[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. It is our prayer that you will be blessed by the preaching of God's Word. Thinking about John the Baptist, sitting in that jail, thinking that he's going to get to have his second part of his ministry maybe with Jesus.
[0:14] I'm saying Jesus is coming, he shows up, I'm going to get to live out my ministry with Jesus here on earth, but he stays there and he has that time of doubting.
[0:25] A first note I had here, Christ defends and gives tribute to his faithful follower. A first book, Christ defends and gives tribute to his weak follower, but I just couldn't say that about John the Baptist because Jesus doesn't define us by those weak moments in our lives, but he defines us by our identity in him.
[0:43] And John the Baptist was a faithful follower of Jesus Christ. And so as he sends word and the disciples come back and they encourage him in the Lord and say Jesus is doing these miracles, he is the Messiah, the contentment that John must have had.
[0:57] Well, they came to John and they say, John, are you ready to get out of prison and keep preaching the gospel of repentance and telling man that Jesus Christ has come? He says, I'm ready for it. John, are you ready to die here in this jail finishing your ministry?
[1:12] He says, I'm ready for that as well. He says, I am ready for either. And I love this theme for our conference because it isn't something that just applies to you and not the missionary, but those that are in sending and those that are in going, both of us have to daily ask ourselves, are we ready for either?
[1:30] Am I ready to serve in such a way? We'll talk about faith promise and the giving and how you give to the church here that meets the need, that keeps the lights on and allows us to reach out in their community. On top of that, you give on faith promise and giving to the world and so we can budget it.
[1:45] Missionaries can come by and say, we want to partner with you. We call them strategic partners because we want to really partner with you. And so when you think about that, what level on which should we give financially of our resources and our time?
[1:56] We give to the level that we are willing to die for what we're doing. That's the standard in which Jesus says that we're sent into this world. And so if you came in here and you thought, man, this church wants a lot of us, you have no idea what we believe that this Bible commands of us to live such a life that we are ready for either.
[2:15] So let's review here what pastors said last week. He defined doubting as losing confidence, sitting in that prison cell, Jesus not the Messiah, not meeting his expectations.
[2:26] The apostles didn't seem to come to grip and John the Baptist, maybe not as well that Jesus was going to set up his kingdom, but he wasn't going to set up his earthly kingdom at this time. And so there he was waiting to meet.
[2:37] Maybe you know somebody famous or you have somebody. When I was in middle school, my cousins played high school basketball and they were a big deal in our town. And so I'd tell all my friends, yeah, this is my cousin.
[2:48] We're really close. And he's going to come over here and talk to us. And then my cousin would come over and he'd act like he didn't even know who I was and then walk on. And my friends would say, I thought you knew so-and-so. I thought you knew number 33.
[2:59] He didn't even seem to know you. And on a much greater scale, maybe John the Baptist felt abandoned. He is proclaiming. They've been waiting for a prophet for 400 years.
[3:09] They hadn't had one. He's the closest one to Jesus. He done all. He says, Jesus is coming. He said, Jesus is coming now. It's imminent. He's here. And then there he comes. And there Jesus, he does his ministry down the river a little bit.
[3:21] John the Baptist's disciples leave and go to Jesus. Jesus is out doing miracles and there's great things going on. But John the Baptist isn't part of that. He is in a prison cell over there.
[3:32] And you say, John, why are you so discouraged? If we read about other people in history and in the Bible, they had a lot harder time than you did. Paul will be beaten and shipwrecked. And you're in prison, but you get to have visitors come to you.
[3:43] You know, it doesn't seem to be that bad. Why are you so discouraged? And it wasn't the jail. It's the fact that he wasn't right there with Jesus, not knowing what was going on. And he began to lose confidence.
[3:54] But when they come back, and we're reminded of this truth, that in following Jesus, it is okay to question him, it's okay to stop and ask questions, but we should never lose confidence when he gives the answer.
[4:07] We have a right to question him, but when he gives an answer, we find comfort in it. And that's what happened with John the Baptist. He said, are we sure, are you the Messiah, or should we be looking for somebody else because I want to worship the Messiah.
[4:20] And when Jesus gave answer, it would be comfort to John the Baptist because he was a faithful follower. And then I hope you see today how Jesus cares about you as his follower, as he cares about John the Baptist.
[4:33] We've already read it, so I won't read again, but there's three ways in verses 7 through 9 that the followers of John the Baptist are going to criticize John, the disciple of followers of Jesus.
[4:45] Because of the doubt and because it was conveyed publicly to Jesus by his disciples, apparently many in the crowds were now criticizing John. They were wondering. They're looking at John and they're saying things about him, and Jesus always answers what's in their heart.
[5:00] Maybe they don't put it to words, but if you listen to what Jesus is saying to people, then you're going to have an idea of what it was that was in their mind and what they were thinking. And the first thing we see here in verse number 7, it says, what went ye out into the wilderness of the sea?
[5:13] A reed shaken with the wind. So here's Jesus defending John the Baptist. He says, you think John the Baptist is fickle? He had proclaimed Jesus the Messiah. Now he's asking if Jesus is the Messiah.
[5:26] And your circumstances are going to cause you to ask questions, but it should never cause you to doubt his answers. God does not allow the moments in our lives to dictate and to say who we are. So he's saying, John the Baptist is not a fickle person in the wind.
[5:40] And what did you expect that you're going to see in the night? This is my follower. And we should be encouraged by that. I remember going with a friend of mine, his dad worked him, he would preach in prison. And I believe it's there at the end of 2 Chronicles where God gives the epitaph of David.
[5:54] And he lays out all these things. And he stood up there in front of all these men. He says, let me tell you what God said about King David when he died. And in those three or four verses, it doesn't say anything about his moments of weakness and his sin.
[6:07] It just says that he was a person that loved the Lord, somebody that had a heart after God. Because that's how God saw them. And aren't you encouraged that when Jesus goes to defend John the Baptist, he says, what do you think, that my child here is fickle, that he's back and forth to the wind?
[6:21] He sees him for who he really is in Christ. And not only that, he's accused of being weak, a man clothed in soft raiment. When you went out into the wilderness, did you see a man who was soft, desired nice things?
[6:34] No, you found a bold, strong man. As we think about what John the Baptist was dressed in and how he was presenting himself and the toughness of his life being out there all alone and the loneliness.
[6:46] He said, did you expect that you're going to walk in and see somebody that was dressed for the king's palace, that enjoyed the soft things of life, a person that just gave up his faith when things got hard? He said, that is not who John the Baptist is.
[6:58] He was bold. He was strong. And then lastly, they said, of being accused of not really being a prophet. He says, not only is he a prophet, he is more than a prophet.
[7:10] And Amos, we're told that a prophet is somebody that knows something here that God reveals a secret to that he will show the people. And he says about John the Baptist that he is more than a prophet.
[7:21] Not only is he a prophet, but he had been prophesied about, that the Bible tells us that a person would come and tell that would make the way ready for Jesus. And so he's more than a prophet.
[7:32] Prophets had to be right. A couple missions conferences ago, we were getting really close to our faith promise number and we were just going to be within a few hundred dollars. So I decided to make a prophecy.
[7:43] And I told pastor, we are going to hit our faith promise goal. And he says, you know what happens to the prophets in the Old Testament? If they made a prophecy and they were wrong, then they got stoned.
[7:54] They would take them out and people would throw rocks at them. And I said, well, I didn't really think through this, did I? And so we did that. I prophesied we would hit our goal and we just missed it by a few.
[8:05] We didn't miss it by much. I think some of you put on the brakes towards the end of the year just to make sure my prophecy failed and the kids took me out front and hit me with water balloons that were not made to be water balloons.
[8:16] These were the hardest things I've ever felt in my life. Felt like paintball just getting shot up there. But John the Baptist had prophesied that Jesus was coming and now he seemed to be a prophet that's wavering and saying, I know that I said that Jesus is the Messiah, but now I'm standing and asking, Jesus, are you really a Messiah?
[8:32] And then they're questioning him and saying, is John the Baptist really a prophet being that he has questions? And Jesus says, my beloved, my John the Baptist, is he a prophet? You're asking, is he a prophet?
[8:43] He's more than a prophet that he was prophesied about. So we find Jesus Christ defending him. We learn in Revelations and all through the Bible and through your own experience, you know Satan is the accuser of the brethren.
[8:58] He is the one that puts things into your mind that tells you that you are not weak, that you are not worthy of following Jesus Christ, that your questions disqualify you from service, that you're not ready for either.
[9:09] You're not even ready to live this day out. He's the accuser of the brother, but we have an advocate in Jesus Christ. And when we stand before God, if Satan was allowed in this room, he would say, look at this person's life.
[9:20] He wasn't that strong in his faith. Look at the way he treated this person. He did not live up to it. But we have an advocate, an intercessor at all times that stands there and say, no, this is a person I died for.
[9:32] This is my faithful follower. And he represents us today. And we should be excited about that. So first of all, he defends John the Baptist. And then he gives a tribute. So Jesus, we don't see in scripture that he goes to the funeral of John the Baptist, but he kind of gives a eulogy on the spot right there for John the Baptist.
[9:49] And when a saint dies, been involved in many funerals, and a person really loves the Lord and their Christian testimony is clear, one of the things that a preacher will say or a pastor will say is that I know that this person would want nothing more today than somebody at this funeral to put their faith and trust in the God that they served.
[10:10] How many of you have heard that before at a funeral? And at our funerals, I'd hope that would be said as well, that that would bring such joy knowing that as our death had brought somebody.
[10:21] The Bible teaches us better to go into the house of mourning than the house of feasting because in that moment, people are thinking about life and death. And so Jesus shows great honor and tribute to John the Baptist. He says, hey, you've given your whole life to serving the kingdom.
[10:34] You've given your whole life to pointing people to me. So in my eulogy right now, when these disciples come to me and I talk to them about you, I'm going to show you tribute here. It's this eulogy here.
[10:45] And also not only a eulogy, but he's going to give an invitation to the people around them. When everyone else turns their back on John, Jesus does not. When those people that even came to know about Jesus from John are saying, John the Baptist, you're wavering.
[10:59] They turn their back on him. Jesus says, I proudly stand with John the Baptist here. And he goes on to say that there is none greater. What an amazing thing.
[11:10] There is none that is greater about them. Matthew 3.17 tells us that the prophets longed for the day that John the Baptist was in, the day that Jesus would come. He says that there is none that is greater.
[11:22] In Luke chapter 1, we find that John the Baptist is filled with the Spirit even in his mother's womb. That he got to announce that the Messiah was coming. He was the one that said, behold the Lamb of God and announced Jesus' public ministry there.
[11:38] John was God's chosen voice at this time. It says that he is greater there and he gives tribute to them and he's going to give an invitation to the people that are around them.
[11:50] He says that he's greater. Greater than King David. Greater than any of the prophets. Greater than Solomon. And what makes his great there? Is it his humility and the character that we've already looked at?
[12:01] It's the clarity in which he points people to Jesus Christ. That he is standing there. As I was studying this week, I thought about the person that Jesus calls the greatest. And we all desire to be great in here.
[12:13] To live a life of significance. Maybe not fame, but great. Have a life of integrity that really makes a difference. That we came and we died and it made a difference. That Jesus said the greatest man was a person that was just a signpost pointing people to me.
[12:28] His entire life was just standing there and said, go to Jesus. The disciples said, is that the Messiah? Yes, that's the Messiah. Go to him. And he pointed. He gave his whole life pointing. We all have different definitions of what greatness is.
[12:40] Or the world has different definitions of greatness. But this group of people in here, we should have a unified answer to what greatness is. It is clearly pointing to Jesus Christ with our lives.
[12:51] And then he gives an invitation here. Verses 11 through 15. Verily I say unto you, among them that are born of woman that has not risen greater than John the Baptist, notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
[13:04] Isn't that amazing? That the he that's least in the kingdom is greater. So John the Baptist is greater than everybody up to his point. He's the greatest in that old covenant. And then the least of us in this time is greater than John the Baptist.
[13:18] So every one of you in here, because of the time in which we live, can have a greater ministry than John the Baptist. I wouldn't dare say it if it wasn't written right here in the Bible.
[13:29] And I even read it again before I say it to make sure that's what's being said. Because the time we live, we can point to him so clearly. John represents a transition in history. Just like Moses we've been studying in Exodus, he takes people up to a certain place into the promised land that he wants to go into.
[13:46] And God says, Moses, you don't get to enter into it. You're going to bring people up to the end of it, but you don't enter into it. That's what John the Baptist is having to do right now. He is the last of the old covenant prophets, the last of the Old Testament prophets.
[13:58] And he brings us right up to it. And then he fades off the scene that he'll get that glorious day with Jesus soon. And Jesus will come, be crucified. But he doesn't get to go into it.
[14:09] And John represents this transition here. The old covenant is ending for all the prophets of the law prophesied until John in verse number 13. In the church age, we all get to live the life of John the Baptist.
[14:21] We do not need a spiritual revelation to know that Jesus is coming. We have a book that tells us that he has come. We are not filled with the Spirit in our mother's womb, but we are filled with his Spirit at our new birth.
[14:33] That when we put our faith and trust in Jesus, we are filled with the Holy Spirit. And the church age and the age that we live in, that every one of us, not in varying degrees, but every one of us are indwelt with the Holy Spirit.
[14:47] And we know that Jesus has come. And that's something that the prophets of the old time would look upon with envy, with the resources that we have to make much of Jesus. Solomon had the temple.
[15:00] And the queen of Sheba came and looked upon it. And she says, I can tell by your wisdom that you serve the right God. And we look at all the different things of the Old Testament, but we live in a time where we can state as fact that God came from heaven, lived among men, lived a perfect life, died and rose again after three days.
[15:20] And that's the message that we get to point to. And we get to do that filled with the Holy Spirit empowering us and using our lives to do it. That's why in 1 Corinthians 4, it says that we are these earthen vessels that are filled with an incredible treasure.
[15:37] We'll look at that tonight. But we get to sing and we get to preach and talk about this wonderful message. And then they ask him, the question would be, is John the Baptist the Elias? Malachi 4.5 says, Behold, I send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great day, a dreadful day of the Lord.
[15:53] These people here in the crowd listening to Jesus, they had missed the significance of John the Baptist because they were not recognizing Jesus as the Messiah and because they misrecognized what the kingdom of God is really about.
[16:07] And six more chapters from there, they're going to look back and the disciples are going to ask and say, What then sayeth the scribes of Elias in Matthew 17? And Jesus answered and said, Elias truly shall come first and restore all things.
[16:19] But I say unto you that Elias has come already and they knew him not but have done unto him whatsoever thou listed. Likewise shall also the Son of Man suffer of them. Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.
[16:33] People did not appreciate the ministry of John the Baptist because they didn't understand what the kingdom was about. And that's why they rejected Jesus. They were looking for the kingdom to be set up earthly and it's what they wanted.
[16:45] And there's many people zealous that set up a kingdom right there and say Jesus will be king and the Messiah will come. He will be king. But they did not understand the kingdom of heaven.
[16:57] Matthew 4, 16 and 17. The people which set in darkness saw great light. And to them which set in the region in the shadow of death light has sprung up. And from that Jesus began to preach and to say repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
[17:10] Many Jewish people wanted Jesus to set up an earthly kingdom where he would rule and reign. But he was going to do something much greater. John 3, 3 says be born again. You cannot see the kingdom of God.
[17:23] That his kingdom was much greater than they could even imagine. That his reign was over all the universe and that he was inviting us in to the spiritual kingdom.
[17:33] And people were missing that. And because they were missing that they were missing the significance of John the Baptist. And you know we live in the same time in which people don't recognize Jesus as the Messiah.
[17:45] Because they don't like a gospel that says he came and he died. They don't like a gospel that calls upon us to say are you ready to live for him or to die for him. We don't like a gospel that may say we have to suffer for his namesake.
[17:58] And they're looking for an earthly kingdom. And that's why a prosperity gospel is so popular. And John the Baptist would have none of it. He would not stay one moment in a church that would say we worship God because God.
[18:11] Well we worship ourselves because worshiping ourselves is what makes God happy. Has been said here recently in a big church in Texas. And it's not amazing that somebody would stand and say that.
[18:23] Because in America we deserve to hear that. Because that's what we've been looking for. But what's amazing is that a room full of people that profess to be believers would stand there. And would continue to buy books.
[18:34] And would show up every Sunday when that kind of message is preached. Because that would be completely foreign to John the Baptist or any believer of the Bible. Because he's saying that there is a kingdom.
[18:44] But it isn't what you've been looking for. It's a spiritual kingdom which is so much greater here. So enter into this kingdom and your life will count. You can even be greater in life than John the Baptist.
[18:56] John is greater than Moses. And he says the least of the kingdom is greater than John. We are more blessed. And we are more privileged. And we have more benefits than any of the prophets of the Old Testament.
[19:09] We live. That's why we'll have a missions conference. That's why we'll say that everybody ought to be here. And the missions conference isn't just a small group of us. The entire church will come out. Because every one of us are going to have a ministry like John the Baptist that says Jesus Christ has come.
[19:24] And we get to preach that clearly. And that's what makes our message great is the clearness in which we get to present. And then in verse number 12 it says here that from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffer the violence.
[19:38] And the violent take it by force. There's two different ways to look at this verse. And both of them ought to be encouraging to you. First of all it says from John the Baptist until now there's been people that are fighting against the spread of the gospel.
[19:50] That people are fighting against what John the Baptist is saying here. But also if you look at it here it says that people are fighting. Not only people fighting to stop the kingdom. And John the Baptist is going to be killed.
[20:02] And there's this false kingdom by political means that people would love to set up. And they fight against the true gospel. But there's also men of courage and vigor are embracing the truth of the kingdom.
[20:15] That there's people like John the Baptist that are taking the kingdom by storm. That they're coming in. And even though this crowd around us may be doubting. That right now as Jesus is speaking.
[20:26] There are men that are taking the kingdom by force. And with vigor and energy. And they're coming in the kingdom. And they're ready to go. And it's going to keep going forth.
[20:37] And it's going to keep advancing. Isn't that exciting? Hope you have a chance to watch the day of battle that talks about North Africa. That our missionaries. The Bay Shores. It highlights them.
[20:47] And the masters there. And Tunisia. And it shows believers that are putting their faith in Jesus Christ. And when they enter into that kingdom. They're taken from darkness into light. They do it with boldness.
[20:59] Like John the Baptist. And the gospel keeps going forward. And his kingdom is advancing. And they take the kingdom by storm. So first of all. Hope you see in here.
[21:10] John the Baptist. You're going to have days like that. You're going to have seasons. Where you have questions. And you have doubts. But when Jesus provides answers. Our heart ought to say yes and amen to it. God if that's your answer.
[21:21] We trust you. We understand that what you have for us is better than what we can imagine. And our unmet expectations. Are met by something that is much greater. And what you would give us. And I hope you're encouraged in here.
[21:32] How Jesus defends that doubting disciple. Disciple at that time of him. And John the Baptist. And he stands up for him. Something I've said so many times. That I think is so important for our youth ministry.
[21:44] The reason that so many teenagers are going to leave. That do leave the church. After high school. Not near the percentages that the web would tell you. But why many people would leave the church.
[21:56] Is because they haven't decided who they really are. On Saturday night. When I'm doing things that I really shouldn't be doing. Am I a hypocrite? Or is it on Sunday morning when I'm worshiping the Savior.
[22:06] Am I a hypocrite? And the Bible tells us that because of our identity in Christ. That is who we are. We're not defined by who we are in those moments of weakness. And moments of doubt. But we are a person that loves the Lord.
[22:18] And follows him. And that's who we are. That's why we should feel comfortable saying about our Savior. On Sunday morning. And our regrets should become. It should be. We ask forgiveness and move forward.
[22:29] Because that's our true identity. And so many teenagers will have an identity crisis coming out of high school. And they don't know who the real one is. And I say to all of you teenagers in here today. As believers.
[22:41] The one of you. The person that sings about Jesus. That loves him and loves his word. As a believer. That is the real you. That is the person that Jesus Christ has made us. So those first two points go to the believers.
[22:53] And then the last one here. In a comical fashion. Jesus. He confronts the excuses. By the crowd. The people who don't want to enter into the spiritual kingdom. But wherewith.
[23:04] Verse 16. But whereunto shall I liken this generation? Question mark. What is this generation like? What is a metaphor? What's an illustration of what this generation is like?
[23:15] And to the people that are around Jesus. It is likened to children. Sitting in the markets. Calling unto their fellows. And saying. We have piped unto you. And you have not danced.
[23:25] We have mourned unto you. And you have not lamented. For John came neither eating nor drinking. And they say. He hath a devil here. Like children that can't decide. What game they want to play.
[23:36] You've seen it with children before. They want to. If one kid wants to play house. Another wants to play something else. And they can't go back and forth. And so they're supposed to be happy. And they're sad. And when they're. And you take them somewhere. And they're supposed to be sad.
[23:47] They laugh. And they giggle. And they. And they laugh. They don't show the proper response. That's a sign of maturity. Is that you have. The appropriate emotion. At the right time. That you. You act. That everything has a season.
[23:58] And children don't act like that. They go back and forth. And he looks at them. He's like. You're little kids in the market. And when we played pipes for you. To get you to laugh. You would cry. And when you're supposed to be serious. You would laugh.
[24:09] And then he compares his life. To John the Baptist. Some want to play house. Or wedding day. And others want to play funeral. Or something serious. They said John was mean and strict. That's what they said about John.
[24:20] He was not very buddy buddy. He dressed funny. He was out of style. To say the least. He called people to repentance. He had taken a Nazarite vow. And he was a very serious hero.
[24:31] Neither eating or drinking. They say he's the devil. Man. John the Baptist. He's just so mean. He's just so strict. He's taking this Nazarite vow. We just. We can't listen to his message.
[24:42] But then they say about Jesus. They say Jesus. You sit with sinners. And you sit with publicans. And you pick court on the Sabbath day. And you didn't take any Nazarite rituals. And you're like children. Who can't decide what game you want to play.
[24:53] And you keep changing the rules. John was too strict. So you didn't accept this message. And you say that I'm just gluttonous. And I'm a party man. And you don't have what. I want to listen to what I'm saying.
[25:04] But the problem isn't the presentation. The problem is you don't want to accept the truth. That there is a God. And you are not him. And you should repent. And receive forgiveness.
[25:14] So maybe you come in here today. And Jesus confronts the consumer in here. We live in a generation that you can take anything back in 90 days.
[25:24] If it's Walmart you can pretty much take it back anytime for any reason. All right. But we live in a generation where you get to take things back. And you get to test it out. You get to taste the food before you buy it.
[25:36] And maybe the day you're still shopping around. Maybe you say I go to this one place. And they just seem to be too strict. But this other place they just seem to be too wild and too party.
[25:46] And because of that I'm not sure what it is that I'm looking for. Could you look past those things. And accept the truth of Jesus Christ. In his word. The kingdom demands your life. And regardless today if a person like me stands in front of you.
[25:59] And you say that guy's kind of dorky. You can say amen. Or that guy thinks he's too hip. Don't even bother saying amen. Because I don't. And you can say his presentation turns me off. That may be true.
[26:10] And maybe the presentation of everybody that stood in front of you before. You've been able to say there's something about it I don't dislike. But you can't deny the fact that the kingdom demands your life. That Jesus Christ deserves your life.
[26:21] And the price he paid demands your all. Completely. 100%. And don't be like children. Just saying oh this one's too much of this one. Or this one's too much of that. But you must make a commitment.
[26:34] Maybe you think we're too conservative. Maybe you think we're too in the grace. But put that aside. And decide what you will do. But the truth of the gospel. Jesus and John's ministry will be proven by their works.
[26:44] Verse number 19. But wisdom is justified of her children. Meaning the offspring of what they're teaching will be seen in the results. That people came to Christ because of John the Baptist.
[26:57] And that people had broken lives that were healed because of the life of Jesus. And we can look at the wisdom of those men and the Son of God. And we can know that their truth was right because of their children.
[27:09] Meaning the results of what they were preaching. And this should cause you to do some things in here today. First of all we need men and women like John and Jesus.
[27:19] Who are not afraid to proclaim truth in a generation that does not believe in truth. We need a generation of men and women transformed by the power of the gospel. Who will embrace the kingdom.
[27:31] Take heaven by storm. And stand for Christ in the midst of a culture. No matter what the culture thinks of them. I'm not promoting for you to be any more awkward than you already are.
[27:41] God forbid that. But I'm telling you that you're never going to get it to taste this right. You're never going to be able to season the soup and get it so that the message is received. Without any confrontation to the culture.
[27:54] You're overshoot. They'll think you're too cool. They'll think you're too conservative. But your friend's never going to listen to you. Because you're just speaking their language. Because when you share the gospel. You're speaking the truth of heaven.
[28:05] And it's a supernatural message. And there's going to be resistance. Because if he brings peace to those that believes. And it brings divisions that don't. So would you just get past that? Would you just get over the fact that you're never going to be sharing what is a popular message.
[28:22] And say I don't care that if I seem culturally insensitive. Or I seem culturally out of date. This message has to be preached. And it has to be shared. No matter what this world says to me.
[28:33] I have to be a crisis man. I have to be a fork in the road. And when people come to thee. They will make a decision about my savior. Being hip and relevant will just never work.
[28:44] The culture is always changing. As you see that. But it's always consistently saying. We do not want the truth. Some things come in and out of fashion. David told me today. Somebody asked him.
[28:54] One of his students in school. Asked him what he liked to wear in high school for shoes. And he said Chuck Taylors. And they were probably surprised. They were cool then. They weren't even cool the first time. When he wore them.
[29:05] I'm not sure they were cool the second time. But they've been cool four or five times. Things come and grow. And some of us. We're going to hit it someday. We just stay our dorky cells. But someday.
[29:15] Culture is going to catch up back up with us. And we will have our moment. Alright. The things come and go in culture. But the truth is never going to be popular. So if you're waiting for the day that it becomes popular.
[29:26] To set your sail and say. I'm going to preach the gospel. It's never going to happen. And if you're waiting for the right moment. To speak with a co-worker. Or maybe a supervisor. Or somebody in your life.
[29:36] And you're saying. I'm just waiting for the right time to ease into this. You don't ease into it. It's offensive. It's the gospel. But it's what saves man's souls. So aim for greatness in here today.
[29:49] As well. We look at the character of John the Baptist. We see the life of Jesus. I want to encourage every one of you. To aim for greatness. I don't know right now. What the GPS of your life is set towards.
[29:59] When you think what a greatness is. But I'll ask that you would give it up. That you would change your ambitions. And your plans in life. And you would say. I would let this definition of greatness. Become my greatness.
[30:09] That when you leave this life. You'll say. I know it's not in vain. That I lived a significant and great life. Because I lived up to this. Pointing to Christ. As all that is required.
[30:19] For the greatness. That God wants. John the Baptist was great. Maybe he was a great orator. Maybe he was genius. Maybe all those things. But it doesn't matter. His greatness was not that he was personally greater than Solomon.
[30:32] His greatness was that he pointed to Jesus Christ most clearly. And then we get to do that in the time we live. Those who think witnessing is belief them. You need to see the standard.
[30:43] Those of you that think your life is of too much value. To just give it to be a signpost pointing to Jesus. And you think this is beneath you. Your ambitions is going to cause you.
[30:54] To forfeit the great life. That God has given you. That you can live a really great life. But if you think this giving your life. To point people to Jesus. Is a waste.
[31:05] You can't live that. John the Baptist had everybody leaving him. Jesus set up just down the river from him. He didn't say let's merge together. And have our ministries together. John the Baptist had to make a decision.
[31:16] And said it's not about me. And when people left him and went to Jesus. They asked John what he thought. He said I think it is great. And that's what we should do. We should point people to Jesus. And some of you may think that that's beneath you today.
[31:29] That the missions conference. We may have a cute theme. That's something for missionaries. That have not yet decided what they were going to do. Or maybe they never went off to college. And they didn't have a great thing planned for their lives.
[31:40] And so for you to consider doing something radically with your life. Is beneath you. Because you already have a measure of greatness. I feel very sorry for you today. If that's your story.
[31:51] And I wish you would retire from that ambition. Of pursuing greatness in the other place. What greatness are you pursuing in life? Professional. Financially. Or charitably. Some of you may think it's beneath you.
[32:02] But some of you may think it's above you. You just say I'm too ordinary. I can't live a great life. I don't have the resources. If you are able to point to Jesus Christ with your life. You can live a great life.
[32:13] That's why you can take one of us. One of us believers. And you can give us an incurable disease. And you can put us on a bed. Where we're dying. And we can point people to Jesus. And we can live a great life.
[32:25] That's why we can live on two dollars a day. In a country like India. And we can be persecuted for our beliefs. For a northern African. And we can die. Knowing that we live a great life.
[32:35] Because you can't take enough resources away from us. Where we can't say. I'm ready for either. To live for Christ. Or to die. But I want to live a life. That is great.
[32:46] I'm going to pray in a second. Would you think those things over? Would you think about the fact. That you have not been sharing your faith. Because you believe. That this is culturally insensitive. Would you ask yourself in here.
[32:57] Just pause and meditate. What is your current definition of greatness. And is it in contrast. Or in comparison. To what you heard the day. About John the Baptist. And would you write it upon your heart.
[33:08] And say this from now on. Will be my definition of greatness. That clearly point to Jesus Christ. Heavenly Father. I thank you today for your words.
[33:19] I thank you for the life of John the Baptist. I thank you that you offered me forgiveness. When I came to you this week. And told you. That I often alter. My definition of greatness.
[33:30] How my desire for personal fame. Clouds my vision of just being a post for you. And I thank you for that forgiveness. And that. I pray that that will always be.
[33:41] My ambition in life. Is to live a life that is great. Pray for my brothers and sisters. That are in here. Right now. That they will take an evaluation. They will take stock.
[33:51] They will look at their lives. They will look at how it's being changed by the gospel. They will look at their willingness. To be bold in sharing their faith. Because they have understood. What true greatness is.
[34:03] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church. In Alfredo, Georgia. For more information. Log on to www.visionbaptist.com Where you can find our service times.
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