WEBVTT

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 As we began our time in Mark, we studied Mark the man.

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! He was not perfect by any means, a deserter, one that left Paul

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! Paul on the first missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas, and he

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 was a quitter. He then got it right. He hung out with the right

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 people and was used as a helper and a friend and a writer in a

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 mighty way. Today we look at the first few verses of this gospel

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 that he wrote and we see Mark's beginning is introducing us to

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 someone else. And I want us to spend some time on him this

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 morning. Mark chapter 1, beginning in verse 1, says, the

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 beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

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 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, behold, I send my

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 messenger before your face who will prepare your way. The voice of

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 one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord. Make

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 your paths straight. John appeared baptizing in the wilderness

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 and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of

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 sins. And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going

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 out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan,

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 confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel's hair and he

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 wore a leather belt around his waist and he ate locusts and wild

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 honey. And he preached saying, after me comes he who is mightier

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 than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and

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 tie. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy

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 Spirit. Well, that first verse, as we mentioned a couple of weeks ago,

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 begins with the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

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 What Mark is saying is, as he writes in the first century in Rome, he's

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 saying, I want you to, you've seen what God's doing. You've seen how lives are

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 being changed as they profess their faith in Christ. I want you to know

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 what Christ was like. I want you to know what he did. And he goes on to write a

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 gospel, sharing that story of Jesus with us, primarily, probably that Peter told

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 him, because Mark was so young, when Jesus' ministry was going on. He begins not

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 with the genealogy of Jesus, as Matthew and Luke does. He does not begin with the

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 birth of Jesus, as the other gospels do. He does not begin with the childhood visit

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 to the temple of Jesus. He begins with his baptism and a description of the one who

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 baptized him. He was baptized by a man named John the Baptist, our very first

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 Southern Baptist, right there in Scripture. He's actually not called Baptist until later

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 in Scripture, but he's known most by this event, as well as the multiple baptisms that

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 he did over those years. Scripture's clear that before the Messiah, the Christ, would come,

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 there'd be an Elijah-type figure that would be leading the way. And Mark here mentions the

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 prophet Isaiah and what Isaiah said. He actually references two prophets when he

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 uses this passage. One is Malachi and one is Isaiah. In your Bible, verse 2 is actually

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 Malachi chapter 3 verse 1 or comes from that. And verse 3 actually comes from Isaiah chapter

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 40 verse 3. However, Isaiah was a much more well-known prophet. His book's a lot longer.

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 He's written a lot more. He's written a lot more. And he was much more well-known. The people

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 of Rome would have known him about Isaiah, even though many were Gentiles. Malachi, not so

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 much. They probably wouldn't have known him. And citing one of them, but quoting from both

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 of them is not odd when you combine a quote together. You see that in Scripture quite a bit.

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 The point is that John the Baptist was expected to lead the way for the Lord. It was prophesied that way.

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 It was also prophesied what he would do. His job was to prepare the way of the Lord. It is a military

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 term. It speaks of roads that often were not well-maintained and needed to be fixed before royalty came

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 through. They had bridges that might just collapse out of nowhere.

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 Before royalty was to arrive, those things were to be sured up. All of it was to be checked. All of it was to be

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 made right as needed. If the ground needed to be leveled, level the ground. If barriers need to be moved, they were

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 moved. If roads need to be straightened, they were straightened. It reminds me of when Donald Trump came

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 to town. Now don't panic. It's not political. I'm just telling you the facts. There were three possible

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 places on Main Street that his stage would be placed, and the city had an idea where they wanted it to be.

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 The Trump team had an idea where they wanted it to be. And Secret Service was here to check on anything

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 that they came up with. One of the places that they considered was immediately eliminated because

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 they were afraid of proper clearance of a building that I thought was a long way away. We were part of

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 that discussion because it would affect First Baptist Church depending on where that stage was, and

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 the fellowship hall was actually used as a cooling station. If you remember when he came, it was very hot

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 that day before the storm came through, and it was very hot, and we had several people who needed

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 assistance, and they went to the fellowship hall as a cooling station. However, before the president ever

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 arrived, I promise you his route was planned. His route was planned out. If there was a problem with that

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 route, they had an alternative route, they planned where to put people. They planned where people could park.

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 They planned where law enforcement were to be placed. It was all planned out before the president

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 ever got here. They prepared the way. It was not about the city. It was not about Secret Service.

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 It was not about the Trump team. It was about getting the president, at that time the future president,

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 where he needed to be and when he needed to be there, and he would take care of the program.

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 They were just to prep the way and let the focus be on him. Now, I'm telling you, being able to watch it

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 was impressive, and we found out months later in another state in the Union why you needed to make

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 sure that you had proper preparations because bad things can happen if they don't, but it serves as a

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 parallel because John's role was described by prophecy to lay down the groundwork, to prepare the way for the

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 Lord and then get out of the way. He came baptizing. He stated it was a baptism of repentance for the

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 forgiveness of sins. How better to prepare folks for the coming of the Lord than to encourage them to

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 repent, to prepare their hearts. It was not a rare practice for Gentiles that came to Judaism to be

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 baptized. That sometimes happened. However, for Jews, they were not known to be baptized. It was radical to

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 ask them to be baptized, and yet John came calling out everybody, including the religious leaders, maybe

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 especially the religious leaders, calling them a brood of vipers and speaking of their need of baptism.

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 Paul describes it like this in Acts 9, 19 verse 4. He said, John baptized with the baptism of repentance,

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 telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is Jesus. Now, don't let this

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 confuse you much because remember, this was before the coming of the Lord that John was doing all this

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 baptism, and he was doing it in preparation for the Lord coming. Sadly, many of those that he baptized,

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 many of those that were John's disciples failed to hear the whole story, at least on occasion, and these

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 needed to be baptized again when they actually met the Lord, came to the Lord, and received Christ.

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 But this is a unique situation with John the Baptist because it was all before Christ came. It was simply

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 preparation. However, what a job he did. The turnout was absolutely amazing. Jerusalem came out.

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 The country of Judea came out. Those who lived outside of Jerusalem, they all came out. It says all came,

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 and that means it was a bunch of folks. It does not mean that every individual person possibly came

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 there. They may have, but what it means is, just think, if we had a big event, and you were speaking

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 with somebody who was not able to be at that event, and they asked you, well, who came? And you said,

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 man, everybody came. Well, everybody didn't come because the one you're talking to didn't come,

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 you know. But at the same time, everybody probably was not there, but it was a bunch of people,

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 floods of people, estimated to be as many as 300,000 that came. They were listening. They were responding.

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 God used him mightily. And you may wonder how and why. John the Baptist was very unique. He was great,

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 and the other Gospels point out a lot more about him than Mark does because Mark writes in a hurry.

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 Luke tells us that he was supernaturally born to elderly parents. He was uniquely filled with the

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 Holy Spirit in his mother's womb. He was born with a calling and a mission. John records what Jesus

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 says about him in John chapter 5 verse 31 when he said, if I alone bear witness about myself,

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 my testimony is not true. There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony

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 that he bears about me is true. You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. Now, when Jesus

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 says, if I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true, what he's speaking to is a

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 cultural understanding, and that was something was not validated as truth unless there was more than

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 one witness. There had to be at least two witnesses. So Jesus is saying, there's a need of two witnesses,

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 and John the Baptist is the other witness for me. John was key to the launch of the ministry of Christ.

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 Jesus described him as the Elijah who is to come. Now, John was too humble and a little too overwhelmed by

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 the spot that he was put in to really realize his significance. In John chapter 1, he of course denies

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 that he's Christ when some people confuse that. He also denies that he's Elijah. He also denies that

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 he's a prophet. He simply states in John 1 verse 23, I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,

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 make straight the way of the Lord as the prophet Isaiah said. He was more of an Elijah type figure

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 than he ever realized. He never really understood the significance of who he was. And Jesus said about

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 him in Matthew 11 verse 11, truly I say to you, among those born of women, there has risen no one greater

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 than John the Baptist. God used him mightily. But he was different. He was different. He lived in the

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 wilderness. Now, I grew up in South Carolina, and I always thought the wilderness was the woods.

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 I grew up stomping through the woods, making trails through the woods, bike trails through the woods,

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 trying to build tree houses and all that kind of thing. However, in Israel, the wilderness is not the

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 woods. The wilderness is the desert. And it's hot in the day, and it's cool at night, and there's little

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 vegetation, and there's few water sources, and I'll just tell you, it's hard living. If you add to that

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 the wild animals and the dark nights, it's tough. The flats are often surrounded by sheer cliffs that are

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 porous and cavernous, and there are a lot of places to get out of the weather, and there's a lot of places

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 to hide, and a lot of people spent their time hiding in those caves. The land was full of bandits and

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 robbers along the road. When Jesus talked about the man being robbed on the road to Jericho, I've seen

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 one of those paths. I was riding from Jerusalem to Jericho on a bus, and I looked out the left window

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 and noticed on the side of the road there was a path, a rough cliffside path that was leading from

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 Jerusalem to Jericho. And I couldn't help but think, I wonder if that's the road that Jesus was talking

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 about. I have no idea, but I thought how easy it would be in such circumstances for somebody to be

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 attacked, for somebody to be robbed, for somebody to lose their life. It could very easily happen,

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 and I will tell you it did happen often. It was rugged, it was barren, it was arid, and somewhat

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 forbidding. Nothing about living in the desert was desirous, and John's clothes was not desirable either.

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 He wore a camel hair coat, but it was not from Brooks Brothers. It was the hide of a camel,

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 not a smoking jacket, no velvet elbow pads, patches. It was rough, water resistant, and warm from the cold,

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 but it was rough. Scripture tells us he also wore a leather belt, and it's very possible that that

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 leather belt was actually a leather girdle. So John was wearing an untanned, rough piece of leather

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 to gird himself with. I'll just say that was the greatest of discomfort. For a standard girdle for a

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 man would be made of linen. The point is that John was living practically. John was living simply,

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 but he was also living symbolically. For 2 Kings chapter 1 verse 8, we find that Elijah wore such a coat,

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 and Elijah wore such a belt. It says he wore a garment of hair with a belt of leather around his waist.

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 Zechariah 13 verse 4 identifies a, quote, hairy coat as a sign of a prophet, and some believe that when

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 Christ speaks of wolves in sheep's clothing in Matthew chapter 7, that he's actually taking off on what

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 prophets often wore, and what they look like, and how somebody may try to look like a prophet, and not

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 really be one. We know that what he meant was there's false prophets. We're not sure if he was talking about

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 a particular clothing, but the clothing was a sign, and John wore it. Not only that, but it says he ate

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 locusts and wild honey. That was practical in the desert, because there were locusts, and there was

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 wild honey, and you ate what you found. He lived off the land. Now part of all of this was choices that he

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 made to live a nomadic simple life. He purposely lived without the luxuries of society. He did not

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 have a cell phone. He did not have a car. He did without those things. He came preaching repentance,

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 baptizing people with a baptism of repentance, and as they turned from the sin of their heart,

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 they would be clean. And that's what's shown in the imagery of his baptism. Jesus came to him

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 and was baptized himself. To be clear, Jesus didn't repent, didn't need to repent to fulfill righteousness,

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 but instead he said, I'm baptized to fulfill righteousness. I believe he did it to meet us

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 where we are, to show us that we are to do it. I believe he did it for the powerful affirmation

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 that he received from heaven as he came up out of the water. But I want to be clear about this, because

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 as I can be, John was not baptizing with believers' baptism. He was baptizing to prepare people to meet

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 Christ and to then be saved. Acts chapter 19 shows us that some that were baptized by John,

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 they're called John's disciples, needed to be baptized later when they realized that Christ had in fact

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 come. John's ministry was cut off from those that he was discipling. And some of them never heard the

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 rest of the story. Not all of them witnessed the coming of Christ. Not all of them witnessed the

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 baptism of Christ. And there's a point of clarification that comes in Acts chapter 19 because some of them

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 did not know Christ had come. Well, why didn't they know that? They didn't know that because John was

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 executed. Why was he executed? He was executed due to Herod. But we need to get our Herod straight

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 because one Herod was reigning when Jesus was born. And I don't know how to put this, but to say it,

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 the man was crazy. He, I had the opportunity several years ago to visit his desert retreat that he was

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 building for the last 24 years of his life. It stands on top of a high cliff over the Dead Sea.

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 And at that retreat, he was building three palaces for three of his wives. However, he was known

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 to throw unsuccessful soldiers, untrusting servants, and dissatisfying wives off a cliff,

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 off that cliff. It was his favorite way of killing. I remember when I was up there,

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 I looked out a window of one of those structures. And when I looked out that opening, it was right on

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 the edge of the cliff. And I was wondering, is this where he threw her out? Because he did. Now,

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 can you imagine, because he did, he threw his wife out the window. Can you imagine what those wives

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 must have thought living in a palace built just for them, right on top of a cliff with a crazy man there?

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 Psychiatrists tell us that he was probably a paranoid schizophrenic, which is a dangerous problem if it's

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 unmedicated. And he died in 4 AD. Now, I don't know if his son was psychotic, but I know he was a sinner.

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 And I know he married an unstable woman. He had taken her from his brother. And John was preaching

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 strong at the time. He gained a lot of attention. Large crowds went out into the desert to see him.

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 They were coming from here and yonder, and he was gaining too much attention. And I'm telling you,

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 John preached fire and brimstone. A lot of you'd be offended by him. He was bold and brassy. He called sin,

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 sin. And when he preached against the adultery of Herod, his adulteress grew angry about it.

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 She didn't like it. And so at his birthday party, she had her daughter come out and do a provocative

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 dance for him. And it excited him. And Herod promised her anything she wanted. He sounded like a drunk,

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 rich, rich, redneck, is what he sounded like. And her mother said, tell him you want John's head. Well,

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 he didn't want to do it. He was somewhat fascinated with John. He wanted to hear John. But he was a

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 prideful man. He was weak. And excuse me, he was stupid. And she got it, what she wanted, literally on a

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 platter. He was lustful. He was weak. And John died early because of it. He was a unique man.

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 But more than anything else, I want you to see two things that he was devoted to. First,

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 he came to clear the way of the Lord. Let nothing hinder the coming of the king. Go before his arrival.

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 Take care of all the details. Let him come do what he's meant to do. He didn't do that by telling people,

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 excuse me, he did that by telling people to repent. He did that by giving them a baptism of repentance to

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 make their hearts as ready as possible for the Spirit of God to do the task through the message and the

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 person of Jesus. And the second thing he came to do is give Christ all the glory. People came all around

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 to see John. And they had to work hard to get there. Scripture tells us Jesus came from Nazareth to be

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 baptized by John. That's roughly 70 miles that he walked. And because of the terrain, that's a 10 to

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 14 day trip on average for somebody of that era. Jerusalem was not that far, but it was still a long

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 way away. And they came out of Jerusalem and all Judea to come see him. It took effort. He was

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 something to see. He was something to hear. But do you know what they heard? Verse seven and eight, I'll

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 repeat. After me, he said, comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I'm not worthy to

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 stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he'll baptize you with the Holy Spirit. Now you

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 probably know that due to the nature of the walks that they took because of the sandals that they wore,

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 that washing feet was the lowest job of the servant of a household. Matter of fact, some didn't even want

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 their servants to wash their feet. They wanted to find somebody else outside the home. But John wasn't

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 bothered by that. John was basically saying the ritual that I do with baptism is nothing compared

00:24:46.779 --> 00:24:55.100
 to the life changing baptism of the spirit of God. When Christ regenerates hearts, he said in John

00:24:55.100 --> 00:25:04.500
 chapter three, 28 through 30, he said, I am not the Christ, but I've been sent before him. The one who has

00:25:04.500 --> 00:25:11.319
 the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom who stands and hears him rejoices greatly

00:25:11.319 --> 00:25:18.319
 at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore, this joy of mine is now complete. Have you ever had a friend

00:25:18.319 --> 00:25:26.099
 that was just happy for you when you were happy? They just wanted you taken care of and they got more joy

00:25:26.099 --> 00:25:32.279
 over you being taken care of than they did themselves. I'm telling you, that's a friend to have. That's

00:25:32.279 --> 00:25:37.160
 somebody special. That's the way John the Baptist was for Jesus. And then he goes on to say this. He says,

00:25:38.099 --> 00:25:48.379
 he must increase and I must decrease. What a powerful testimony. Christian, that is exactly

00:25:48.379 --> 00:25:55.319
 what we are to do. We are to clear the way for Christ to move in other people's lives. Now,

00:25:55.319 --> 00:26:03.460
 how do we do that? I want to give you four ways to do that quickly. And I don't want you to choose

00:26:03.460 --> 00:26:13.700
 one of them. I encourage you to do all four of them. One is live differently. Live differently.

00:26:15.139 --> 00:26:20.319
 Live right. Don't live like others. Don't try to be a little bit better than somebody else. Don't try to

00:26:20.319 --> 00:26:28.839
 live a little bit higher standard than somebody else. Choose to be different for the sake of Christ.

00:26:29.919 --> 00:26:34.700
 Live differently where somebody will ask. Even if they don't ask you, they may ask others.

00:26:35.460 --> 00:26:44.159
 What's so different about them? What makes them so different? Live differently. The second thing is pray

00:26:44.160 --> 00:26:56.140
 intensely. It is not our ways, but his work. So do everything as if it depends on you and pray fervently

00:26:56.140 --> 00:27:07.680
 as if none of it depends upon you. But pray intensely. And then also invite consistently.

00:27:07.680 --> 00:27:19.320
 Don't let up. Invite folks to come to Christ. Invite folks to come to church. Invite folks to come to a special

00:27:19.320 --> 00:27:26.100
 event that we may hold. Invite folks to come to your life group. And don't just invite one. Invite somebody else.

00:27:26.180 --> 00:27:31.519
 And don't just invite them once. Invite them again. When you see somebody here that you don't know,

00:27:32.039 --> 00:27:36.220
 introduce yourself. Don't be embarrassed you don't know their name. They don't know your name either.

00:27:36.220 --> 00:27:41.259
 Introduce yourself. Introduce yourself. Welcome them. If you don't know them, they don't know you.

00:27:41.680 --> 00:27:50.960
 Don't worry about it. Just love on folks. Decrease so Christ can increase. Invite consistently.

00:27:52.220 --> 00:28:03.460
 And lastly, point to Christ insistently. It's not about us. So don't talk about us. Speak of him.

00:28:03.460 --> 00:28:14.600
 Give Christ the glory. Let's make it our jobs to clear the way and then get out of the way and let God do the work

00:28:14.600 --> 00:28:20.160
 as only he can to clear the way.

00:28:22.160 --> 00:28:25.259
 College football is about to come back. The best time of year.

00:28:25.259 --> 00:28:34.319
 And there's some unsung heroes on the field that you may not pay much attention to.

00:28:35.400 --> 00:28:41.059
 But they make a lot of difference. And if they don't do their job, a team's not going to be successful.

00:28:42.259 --> 00:28:43.640
 And that's offensive linemen.

00:28:44.759 --> 00:28:46.519
 You don't hear much about offensive linemen.

00:28:47.359 --> 00:28:48.640
 They don't get a lot of attention.

00:28:48.640 --> 00:28:55.220
 But if they don't do their job, the guy who's carrying the ball can get where he needs to go.

00:28:55.900 --> 00:29:01.660
 The one who throws the passes and stands in the pocket won't have a pocket if the offensive line ain't doing the job.

00:29:02.740 --> 00:29:07.060
 And as much as you may not know, the reality is they all have responsibilities.

00:29:07.420 --> 00:29:10.020
 Not just to block the guy in front of him. Block him a certain way.

00:29:10.700 --> 00:29:13.080
 To move his body and pivot him a certain way.

00:29:13.079 --> 00:29:17.000
 To make a hole for the ball to go through to keep it going.

00:29:18.220 --> 00:29:23.139
 And when somebody scores a touchdown, you hear the name of the person that scores the touchdown.

00:29:24.220 --> 00:29:27.460
 When somebody catches a pass, you hear the name of the one who threw the pass.

00:29:28.259 --> 00:29:30.159
 And the one who caught the pass.

00:29:30.859 --> 00:29:32.559
 You don't hear about those guys on the line.

00:29:32.619 --> 00:29:33.199
 You know what they do?

00:29:33.879 --> 00:29:35.539
 The big uglies just go off the field.

00:29:36.539 --> 00:29:37.619
 Go get some more water.

00:29:38.299 --> 00:29:40.799
 And get ready for the next series of downs.

00:29:41.159 --> 00:29:42.279
 To come back out.

00:29:42.279 --> 00:29:43.700
 To make a way.

00:29:45.319 --> 00:29:47.339
 They'll go on if they're really good.

00:29:47.700 --> 00:29:51.319
 And they'll make millions of dollars more than some of the guys behind them.

00:29:52.220 --> 00:29:53.680
 Because they're so good at what they do.

00:29:54.980 --> 00:29:57.200
 But you won't know their names for the most part.

00:29:57.519 --> 00:29:59.119
 Not most people that watch college football.

00:30:00.160 --> 00:30:01.460
 But they prepare the way.

00:30:02.960 --> 00:30:04.079
 You know what we need to do?

00:30:06.039 --> 00:30:07.200
 We need to make a hole.

00:30:08.799 --> 00:30:10.000
 We need to make a way.

00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:13.579
 We need to quit worrying about who gets the acknowledgement.

00:30:14.660 --> 00:30:17.160
 Worry about who gets the attention.

00:30:18.099 --> 00:30:23.119
 And make the way for the Lord Jesus to do whatever he'd have to do.

00:30:24.160 --> 00:30:26.180
 Let that happen in our lives.

00:30:27.259 --> 00:30:29.700
 Let that happen in the people that we interact with.

00:30:30.339 --> 00:30:32.319
 Let that show in the way that we pray.

00:30:33.019 --> 00:30:34.779
 Let that show in what we talk about.

00:30:34.779 --> 00:30:38.759
 Let's just make Jesus what it's all about.

00:30:39.399 --> 00:30:40.559
 And I'm telling you.

00:30:41.000 --> 00:30:42.440
 Just like John the Baptist.

00:30:43.039 --> 00:30:45.079
 If we'll just keep pointing to Jesus.

00:30:45.660 --> 00:30:47.440
 People's lives will be changed.

00:30:48.200 --> 00:30:50.039
 Not because we got the attention.

00:30:50.579 --> 00:30:52.059
 And not because it was about us.

00:30:52.059 --> 00:30:53.980
 But because it's about him.

00:30:54.919 --> 00:30:56.079
 And when he's honored.

00:30:56.579 --> 00:30:57.579
 And glorified.

00:30:59.419 --> 00:31:00.960
 People will be drawn to him.

00:31:01.519 --> 00:31:02.879
 And lives will be changed.

00:31:03.700 --> 00:31:04.559
 With every head bowed.

00:31:04.599 --> 00:31:05.099
 And every eye closed.

00:31:05.159 --> 00:31:06.200
 I want to ask you this morning.

00:31:07.319 --> 00:31:10.159
 If you've ever given your heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ.

00:31:10.160 --> 00:31:13.880
 If you haven't.

00:31:13.980 --> 00:31:16.340
 I want you to know that today's the day of salvation.

00:31:17.420 --> 00:31:20.560
 And if you'll acknowledge the sin that is within your life.

00:31:21.340 --> 00:31:23.740
 The times that you've done wrong before the Lord.

00:31:23.860 --> 00:31:25.019
 And ask him to forgive you.

00:31:25.840 --> 00:31:27.880
 And be willing to walk away from that.

00:31:28.660 --> 00:31:30.540
 By his power and by his strength.

00:31:30.660 --> 00:31:31.460
 Empowering you.

00:31:32.460 --> 00:31:33.400
 He'll save you today.

00:31:33.480 --> 00:31:35.019
 And change your life forever.

00:31:35.740 --> 00:31:38.160
 Not only will you get an uptick of life here.

00:31:38.160 --> 00:31:41.060
 But you'll spend eternity with him.

00:31:41.640 --> 00:31:42.400
 As well.

00:31:43.320 --> 00:31:44.380
 Maybe you're here this morning.

00:31:44.440 --> 00:31:45.080
 And you have done that.

00:31:45.120 --> 00:31:46.000
 But you did it privately.

00:31:46.140 --> 00:31:47.600
 And you never acknowledge that publicly.

00:31:48.680 --> 00:31:50.019
 Jesus by his example.

00:31:50.140 --> 00:31:51.140
 That we just talked about.

00:31:51.700 --> 00:31:53.060
 And by his commission.

00:31:53.240 --> 00:31:54.440
 That he closes out with.

00:31:55.440 --> 00:31:58.180
 Tells us to follow that personal decision up.

00:31:58.600 --> 00:31:59.480
 With baptism.

00:32:00.200 --> 00:32:01.600
 If you've never been baptized as a believer.

00:32:01.740 --> 00:32:02.460
 I encourage you.

00:32:02.800 --> 00:32:03.440
 To come.

00:32:03.519 --> 00:32:04.420
 We'll be doing that soon.

00:32:04.480 --> 00:32:05.320
 Won't do it today.

00:32:05.779 --> 00:32:07.100
 We'll line that up.

00:32:07.099 --> 00:32:08.959
 But I encourage you to come.

00:32:09.659 --> 00:32:11.859
 Maybe God's drawing you to First Baptist Church.

00:32:12.019 --> 00:32:14.339
 And God's doing a mighty work among us.

00:32:14.419 --> 00:32:14.740
 And maybe.

00:32:14.959 --> 00:32:17.259
 Maybe God is leading you here.

00:32:17.719 --> 00:32:18.559
 To come.

00:32:19.099 --> 00:32:20.299
 To be a member of this church.

00:32:21.339 --> 00:32:22.179
 You come.

00:32:22.279 --> 00:32:24.240
 We'd love to guide you in that process.

00:32:24.319 --> 00:32:25.099
 Of how that works.

00:32:26.559 --> 00:32:27.719
 Maybe you're just here.

00:32:27.879 --> 00:32:27.939
 And.

00:32:29.339 --> 00:32:30.879
 It's been too much about you.

00:32:30.880 --> 00:32:34.400
 You've been doing it your way.

00:32:34.440 --> 00:32:35.400
 Instead of God's way.

00:32:37.160 --> 00:32:38.840
 It's not been about preparing the way.

00:32:38.900 --> 00:32:40.080
 Or clearing the way for the Lord.

00:32:41.280 --> 00:32:42.520
 It's been about your way.

00:32:43.480 --> 00:32:45.120
 And you need to lay some things down.

00:32:45.160 --> 00:32:45.940
 Before the Lord.

00:32:46.720 --> 00:32:47.560
 To be faithful.

00:32:47.800 --> 00:32:48.180
 To him.

00:32:48.360 --> 00:32:48.680
 Today.

00:32:48.760 --> 00:32:49.560
 You can do that.

00:32:49.780 --> 00:32:50.740
 Where you'll stand.

00:32:51.300 --> 00:32:52.680
 You can do that at his altar.

00:32:52.880 --> 00:32:54.240
 I'll be happy to pray for you.

00:32:55.039 --> 00:32:57.220
 I have no idea how God's working in your life.

00:32:57.259 --> 00:32:58.620
 But I know you'll never be satisfied.

00:32:58.620 --> 00:33:00.440
 Unless you're obediently.

00:33:01.400 --> 00:33:01.799
 Obedient.

00:33:02.059 --> 00:33:03.400
 And you'll follow him.

00:33:04.160 --> 00:33:06.180
 Just do what he tells you to do.

00:33:06.920 --> 00:33:07.640
 This morning.

00:33:07.740 --> 00:33:08.220
 Lord Jesus.

00:33:08.359 --> 00:33:09.059
 I love you.

00:33:09.920 --> 00:33:10.620
 I thank you Lord.

00:33:10.680 --> 00:33:12.180
 For the love that you have for us.

00:33:12.220 --> 00:33:13.740
 And I ask your God today.

00:33:14.940 --> 00:33:15.880
 That you'll work.

00:33:15.940 --> 00:33:16.920
 And you'll move in our lives.

00:33:16.980 --> 00:33:17.839
 And help each one of us.

00:33:17.880 --> 00:33:18.859
 To simply be obedient.

00:33:19.559 --> 00:33:21.180
 As you speak to our hearts and lives.

00:33:21.539 --> 00:33:22.920
 In Jesus precious name.

00:33:23.359 --> 00:33:23.680
 Amen.