladness and sorrow and sighing shall flee away amen well please turn in your hymn books to psalm 138 b 138 b as in bravo we'll stand as we sing together [Music] foreign oh is [Music] is me [Music] foreign is is oh well a couple of things i want to mention as we go to prayer in the first place we'll pray for ryan ryan and his family are in surrey today ryan is preaching for pastor mike as pastor mike is presently on vacation and then lindsay porter is due within the next couple of weeks but has had some stomach flu issues was in the hospital twice yesterday and is just having some struggles they have checked the baby the baby seems to be well uh she's had some contraction but it's not close enough so it might fizzle out but i said we would pray for her this morning so let us turn our attention to our great god in prayer our god most high we gather together on this beautiful day to sing the praises of father son and holy spirit we confess that you are glorious and wondrous and worthy to be praised worthy to be exalted and glorified for god you have made the world and all things in it you govern all your creatures and all their actions by your sovereign providence and does well god we come and we rejoice that you have redeemed your people from the clutches of sin and from death and damnation and the devil himself we rejoice in the work of the savior on behalf of sinners we rejoice in his life and in his death and in his resurrection we rejoice in that summary statement of the apostle paul concerning christ who was delivered up because of our offenses and was raised for our justification we know lord god and we own the fact that we would never enter into the presence of a thrice holy god in our own strength for we are sinners we have gone astray there is none righteous no not one so we rejoice in the finished work of the redeemer and the application of it by the power of the holy spirit we give praise to you for granting us the graces of faith and repentance for calling us out of darkness into marvelous light that we may proclaim your praises and we acknowledge your sovereignty for god you set your love upon us election didn't put us our election found us not in christ but it put us there by your grace and for your glory so god we pray that as we sing and as we pray and as we turn our attention to the holy scriptures god would be all in all in this place we ask for your blessing upon those who come in this morning that are still dead in their trespasses and sins we will not make an appeal to them in their free will to choose for jesus but we appeal to the living and true god the psalmist said you make man willing in the day of your power and god we know that to be the case in our own situation we know that salvation is of the lord from the first throughout in the middle and to the very end and as paul says for of you and through you and to you are all things to whom be glory forever amen so god reach down in mercy today and save sinners by your grace and for your glory and for those of us who have been called those of us who aren't seeking by grace to live in a manner consistent with your word we confess our transgression to that law we confess that lack of conformity unto it your law gives us great revelation of who god is and yet we are prone to wander and prone to leave the god that we love we rejoice father not in that sin but we rejoice in the forgiveness of sin and the reality that we have an advocate with the father even jesus christ the righteous so wash us now and purify us now and cause us lord god to rejoice in your presence to know the fear of the lord and the comfort of the holy spirit as we enter into this glad hour we ask for your blessing to be upon our brother ryan as he preaches today in surrey we thank you for that church god it was a great encouragement yesterday to see them in the park there in surrey we thank you for what you're doing there for the additions by your grace we thank you that you're building up that local body and we praise you for the ministry of our brother mike we pray that you would continue to watch over him and lord god bless ryan as he proclaims the truth may the spirit attend to the preaching and may your spirit guide him as he continues in his studies and we pray that if it is your will god in heaven it would be clear that he is to go to vernon and for that group lord god we thank you for them and for their faithfulness and we pray for the establishment of a faithful church in that part of the world we also ask lord god this morning that you would be with lindsay we just commit her to you into the word of your grace we thank you for her we thank you for the baby in the womb and we pray that you would look with favor upon mother and child we pray that this little one would be born healthy and well and one day by grace born again into the family of the living and true god bless our other ladies that are pregnant and give them grace and strength and help we ask as well father as parents and grandparents that we would be diligent in bringing these little ones up in the training and admonition of the lord for god as we survey this world it is indeed corrupt it is wicked it is lawless we see it from the highest levels to the lowest levels and we pray for our children and for our young people that you would set a hedge of protection around them she would keep them from the godless and perverse thought that is so prevalent in this generation and god caused them in their youth to remember their creator cause them to believe the gospel of our lord jesus christ and may they find him to be altogether lovely and chief among ten thousand we pray that for the children and young people here we pray that throughout this nation and to the uttermost parts of the earth we know that the gospel is the power of god unto salvation for everyone who believes to the jew first and also to the greek for in that gospel the righteousness of god is revealed from faith to faith so lord bless that word today as it goes forth may it run swiftly may it be glorified may it encourage the people of god and may you by grace call sinners out of that darkness into marvelous light confessing faith in our lord jesus christ unto salvation bless the situation in myanmar preserve your people there bless our brother peter and help him to continue to labor and to continue to do those things that you have continued to bless him in and god we pray for stability and order and rest to be in that land we also think of the nation of china and the great suffering that goes on under that oppressive regime and we pray for the saints of christ that they would continue to go forward in the fear of god that they would continue to shine as lights in that crooked and perverse generation and that they would hold forth that word of truth and god in our own country we pray for your blessing upon the churches we pray that you would revive your people cause us to reflect upon the great privilege of corporate worship cause us to reflect upon the day set apart for that worship and cause us going forward to persevere and to glorify and to honor you we pray for the brothers that were imprisoned in alberta and we commit these men to you and we pray that they would be free that they would be exonerated we also pray for the trinity bible church in waterloo that are still unable to return to their building having having had it confiscated by the government god we pray that you would be merciful to the saints of christ in this land and that you would help us in the midst of such things to be faithful and to be diligent in terms of our service to our great god as well we pray for the civil government we know this is not an easy task but they make it even more difficult when they rebel against your law when they sanction and promote the sin of abortion and euthanasia when they continue to engage in the sorts of things that we have witnessed over this past 16 months we ask that you would put the fear of god in their hearts that they would take seriously psalm 2 that the kings and the judges of this earth would would bow to the sun that they would kiss the sun lest he be angry and they perish in his way when his wrath is kindled but a little god have mercy upon these men and women and cause them to do what is right ultimately for your glory for the good of your church for the good of image bearers for certainly your word does provide liberty for your creatures such that they are able to freely worship to freely speak to freely think and not have those things encroached upon by civil government and lord god we thank you for this local church we thank you for the brothers and the sisters here we ask for your presence among us now again forgive us for all of our sin and unrighteousness and cause us to worship you in spirit and in truth and we ask this in the name and for the glory of our lord and savior jesus christ amen well please turn with me again in your hymn books to hymn number 380 380 we'll stand as we sing together [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] if you could turn with me in your bibles to galatians chapter 4 for our scripture reading this morning galatians chapter 4. i'll begin reading in verse 1. now i say that the heir as long as he is a child does not differ at all from a slave though he is master of all but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father even so we when we were children were in bondage under the elements of the world but when the fullness of the time had come god sent forth his son born of a woman born under the law to redeem those who were under the law that we might receive the adoption as sons and because you are sons god has sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts crying out abba father therefore you are no longer a slave but a son and if a son then an heir of god through christ but then indeed when you did not know i'm sorry but then indeed when you did not know god you served those which by nature are not gods but now after you have known god or rather are known by god how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements to which you desire again to be in bondage you observe days and months and seasons and years i am afraid for you lest i have labored for you in vain brethren i urge you to become like me for i became like you you have not injured me at all you know that because of physical infirmity i preached the gospel to you at the first and my trial which was in my flesh you did not despise or reject but you received me as an angel of god even as christ jesus what then was the blessing you enjoyed for i bear you witness that if possible you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me have i therefore become your enemy because i tell you the truth they zealously court you but for no good yes they want to exclude you that you may be zealous for them but it is good to be zealous in good in a good thing always and not only when i am present with you my little children for whom i labor and birth again until christ is formed in you i would like to be present with you now and to change my tone for i have doubts about you tell me you who desire to be under the law do you not do you not hear the law for it is written that abraham had two sons the one by a bondwoman the other by a free woman but he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh and he of the free woman through promise which things are symbolic for these are the two covenants the one from mount sinai which gives birth to bondage which is hagar for this hagar is mount sinai in arabia and corresponds to jerusalem which now is and is in bondage with her children but the jerusalem above is free which is the mother of us all for it is written rejoice o barren you who do not bear break forth and shout you who are not in labor for the desolate has many more children than she who has a husband now we brethren as isaac was our children a promise but as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the spirit even so it is now nevertheless what does the scripture say cast out the bondwoman and her son four excuse me nevertheless what does the scripture say cast out the bond woman and her son for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the free woman so then brethren we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free amen so the apostle remember starts the book of galatians on a fighting note i mean he gives a brief greeting and then he tells them that he marvels that they are so quickly turning away from him who called them in the grace of god to another gospel and that other gospel which is not actually a gospel was essentially works plus faith it was good as far as judaizers were concerned to believe that jesus was in fact the christ that he was the messiah but you must also submit to the ceremonies of moses vis-a-vis circumcision and here we see in the context calendar observation so in other words it wasn't enough to believe the gospel if you were a gentile you also had to become a jew and so that's why paul takes the stand that he does justification is by god's grace alone through faith alone in christ jesus alone it hinges upon his work the prophet jonah was right in jonah 2 9 salvation is of the lord the saints in heaven before the throne they confess the glory of god and the lamb who sits on the throne because salvation belongs to him it is not of man it is not of our will it is not by our works it is not us supplementing the work of the lord jesus christ it is christ alone for salvation paul makes that so clear in in chapter 2 for instance notice at verse 21 he said i do not set aside the grace of god for if righteousness comes to the law then christ died in vain and we know that christ didn't die in vain therefore righteousness doesn't come through the law he does this in chapter 3 by appealing to the demand of the law if you choose law as the means by which you want to approach god you have to do all things that were commanded in other words it's either law or grace and in chapter four he does the same thing he keeps reiterating he keeps emphasizing he keeps highlighting and identifying for us that it's because of what christ has done sinners enter into heaven notice what he says in verses 4 and following but when the fullness of the time had come god sent forth his son born of a woman born under the law to redeem those who were under the law that we might receive the adoption as sons jesus is not a co-redeemer jesus doesn't help us but rather jesus is the redeemer jesus is the savior and the finished work of christ applied to sinners by the power of the spirit such that they believe on christ ushers them into that new relationship as adopted sons and daughters notice what he says in verse 6 and because you are sons god has sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts crying out abba father therefore you are no longer a slave but a son and if a son then an heir of god through christ so because of christ we receive redemptive benefit it's not because of christ plus what we do it's not because of christ plus how we supplement it but it's because of christ alone and that's the glory of the gospel that's the good news nets of gospel if you are a sinner here this morning that has not come to faith in the lord jesus christ look to him and you will live believe on him and you will be saved notice i'm not saying believe on him and go fix your life believe on him and get yourself better believe on him and engage in moral reformation no believe in him and you will be saved now when that happens not only do we have this the the lord jesus work for us but then we have the spirit's work in us such that we will by grace be conformed unto the image of his beloved son but our entrance into heaven depends solely and alone upon what christ has accomplished and in this i would say all god's people say amen thankfully we don't do those sorts of things here but if you're so inclined to say amen then by all means do so well let us pray our father we thank you so very much for the gospel of our salvation and for what the apostle confesses here concerning the redeeming work of our lord jesus christ that in your time you sent him forth we see that the initiation or the initiative of god and the salvation of sinners we didn't seek you we ran from you we didn't go to find you but we hid from you and yet father you came to seek and to save in the sending of your son in order to save us from all of our sins i pray that as this gospel is proclaimed throughout the earth we would see more and more people come to know jesus christ as lord and savior and we ask that in his most blessed name amen well you can turn with me again in your hymn books to psalm i'm sorry him 443. him 443 will use a familiar tune and we'll sting sing stand together so why yes is so um foreign you can turn with me in your bibles to john's gospel john chapter 1. we just finished the prologue last week that's the first 18 verses in john 1 and as we saw there john sort of goes behind the scene before he deals with the work of christ in terms of the salvation of sinners he gives us christ's relationship to the father in other words he does theology before he gets into the economy of redemption so i want to read this section we'll begin in verse 1. i'll read to verse 34. in the beginning was the word and the word was with god and the word was god he was in the beginning with god all things were made through him and without him nothing was made that was made in him was life and the life was the light of men and the light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it 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 that was the true light which gives light to every man coming into the world he was in the world and the world was made through him and the world did not know him he came to his own and his own did not receive him but as many as received him to them he gave the right to become children of god to those who believe in his name who were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of god and the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory the glory as of the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth john bore witness of him and cried out saying this was he of whom i said he who comes after me is preferred before me for he was before me and of his fullness we have all received and grace for grace for the law was given through moses but grace and truth came through jesus christ no one has seen god at any time the only begotten son who is in the bosom of the father he has declared him 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 now those who were sent from the pharisee i'm sorry those who were sent were from the pharisees and they asked him saying why then do you baptize if you are not the christ nor elijah nor the prophet john answered them saying i baptize with water but there stands one among you whom you do not know it is he who coming after me is preferred before me whose sandal strap i am not worthy to lose these things were done in bethabara beyond the jordan where john was baptizing the next day john saw jesus coming toward him and said behold the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world this is he of whom i said after me comes a man who is preferred before me for he was before me i did not know him but that he should be revealed to israel therefore i came baptizing with water and john bore witness saying i saw the spirit descending from heaven like a dove and he remained upon him i did not know him but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me upon whom you see the spirit descending and remaining on him this is he who baptizes with the holy spirit and i have seen and testified that this is the son of god amen let us pray our father again we ask for the ministry of the holy spirit to guide us and lead us and direct us to illumine our minds and our hearts as we see scripture shine the light upon the person and the work of our lord jesus christ god may it be the case that much would be made of him that we would see him as that one that is able to save to the uttermost all who draw nigh unto god through him and may it be the case that today as this gospel goes forth you would be glorified that you would be honored that you would be praised strengthen and encourage our weary hearts and build us up in our most holy faith as we consider the testimony of john the baptist concerning jesus christ our lord and we pray in his name amen well in the prologue itself you'll see a couple of instances where john the apostle refers to the testimony of john the baptist notice specifically in verses 6 to 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 so in the prologue as he's setting forth the supremacy of christ in relationship to the father he mentions the ministry of john the baptist he does that again in verse 15. john bore witness of him and cried out saying this was he of whom i said he who comes after me is preferred before me for he was before me so now as he turns to the outworking of god's redemptive plan through the work of the messiah on our behalf he begins with john the baptist in many ways this is introductory as well to the mission of the son of god relative to the salvation of his people well as we look at this particular section we'll see it break down into two sections in terms of john's testimony in the first place in verses 9 to 28 we see a dispute with the jewish leaders before jesus arrives on the scene not that he had not arisen on the scene as of yet john probably had already baptized jesus which is recorded in matthew 3 at verse 16. he refers to that here in john 1 at verse 32 when the spirit descended from heaven like a dove but in terms of these leaders or this delegation that came from the leaders in jerusalem jesus is not present so john has this dispute with these jewish leaders in verses 19 to 28 and then secondly in terms of the testimony of john he makes a declaration concerning jesus in verses 29 to 34. so we'll just take up that first section this morning verses 19 to 28. but if you look at chapter one it is driven by or rather sort of connected by references to days in verse 19 we have now this is the testimony of john and then in verse 29 the next day john saw jesus coming toward him that's repeated again in verse 35 again the next day john stood with two of his disciples and then it's repeated in verse 43 the following day jesus wanted to go to galilee so these are four days in the life of the lamb and the section we're dealing with specifically is the first day with reference to this dispute between the baptists and between these persons sent by the jewish leadership so i want to look at first the denial by john in terms of who he is and then secondly the affirmation by john in terms of who he is so that's the bottom line they come as a delegation an official delegation you see that in verse 22 they answered or they said to him who are you that we may give an answer to those who sent us this official delegation is tasked with finding out who john is not just his first name not just who his parents are not what city he lives in not whether he's married not whether he's an avid golfer but they want to know with reference to his origin his intention and his message remember this was a time in israel's history that was without prophet john is a voice crying in the wilderness he is a prophet functioning under god and so of course the leadership in jerusalem wants to get to the bottom of this so in terms of the denial by john you see that in verses 19 to 22 it will do us well to consider the setting of john's ministry in verse 19. notice what it says this is the testimony of john when the jews sent priests and levites from jerusalem to ask him who are you now john does not john the apostle does not tell us the specifics that the synoptics do matthew mark and luke tell us that john was in the wilderness he was on the east side of the uh the river jordan he's in a wilderness environment and with reference to a wilderness environment the prophets often spoke of the wilderness as being a place of refreshment of being a place of blessing i read at the outset isaiah 35 the wilderness is a place where god meets his people it hearkens back to the wilderness when god led his people out of egypt that was not a curse that was not a punishment their time in the wilderness at times was misinterpreted by them but god tells them in deuteronomy 1 31 that the wilderness was akin to a father carrying his child so while they may have balked at that season in the wilderness it was a time of renewal a time of refreshment and a time of protection and blessing from god almighty so it's no wonder that the prophets looking forward to the messianic age often point to a wilderness as a place of blessing you see that as i said in isaiah 35 you see it in jeremiah 2 hosea the prophet chapter 2. now john the baptist or rather john the apostle does not give us the content of the baptist message the synoptics do matthew mark and luke tell us that the baptist was about preaching repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand in other words his was a ministry of preparation his was a ministry of announcement he was a herald to to call out the arrival of the coming king we'll see more about that in just a moment but then with reference to this delegation again it's official and it ought not to be interpreted at least at the beginning as if they were having some sort of a nefarious end they were out to just squash and destroy and crush everything no it was probably initially a fact-finding mission but of course in the synoptic gospels matthew mark luke and john matthew and luke especially john the baptist calls these men to repent the religious leadership he calls upon them to repent which indicates for us the larger context of israel at the time it needed repentance it was in a messed up state they needed to believe the gospel of our lord jesus christ they needed to receive the messiah and they needed to come out of that darkness by god's grace in the marvelous light one man describes this delegation he says this was an official visit with religious and political implications in a world that was without prophets john was a prophetic voice and his sudden and unexpected appearance had created quite a stir the people had been listening to john so an official delegation was sent to provide a report so again this isn't unofficial it's not just hey what is this guy doing we want to know your origin we want to know your intention and we want to know the specific message now notice how john responds in verses 19 to 21 in the first place he denies that he's the messiah he's not even asked the question and he denies it notice in verse 20 before they ask are you messiah they simply ask who are you and verse 20 he confessed and did not deny but confessed i am not the christ the denial is made without a specific question because messianic expectation was very high remember there had been a period of about 400 years of prophetic silence but that did not invalidate the prophetic word that it announced to israel that messiah was coming there was a champion there was one who would come in the fullness of the time he would be born of a woman he would be born under the law he would redeem those under the law all that was announced in the old testament so by the time of jesus by the time of john the baptist in the first century a.d there was a heightened messianic expectation now by way of a real practical sort of application here we ought to observe john's humility john isn't like so many celebrity preachers he's not like those kinds of preachers who have church members that have pictures of the preacher's face on their shirt and it says things like so and so is my my homeboy or something like that john is a humble servant of the living and true god john does not try to take for himself or arrogate unto himself glory and honor and praise in fact the capstone of his message is found later in john 3 when he says concerning christ he must increase but i must decrease i think i've explained that to you before he doesn't say he must increase and i must increase a little bit he must increase and i must stay the same no he must increase and i must decrease when john alludes to this custom of the slave untying or tying the the the the masters sandal ratchet he is saying in essence i'm not worthy to do the most menial task with reference to this master in other words he so far transcends me he is so far more glorious than me he is so far more wondrous than me i'm not worthy to get next to his feet simply to tie or untie his shoe matthew poole makes this observation at this point he says the diligence we shall constantly observe in the servants of god in holy writ to avoid the irrigating of that honor to themselves which is due only to god in christ and this together with john's steadiness and plainness does very well become all professors not college professors but professors of faith in jesus christ and then he says but the ministers of the gospel especially we have whole prophets in the old testament we know nothing about them we know that micah hails from maurisheth but we don't know that he's married we don't know that he has children we don't know what sort of achievements he's had outside of life we don't know if he's a good farmer or anything like that in the midst of the morass of the wicked kings in israel listed for us in first kings chapter uh around chapter 16 we have all these wretches all these men that had occupied the throne in the northern kingdom and they were vile they were wicked they co-opted bailism and brought it into israel and then we have the appearance of elijah the tishbite in first samuel first kings chapter 17. again no announcement no pedigree no this is the kind of fellow that he was that's not the point the point in that particular context is that when evil flourishes god has his man and god sends the tishbite in order to call these wretches to repentance and faith the same sort of thing here with john the baptist he doesn't try to take glory for himself look at the apostle paul if paul put on a job resume for today what he does in the letter to the corinthians we wouldn't hire him because he says i was with you in much meekness and fear with much trembling we'd say oh no we can't have that kind of a man we need the bold sort of fellow we need the kind of guy out there that is able to lead this conte or leave this congregation you know be eight foot tall and bulletproof we would never hire paul based on today's expectations probably we wouldn't hire john the baptist either because he doesn't fit our understanding of a servant of god we have met in the last i don't know however many hundreds of years these celebrity preachers these men about whom everything is about them they are selfish men they are arrogant men they are proud men they're very rich men at times and they are men that are not like john the baptist saying that jesus must increase but i must decrease so he's a great example for us in the church and in the ministry in terms of that so he denies that he's messiah but then notice secondly he denies that he's elijah the prophet verse 21 and they asked him what then are you elijah he said i am not that's an interesting question why elijah well if you're familiar with second kings chapter 2 at verse 11 elijah was taken up bodily into heaven elijah didn't die elijah along with enoch entered into heaven without first passing through physical death and in the prophet malachi both in 3 1 a and then in chapter 4 verses 5 and following there is a promise that god is going to send malachi well what does that mean well as far as these jews were concerned it meant bodily it meant sort of a reincarnation as it were not a reincarnation but perhaps he'd fall out of heaven in bodily form and appear to him so they had this expectation concerning elijah they had a misunderstanding in terms of the nature of the reappearance of elijah but it is the case that john the baptist does fulfill what malachi spoke in luke 1 17 it says that he john the baptist will go before him god in the spirit and power of elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just to make ready a people prepared for the lord matthew 11 14 jesus says the same thing after extolling john as the best of the prophetic class he says and if you are willing to receive it he is elijah who is to come and when he says that he's more than a prophet he's not denigrating isaiah or jeremiah or ezekiel he's rather saying that by virtue of john's place in redemptive history he's that unique link between old and new covenants he's that unique one that not only announces the arrival of messiah in terms of his coming but is able to actually point to him physically and say behold the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world so he occupies a unique place in redemptive history and it's in that vein that jesus extols him as being yes more than a prophet but as well turn to matthew 17 because the disciples understood this also they had an elijah expectation also in light of malachi the prophet it is the mount of transfiguration in the first part of matthew 17. remember peter james and john accompany the lord jesus on the mount and jesus as it were shines forth his divinity and they are just amazed by this they hear the voice of god most high according to verse 5 while he was still speaking behold a bright cloud overshadowed them and and it was moses and elijah that appeared to him on that mount of transfiguration but notice in verse 5 while he was still speaking behold a bright cloud overshadowed them and suddenly a voice came out of the clouds saying this is my beloved son in whom i am well pleased hear him and when the disciples heard it they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid but jesus came and touched them and said arise and do not be afraid when they lifted up their eyes they saw no one but jesus only now as they came down from the mountain jesus commanded them saying tell the vision to no one until the son of man is risen from the dead now notice the question from the disciples and his disciples asked him saying why then do the scribes say that elijah must come first that's the reading in malachi 3 not malachi 4 where it says promise that an elijah-like figure is going to come to turn the hearts of the sons back to the fathers and the fathers to the sons but in malachi 3 1 there is this messenger who comes to announce the arrival of the messenger of the covenant in other words john the baptist then the messiah and so they've seen messiah transfigured right before their eyes they've beheld the glory of god they are the the glory of the only begotten son of god and now they're asking the question but we didn't see elijah first and it's in that vein and in that context that jesus gives them this response verse 11. jesus answered and said to them indeed elijah is coming first and will restore all things but i say to you that elijah has come already and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished likewise the son of man is also about to suffer at their hands then the disciples understood that he spoke to them of john the baptist so there is this expectation of messiah to come john says i'm not him there is this expectation of elijah and john says i am not him i've just said that he is him not in the manner in which they ask the question he's not bodily elijah who fell out of heaven to re-engage in ministry he's come in the spirit and in the power of elijah he's come as the forerunner of the king now notice the next question the denial by john that he was the prophet verse 21 again are you the prophet and he answered no so what profit are they expecting what is the context for this expectation it is likely deuteronomy chapter 18. deuteronomy chapter 18 the lord god through moses is teaching the people of israel not to engage in the customs around them in other words don't seek out witches don't seek out soothsayers don't find necromancers don't try to communicate with the dead you have priests to regulate the the temple and you have prophets to communicate the word and there is this promise concerning a prophet in deuteronomy 18 15 the lord your god will raise up for you a prophet like me from your midst from your brethren him you shall hear that's why in the mount of transfiguration when the father gives his approval of the son he says those words hear him there's another way for them to understand the coming of the messiah in fact we see that question posed to jesus in john's gospel at 6 14 and at john 7 40. are you the prophet they had this expectation a messiah they had an expectation of elijah they had an expectation of the prophet and so when this delegation comes to john the baptist this is the issue are you that guy are you the one we're waiting for are you the one we're looking for and in each of these three instances john says no it's not me it's not me not me not not not at all i'm not the messiah i'm not elijah and i'm not the prophet and then we turn our attention to what he does say look at their response in verse 22 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 and there's two things we ought to consider here first the fulfillment of prophecy and secondly he is the baptizer with water but notice with reference to the fulfillment of prophecy i'm not a prophet but i'm certainly a subject of prophecy i am not the great messiah that was to come but i am one to herald his arrival i am not elijah in bodily form but i've come in the spirit and power of elijah in terms of the prophet malachi's uh program concerning messiah notice what he says he said i am the voice of one crying in the wilderness makes straight the way of the lord now in terms of the context isaiah 40 is starting the book of consolation it's starting the book of hope it's starting the reality of the messianic age and again this idea of wilderness isn't bad wilderness isn't wretched wilderness isn't bleak wilderness is revival wilderness is renewal wilderness is where god meets with his people so it begins a section of consolation specifically a message to the exiles that they would return from babylon and then the explanation concerning the messianic age follows that's what isaiah 40 to 66 is riddled with there's four servant songs concerning jesus in chapters 42 chapter chapter 42 49 50 and then again in 53 we get these servant songs of yahweh which give us various facets of the messiah that is to come the most obvious one or popular one in our minds is 53 it's the suffering servant who comes to atone for the sins of his people so that whole context isaiah 40 to 66 is about messiah now there's obviously that's not the only thing it's about but that's the main reference point and so what is john saying here john is saying that i am the one that isaiah spoke of he said i am the voice of one crying in the wilderness make straight the way of the lord now if you're using a an english translation which most likely you are because you're all english speakers notice how at least in the new king james it capitalizes the lord well that reflects the old testament sort of capitalization scheme in these english translations and what that capitalization is is what's called in uh uh the convention is called the tetragrammaton it's the four letters for the official name of god yahweh and so what is john the baptist declaring what is john saying john by his testimony as a prophet in history is saying what the apostle john has already told us in the prologue in the beginning was the word and the word was with god and the word was what the word was god so the apostle john has talked of the co-eternality of the son with the father the distinction of the son from the father and the consubstantiality of the son with the father he's of one substance with the father of one being with the father they have the same divine nature they have the same divine essence they have the same divine substance so notice again he said i am the voice of one crying in the wilderness make straight the way of the lord in isaiah 43 the messenger was going to come and announce the way of yahweh that's precisely what the baptist does he is confessing the deity and divinity of our lord jesus christ in fact rt france makes this observation there is a remarkable christological claim involved in applying isaiah's depiction of god's forerunner to the man who prepared the way for the coming of jesus so it is underscoring what we've already been taught concerning the divinity of the word john's going to make that ex explicitly clear in verse 34 when he says that this is the son of god so john the baptist is doing what john the apostle has already done he is introducing us to this divine one this man that has come from god in order to save his people from their sins but it's not just this prophecy that we should concern ourselves with at this point but turn to luke 1 for just a moment luke 1 is a prophetic statement concerning the baptist that i know i haven't given fair attention to that i hope to correct right now the prophecy of zacharias remember zacharias was the father of john the baptist and zacharias was a priest ministering in the temple to god zacharias received this message from the angel that his son would be the forerunner his son would be the announcer his son would be the one that isaiah the prophet spoke of in isaiah 40 at verse 3. well of course zacharias has a bit of struggle with that and so the angel strikes him i don't think physically but made it such that he was mute he was unable to speak but then after the son is born and after he writes down call his name john his tongue is loosed so he goes from this place of mute to this place of prophet so let's look at his prophecy according to luke chapter 1 at verse 67. notice now his father zacharias was filled with the holy spirit and prophesied so this isn't like us you know we have a baby and we see it and it's cradle it because i don't know if it's a boy or girl not because it's an it but we see that baby and we hope for great things we hope that you know there'll be leaders of men we've got a bit of a joke with the new addition in the butler household not household proper but my son and his wife had a son named samson and we reckon he'll be killing philistines one day when he's grown up you know you have this hope i don't mean that physically people don't go out oh he's a serial killer he wants his grandchildren to go out and hurt people no no but you have these thoughts concerning your your spawn you have these thoughts concerning your children you have these thoughts that are that are hope filled i'd love him to be a a major league baseball player here in canada i'd love him to play in the nhl i i'd love her to be you know just a great you know leader whatever whatever it is we think or we hope this isn't a hope this isn't sentiment this isn't zechariah saying come on son buck up and be all you can be he's prophesying by the spirit concerning the ministry of the son john the baptist so what he says here isn't up for grabs what he says here isn't up for debate what he says here isn't up for argument what he says here is declarative it is by the spirit that he speaks these things concerning both his son and the one his son points to notice the mission of of of the messiah that's where he comes first verse 67 now his father zacharias was filled with the holy spirit and prophesied saying blessed is the lord god of israel for he has visited and redeemed his people now what he does there is a convention that is utilized throughout the old testament the apostle paul does the same thing in ephesians chapter one it's called a barakah which means in hebrew blessing blessed be the god and father of our lord jesus christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in christ ephesians 1 3 and then he outlines the reasons why god should be praised verses 3 to 6 the sending of the son verses 13 and 14 the sending of the spirit all for what the redemption of our guilty souls well zacharias does the same thing he takes that convention and he speaks it back to god when we talk about blessing we get blessed by god in terms of provision in terms of multiplication of good things but when we bless god it is to speak well of him it is to glorify him it is to honor him and that is precisely what zacharias does notice the nature for which he blesses god blessed is the lord god of israel for he has visited and redeemed his people in other words i am blessing god for so great a salvation i am blessing god for his work of redemption on my behalf not just mine he is speaking prophetically in terms of the nation now notice he highlights that the messiah is the savior from the house of david he has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant david look back in chapter 1 at verse 30. then the angel said to her do not be afraid mary for you have found favor with god and behold you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son and shall call his name jesus he will be great and will be called the son of the highest and the lord god will give him the throne of his father david and he will reign over the house of jacob forever and of his kingdom there will be no end the the second samuel implications here the divinity kingdom or davidic covenant god promises to david that from david's line there will be one that rises up to build a house for god that's jesus and zacharias acknowledges that not just broadly salvation but the savior comes from the house of david notice as well that zacharias celebrates what we in the new covenant church need to get about we don't celebrate deliverance from our enemies the way that old covenant or not even old covenant new testament saints do look at what he says in verse 70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets who have been since the world began that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us we praise god for that we rejoice in god's goodness second thessalonians chapter one the apostle paul says it's right with god to pay with tribulation those who have troubled you in revelation chapter 19 after the fall of babylon the great what do the saints in heaven do oh that's terrible god you actually showed your vindication no they praise god fourfold hallelujah why do you think in revelation 21 and 22 we learn that the dogs and the cowardly and the unbelievers and the wretches are outside of the holy city because the people of god then are safe the people of god that have been vindicated the people of god then have been blessed and delivered by their enemies for zacharias this fares large in his rehearsal of god's redemptive benefit notice as well he goes on to consider the fulfillment of the promises to abraham in the life of jesus verse 72 to perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant the oath which he swore to our father abraham to grant us that we being delivered from the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life so as he goes from this plate place of muteness to this place of prophesying he spends his time first on hailing the mission of messiah this is what christ will do now he turns his attention to the babe now he turns his attention to his dear son again it's not a hope-filled wish it's not a sentiment but it's a prophecy concerning the mission of john the baptist notice verse 76 and you child will be called the prophet of the highest shall love that name for god most high or highest it shows his majesty his supremacy his glory his excellence and his power it doesn't try to bring god down to our level it doesn't try to remake god into our own image it rather recognizes the great distance that obtains between god and us he is the infinite and we are the finite he is the creator and we are the creature and in zacharias's confession he says that the baptist is going to be the prophet of the highest in context that highest is our lord jesus christ notice that the baptist will prepare the way of the highest verse 76 for you will go before the face of the lord to prepare his ways isaiah 40 verse 3. malachi chapter 3 verse 1a but then as well notice that the baptist mission is not simply to highlight the necessity of repentance he does that we see it in matthew and we see it in luke but do you know that john the baptist also preached justification by faith alone we have to read the entirety of the bible and understand that what john is saying isn't simply revolved around repentance when the apostle paul meets disciples in ephesus who had been baptized by john the baptist he says john indeed baptized with the baptism of repentance saying to the people that they should believe on him who would come after him that is on christ jesus i argue there that john's baptism is christian baptism there's not a distinction between the two they weren't re-baptized because john's was somehow deficient but what we have in the proclamation of john the baptist is an announcement of the kingdom it is the announcement of the arrival of the king but it's also the the announcement of justification by faith alone in other words he's preaching the gospel he's preaching the good news notice that that is teased out by zacharias you child will be called prophet of the highest verse 76 for you will go before the face of the lord to prepare his ways now notice to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the remission of their sins prior zacharias praises god for his salvation that involved a deliverance from enemies probably physical enemies probably philistines probably havits probably hittites but it doesn't stop there he praises god and acknowledges that christ delivers us from that enemy that holds us down at the level of spirit that enemy which is sin that enemy which is death that enemy which is the devil in other words christ hasn't simply come to vindicate israel from her external enemies he's not come simply to subjugate the roman empire which he doesn't he doesn't come to offer them some temporal kingdom and a geopolitical sort of prestige he comes to save his people from their sins and the baptist announced that the baptist testified concerning that to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the remission of their sins how does that come well it's through the one that the baptist proclaims notice verse 79 through the tender mercy of our god that's the theological context or arena our confession when it highlights the work of god in creation and providence tells us that the work of god in creation and providence manifests his power his good wisdom and his goodness well certainly redemption does that but it also magnifies his mercy it magnifies his grace it magnifies that guilty vile helpless we uh spotless lamb of god was he full atonement can it be hallelujah what a savior so what john's father zacharias is acknowledging is that the context of the redemptive plan of god is through his mercy but notice in verse 78 b with which the day spring from on high has visited us that is a reference to the messiah in other words god has this abundant mercy but he doesn't hold on to it alone in heaven but it has come to us through the visitation of the day spring into our arena sounds like the prologue as well doesn't it the law was given by moses or given through moses but grace and truth came through our lord jesus christ not that grace and truth was absent at the time of moses but it comes to fruition and fulfillment and realization in the new covenant of our lord and savior jesus christ he's preaching the gospel here through the tender mercy of our god with which the day spring from on high has visited us and then notice in verse 79 again you'll hear the you know reminiscences of the prologue in him was light and the light uh he was the light and the light was the life of man notice in verse 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death to guide our feet into the way of peace so the child grew and became strong in spirit and was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to israel so going back to john chapter 1. john the baptist denies that he's the christ he denies that he's elijah he denies that he's the prophet but he affirms that he's the subject of prophecy both isaiah and zacharias and everything that zechariah says everything that isaiah says concerning john the baptist comes to pass it comes to realization and the overarching theme there is what john the apostle does in the prologue to set forth before us the supremacy of jesus to set forth before us the preeminence of christ that is conspicuous in what john goes on to say in verses 24 and following notice now those who were sent were from the pharisees and they asked him saying why then do you baptize if you are not the christ nor elijah nor the prophet why are you engaged in this ritual why are you engaged in this religious washing why are you doing the things that you're doing if you're not one of those three so how does john respond to that well in matthew and luke he makes a distinction between the baptism with water and the baptism with the holy spirit and fire he doesn't do that here later on it gets hinted at but here the comparison is between john and jesus between john and jesus notice what he says or they say why do you baptize if you're not the christ nor elijah nor the prophet john answered them saying i baptized with wa i baptize with water but there stands one among you that doesn't mean he was physically present he's absent until the next day when john says behold the lamb of god who takes away the sin uh the sin of the world when it says that he stands among you i think it's in light of verse 10 in the prolong he was in the world and the world was made through him and the world did not know him in other words the day spring from on high has visited us in that sense he is among you so again the contrast isn't john's water baptism and jesus holy spirit slash fire baptism rather it's at the level of john and jesus so verse 26 john answered them saying i baptized with water but there stands one among you whom you do not know what an indictment you should know him he's your messiah you should know him he's prophesied you should know him he comes to his own but unfortunately his own do not receive him why because he misread it they wanted the subjugation of the roman empire they wanted geopolitical prestige they wanted this sort of carnal kingdom that's not why he comes in the first coming it is so that he may save his people from their sins and not that this was a brand new concept in the scheme of messiah again isaiah 53 why does he suffer why is he a man of sorrows why is he acquainted with grief why is yahweh pleased to crush him and to put him to grief it's not so that israel could be a geopolitical power and the roman empire be licking their feet no it's so that we could be saved from our sins it's so that we could enter into heaven that we could gain acceptance with a holy god through the blood of the lord jesus christ so john the baptist says i baptize with water but there stands one among you whom you do not know and it's at this point that he sets forth the preeminent preeminence of jesus it is he who coming after me is preferred before me whose sandal strap i am not worthy to lose brother i don't think this is convention on the part of the apostle i don't think he's just this sort of self-effacing guy he's not got some sort of complex so i'm just so you know wretched and weak and lowly and and all of that he's honest he's serious he knows the dignity of messiah look again at verse 15 in the prologue john bore witness of him and cried out saying this was he of whom i said he who comes after me he came after him physically from the womb the baptist was six months older as well he comes after him in terms of redemptive history malachi prophesies that first the baptist comes and then messiah but notice what john the baptist goes on to say in verse 15 this was he of whom i said he who comes after me is preferred before me why for he was before me john the baptist knows the prologue as well as you and i do he knows that in the beginning was the word and the word was with god and the word was god nicea didn't make this up nicea rightly understands what the baptist and the apostle testified concerning the savior john the baptist says as much at the end of verse 34 this is the son of god not by adoption the way that we are according to galatians 4 but by nature he is the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth the baptist understood this the baptist confessed this and the baptist testified concerning this so that glory wouldn't be given to him but all glory would be given to jesus and in this vein john the baptist sounds like a few passages in the old testament remember abraham before god he says indeed now i who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the lord again he's not got some complex or syndrome or he's got some deficiency in terms of his mental alertness he is simply in the presence of the most holy god he's in the presence of the highest see there's this idea that that god appeared to me and we just had this conversation that's not biblical when god makes appearances to the old testament prophets they don't say hey how you doing big buddy they fall down as dead men when john the apostle on the island of patmos for the testimony of jesus is confronted with the glorified christ what does john the apostle do hey buddy how are you doing we're not supposed to bring the deity down to our level the fact that jesus comes to our level takes on our humanity lives for us dies for us and is raised again for us ought to promote the fear of god it ought to promote joy in the spirit it ought to promote fresh gratitude and appreciation but man has been attempting since the fall to bring god down to his level but when you meet people in the bible who are confronted with the divinity with the deity they don't do that job 4 job 42 5-6 he says i have heard of you by the hearing of the ear but now my eyes see you therefore i abhor myself and repent and dust and ashes. that that's the way it is brethren i'm always very suspicious at a variety of levels for those people that that have seen god well what happened when you saw god there's a famous preacher in california that had the story that he was shaving his face and jesus came to him and started talking to him macarthur heard that and said what did you do you don't keep shaving your face if jesus is really there you fall down as a dead man that's the response when confronted with god most high remember those men of beth shemesh that wanted to open up the ark of the covenant how'd that work out for them how did that go was that a blessed happy day and afternoon for them absolutely positively not they probably wished that they had never gotten near well they do that's what the philistines do the philistines get to the point where they send the ark of the covenant back remember they capture it in battle in first samuel chapter four oh yeah we've bested israel we have their ark of the covenant good job geniuses how's that going to work out the ark of the covenant goes into philistine territory and nothing but bad happens the philistines finally wake up and smell the coffee and say we got to get rid of this we got to send it back how do we do that this is the reality when men are confronted with the holiness of god they don't just keep shaving they don't just keep conversing they don't just keep talking like it's some fellow or some equal but they say with the baptists that this one is preferred before me this one i'm not worthy to even get down in the lowest task that a slave has to tie or untie the ship that's beyond my my privilege that's beyond my capability we have come into the presence of the holy one of israel and shall we treat him as if he's our fellow or we treat him as if he's just another isaiah 40 verse 17 all nations before him are as nothing and they are counted by him less than nothing and worthless i realize this is an affront to the self-esteem and the delicate psyche that we face on a regular basis in the world today but why are we facing it in the church today the people of god need to humble themselves under god most high he is not our fellow he is not our equal he is the highest and we are the lowest and it's from that vantage point that true worship is conducted not arrogance not pride not this bravado attitude but the reality that we enter in to the presence of the majestic god of heaven and earth talking to some brothers about this the other day why do some in evangelicalism end up in potpourri or in eastern orthodoxy why is that well maybe they're sick and tired of chatty pastors with hole in their holes in their pants while they're sipping their latte telling little anecdotes about their lives narcigning scripture i'm not suggesting that potpourri in eastern orthodox is somehow correct but there's something through that liturgy that actually speaks something concerning majesty again it's false it's heretical they got huge issues but what have we done in evangelicalism today what's being done in reformed circles today we're bringing god down trying to make him cool and being hip around him that's not our mandate brethren fear and trembling is our mandate reverence joy unspeakable and full of glory to be sure but that joy is consistent with the fear of god remember those disciples running from the tomb after they had witnessed the emptiness of it they were running they were trembling with joy that's what david demands from the kings and the judges around israel serve the lord with fear and rejoice with trembling we've missed that we think that rejoicing and trembling are inconsistent no they are perfectly consistent when the object of our trembling and our joy is god most high see it's frivolity it is level levity it is jocularity to somehow treat god as if he's just a hipper version of us and we're just all cool and we're going to just keep our hands in our pockets and we're going to sip our lattes all in the conduct of the most highest expression of the creature's privilege before god which is worship worship him jesus says in what in spirit and in truth that is absolutely requisite on the part of the church and i would hope and pray that john the baptist serves for us as a model of a right respect for the dignity of the messiah well in conclusion i want to look first at the ministry of the baptist we looked at him a few i don't know a couple of months ago he's a great example of courage too something that the church desperately needs today courage not courage to go out and right every wrong not courage to you know jump over tall buildings with a single bound not courage to run as fast as a locomotive and take bullets and no not that courage in our context is to show up right show up just show up obey god when god says gather for worship obey him do what he says that's a courageous stance nowaday nowadays but in terms of the ministry of john the baptist the redemptive historical he was the forerunner of jesus but in terms of his preaching emphasis on faith in christ and emphasis on repentance unto life in our studies in the book of acts you see those terms used synonymously repent and believe are used synonymously they are two sides of the same coin repentance in the first instance is a change of mind the fruit of repentance is what happens after you've changed your mind so faith and repentance is coming to jesus christ we call that as well conversion but with reference to some practical observations concerning the baptist he was humble and promoted the glory of christ and the final analysis brethren that's why we've been saved it's not just for us know we like to think that well i get to go to heaven i don't have to go to hell i get all these benefits i'm blessed to be on measure yeah but in first peter chapter two when the apostle talks about god calling us out of darkness into his marvelous light there's a purpose clause attached to that that that here's the purpose clause that we may proclaim the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness in the marvelous light in other words we need to function in the capacity of john the baptist he's the one you should be looking at he's the one you should be preferring he's the one you should be bowing to he's the one you should be believing on he was in the language of jesus in matthew 11 not a reed shaken by the wind matthew 11 verse 7. he was not a reed shaken by the wind he was a man of conviction who would never back down royal commenting there says a bold unflinching witness to the truth i think i've told you before at the gravesite of john knox that great scottish reformer regent morton said here lies one who neither flattered nor feared any flesh he john knox followed in the train of john the baptist he didn't fear nor flatter any flesh when he comes to deal with herod about the indecency rather the perversion of herod's having his brother's wife it says in the lucan account that he told him all the things that he had done wrong imagine that and i think that's what jesus is speaking about when he says in matthew chapter 11 that he was not a court prophet he wasn't in soft clothing he wasn't pampered he wasn't a yes man in the court serving the king no when the king was out of line which herod was vis-a-vis the seventh commandment and from what we surmise a lot of other commandments the baptist didn't shrink back from declaring that and telling him that he was in sin in john 5 35 you're there you might as well look at this passage concerning the baptist john 5 35 he was the burning and shining lamp and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light burning and shining lamp brethren if they're if i could spiritualize or allegorize or depart for a moment if there's two things that are lacking in the christian pulpit today that must be present it's light in heat there's a lot of heat guys bluster and yammer on about a whole bunch of stuff they don't know what they're talking about we need light we need the truth we need exegetical savvy we need accurate exposition of scripture but it can't come out in a suggestive manner it can't come out in a chatty fashion he is the voice of one crying in the wilderness make way or make straight the path of the lord what's the prophet told i think it's in isaiah 59 at verse 1 and maybe 58 1 cry aloud spare not lift up your voice like a trumpet why because sleepy sinners need the voice of the the voice of god most high to ring in their ears that's the bottom line pray that men training for gospel ministry men that god will raise up doesn't mean they have to have volume but they have to have the ability to make known the word of god not in a suggestive way not as if it's one recommendation amongst another but it's in the context of preach the word be ready in season and out of season convince rebuke exhort with all long-suffering and teaching i preached that last sunday night my brother made a good observation we can never divorce 4-2 in 2nd timothy from 4-1 4-1 the only reason i did separate it was for a matter of time i wanted to get all those three texts in there what's 4-1 say before paul gets to the admonition or exhortation or command to timothy in 2nd timothy chapter 4 that he is supposed to preach the word 4-1 gives us the context i charge you therefore before god and the lord jesus christ who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom preach the word in other words when you undertake to speak for god that means you've been qualified by god that means it's demonstrable in light of 1st timothy 3 and titus 1. that means it's been confirmed by the church that you're a part of it means that in god's providence he's provided a place for you to do that understand that when you stand in that pulpit and you preach that word it's not this that ultimately matters it's him it's god and the lord jesus christ who will judge us at his appearing this is why james 3 1 says let not many of you become teachers why we will receive a stricter judgment when we put men in the christian ministry that are not qualified men that aren't light men that don't have heat men that can't interpret scripture or preach it we're doing an injustice to god we're doing an injustice to god's people and we're hurting the poor slob himself he should go do something he can do if god intended for behemoth to fly he'd put wings on him that's what spurgeon says and he's a hundred percent right if there's not light and not heat in a pulpit there's going to be death in the pews john the baptist in the language of john gill his light of pure doctrine and of an holy and exemplary conversation shown very visibly and brightly before men and he burned with strong love and affection for christ and the souls of men and with flaming zeal for the honor of god and true religion and against all sin and profaneness which he was a faithful reprover of and for which he lost his life he did remember that sermon ralph barnard calls his sermon on that uh uh the sermon that cost a preacher his head that's exactly what happened isn't it it cut his head off why because he didn't shrink back he didn't say well i'm sorry if i've offended you herod for actually insinuating or telling you that you've broken god's law he's not going to do that he's going to do what god calls him to do he's going to shine as a light he's going to burn with heat and he's going to set forth the glory of jesus christ and that my brethren is the final application in this message john was about jesus john was about the pr preeminence of christ john the apostle is in the prologue john the baptist is in his historical testimony it's all about jesus if you're not a christian here this morning it's not about john the baptist it's about the one to whom john the baptist pointed it's about jesus he is the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world we'll see that god willing next week he is the one that came to live and he lived for us just as much as he died for us why do we need his life because we're miserable sinners we're disobedient to god we've transgressed his law remember i mentioned in galatians chapter 3 at least alluding to it the demand of god's law is to do all things that are commanded by it we do none of the things that are commanded by it so in the life of christ he obeys the father so that when he is done with that redemptive work it's the life of righteousness it's imputed to us and it's received by faith alone so we need the life of christ and obedience to his father but we need the death as well the apostle says in hebrews 9 22 without the shedding of blood there is no remission this is why the baptist calls jesus the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world all of that captures what the old testament knew we don't enter into the presence of god except through a bloody knife and a smoking altar we don't enter into the presence of god without blood atonement we don't enter into the presence of god without first having been cleansed and so the life of christ answers to our need for a righteousness that avails with god the death of christ avails for our need to be forgiven for the sins committed against god but lo and behold christ does that and he's raised the third day because death had no dominion over him so if you're not a believer here today my message to you is not go out and try harder go out and be better go out and do what god's law says now there's a sense where everybody should do that but that's not the way of salvation believe on the lord jesus christ and you shall be saved that's why it's good news that's why it's not good advice it's not self-help it's not moral reformation it's not try a little bit harder but it's the good news of christ having been crucified having been raised such that those who look to him in faith will be saved let us pray our father we thank you for your word and we thank you for this testimony of the baptist concerning the lord jesus christ and what a glorious christ he is and what a wonderful mission he accomplished in that first coming and we look forward to his second coming again in glory to judge the living and the dead and our desire our hope and our prayer is all that we know and love would be believing on him that we would be covered in his righteousness that we would have been forgiven of of our sin and that we would hear ultimately that acceptance by the father on that day of judgment not because of our good works not because of what we've accomplished but because of what jesus christ has done for sinners god may people believe this by your grace and for your glory and we ask in jesus name amen we'll close with a brief time of meditation you