The big issue was that the religious , temple establishment faced some opposition from more devoted followers of Jewish law . They felt that everyday religious life was not hastening the rule of God and the overthrow of their oppressors . John ’ s alternative message attracted those disaffected with religion as it was , those who were looking for something more .
For us today , our faith may at times need to challenge the established form of religious expression . All traditions can get stale and lose its heart yet people today crave an authentic spirituality as much as they did two thousand years ago . Genuine seekers will go out into their own ‘ deserts ’, away from the business as usual , to find a more genuine way of living for God . John the Baptist ’ s life is as much a challenge to our own religious comfort and conformity as it was in his own time .
3 . Like John , practice what you believe . John , to quote a well trodden cliché , ‘ walked the talk ’. He practised what he preached and his preaching was pretty straight forward ; repentance ( greek metanoia ) meaning a complete change of one ’ s life and the rite of baptism to signify the repentance of sin . He lived his life completely consistent to his beliefs and calling because John had turned away from the standards of the world to live by God ’ s standards .
This is just as difficult for us to do today . How do we live for God and not ourselves ? We can ’ t do both so a change of heart and mind to live a life consistent with God ’ s standards is needed . It will be hard sometimes but the fruits of that life and decision are so worth it even though at times we may seem to fail . God ’ s amazing grace and mercy in Jesus will always inspire us to keep going .
4 . Lead people to Christ , not ourselves . John ’ s life had a single purpose : to prepare people for the coming of the messiah . ‘ I am the voice of the one calling in the wilderness , “ make straight the way of the Lord .” ( John 1:23 ). John was a great prophet of God . You could say he was the last prophet of the Old Testament as he bridges the two covenants leading to Jesus . Yet he remained consistent in his calling , to prepare for the coming of someone greater .
However great or small we think our calling and ministry may be , it ’ s irrelevant unless it ’ s true purpose is to lead people to Christ . When human ambition gets in the way of fulfilling God ’ s purposes we diminish our true identity in Christ . John ’ s life is a challenge to holiness and living truthfully .
5 . Be genuine in humility . John had a following , he had disciples , he had a reputation . The very things that would make people proud but John ’ s perspective was never on earthly glory , it was always pointing to the greater glory of God . His was a time when many people had it in their heads to lead rebellions , start movements and agitate against Rome . Reputations could be made or broken according to anyone ’ s claim to carry divine favour .
But John clearly spent more time listening to God . Perhaps that ’ s why he felt more at home in the desert , away from the distractions of towns and cities . There he could hear and discern what God wanted to do through him for his people , Israel .
Being this close to God can only build in his character a deep sense of humility . He lived it out right down to his lifestyle , his clothes and his food ! Living truthfully and in holiness expressed itself in humility . ‘ After me comes the one more powerful than I , the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie .’ Mark 1:7 . Only a man as great as John could acknowledge his place in front of , Jesus . His purpose in life had been fulfilled .
We need to imitate this way of humility like John .
6 . Doubts are normal . Some time after John baptised Jesus , he began to hear news of what Jesus was doing . ‘ John ’ s disciples told him about all these things . Calling two of them , he sent them to the Lord to ask , “ Are you the one who was to come , or should we expect someone else ?”’ Luke 7:18-19 .
Clearly John had expected something different of Jesus . Perhaps he thought he should be more like the prophets of old , more separate from the world ? But what Jesus was doing was initiating the new covenant of grace , not repeating the old . This was as much of a surprise to John as it was to others . The life of Jesus had challenged even John ’ s worldview and understanding of God . So he had doubts .
Continue ….
Jeremiah
' For I will restore you to health And I will heal you of your wounds ,' declares the LORD , ' Because they have called you an outcast , saying : " It is Zion ; no one cares for her ."
The big issue was that the religious , temple establishment faced some opposition from more devoted followers of Jewish law . They felt that everyday religious life was not hastening the rule of God and the overthrow of their oppressors . John ’ s alternative message attracted those disaffected with religion as it was , those who were looking for something more .
For us today , our faith may at times need to challenge the established form of religious expression . All traditions can get stale and lose its heart yet people today crave an authentic spirituality as much as they did two thousand years ago . Genuine seekers will go out into their own ‘ deserts ’, away from the business as usual , to find a more genuine way of living for God . John the Baptist ’ s life is as much a challenge to our own religious comfort and conformity as it was in his own time .
3 . Like John , practice what you believe . John , to quote a well trodden cliché , ‘ walked the talk ’. He practised what he preached and his preaching was pretty straight forward ; repentance ( greek metanoia ) meaning a complete change of one ’ s life and the rite of baptism to signify the repentance of sin . He lived his life completely consistent to his beliefs and calling because John had turned away from the standards of the world to live by God ’ s standards .
This is just as difficult for us to do today . How do we live for God and not ourselves ? We can ’ t do both so a change of heart and mind to live a life consistent with God ’ s standards is needed . It will be hard sometimes but the fruits of that life and decision are so worth it even though at times we may seem to fail . God ’ s amazing grace and mercy in Jesus will always inspire us to keep going .
4 . Lead people to Christ , not ourselves . John ’ s life had a single purpose : to prepare people for the coming of the messiah . ‘ I am the voice of the one calling in the wilderness , “ make straight the way of the Lord .” ( John 1:23 ). John was a great prophet of God . You could say he was the last prophet of the Old Testament as he bridges the two covenants leading to Jesus . Yet he remained consistent in his calling , to prepare for the coming of someone greater .
However great or small we think our calling and ministry may be , it ’ s irrelevant unless it ’ s true purpose is to lead people to Christ . When human ambition gets in the way of fulfilling God ’ s purposes we diminish our true identity in Christ . John ’ s life is a challenge to holiness and living truthfully .
5 . Be genuine in humility . John had a following , he had disciples , he had a reputation . The very things that would make people proud but John ’ s perspective was never on earthly glory , it was always pointing to the greater glory of God . His was a time when many people had it in their heads to lead rebellions , start movements and agitate against Rome . Reputations could be made or broken according to anyone ’ s claim to carry divine favour .
But John clearly spent more time listening to God . Perhaps that ’ s why he felt more at home in the desert , away from the distractions of towns and cities . There he could hear and discern what God wanted to do through him for his people , Israel .
Being this close to God can only build in his character a deep sense of humility . He lived it out right down to his lifestyle , his clothes and his food ! Living truthfully and in holiness expressed itself in humility . ‘ After me comes the one more powerful than I , the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie .’ Mark 1:7 . Only a man as great as John could acknowledge his place in front of , Jesus . His purpose in life had been fulfilled .
We need to imitate this way of humility like John .
6 . Doubts are normal . Some time after John baptised Jesus , he began to hear news of what Jesus was doing . ‘ John ’ s disciples told him about all these things . Calling two of them , he sent them to the Lord to ask , “ Are you the one who was to come , or should we expect someone else ?”’ Luke 7:18-19 .
Clearly John had expected something different of Jesus . Perhaps he thought he should be more like the prophets of old , more separate from the world ? But what Jesus was doing was initiating the new covenant of grace , not repeating the old . This was as much of a surprise to John as it was to others . The life of Jesus had challenged even John ’ s worldview and understanding of God . So he had doubts .
Continue ….
Jeremiah
30:17
11
' For I will restore you to health And I will heal you of your wounds ,' declares the LORD , ' Because they have called you an outcast , saying : " It is Zion ; no one cares for her ."