1 00:00:00,360 --> 00:00:02,680 Nothing greater than the the word of life. 2 00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:06,800 And so take the word which is life and open with me, if you 3 00:00:06,800 --> 00:00:12,080 would, to John chapter 1, the Gospel of John declaring the 4 00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:16,200 deity of, of Christ. And we're going to move off of 5 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:19,480 John 6 today. John one verse #6 and I'm sure 6 00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:23,840 you're happy about that. And move on to verse number 7 7 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:29,800 and even verse #8 and even verse #15 as we make our way through 8 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:34,600 this great and glorious gospel. But it's all about the legacy of 9 00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:40,840 John, the legacy of John. I'm not so sure John would think 10 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:44,760 of leaving a legacy. I'm not sure that was uppermost 11 00:00:44,760 --> 00:00:46,720 in his mind. A lot like you and me, we don't 12 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:50,560 come to church and wake up each day thinking that, you know 13 00:00:50,560 --> 00:00:52,360 what? I'm going to one day leave a 14 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:58,480 legacy behind until we get later in in life and we're about to 15 00:00:58,480 --> 00:01:03,000 die and wonder what our legacy will be left. 16 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:12,600 Well, what you leave behind is what you leave before or what 17 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:15,760 you live before all the people around you. 18 00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:18,920 You leave behind that which you live. 19 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:22,680 If you live a glorious life that honors the Lord you, you leave 20 00:01:22,680 --> 00:01:26,000 that legacy. If you live a life that 21 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:28,520 dishonors the Lord, you'll leave that legacy. 22 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:35,960 The legacy you live always determines the life that you 23 00:01:35,960 --> 00:01:38,920 live before the people closest to you. 24 00:01:40,320 --> 00:01:43,400 And John would leave a legacy. In fact, you can. 25 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:50,280 You can sum up his legacy in in 3 words and these 3 words will 26 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:56,640 will somehow be a barometer for your life and the legacy that 27 00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:08,000 that you will live and leave. The first word is presentation, 28 00:02:09,759 --> 00:02:16,000 the second word is preparation, and the third word is 29 00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:21,960 proclamation. Presentation, that's number one. 30 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:26,400 And then preparation, that's number two. 31 00:02:27,640 --> 00:02:30,920 And proclamation, that's number three. 32 00:02:32,440 --> 00:02:36,520 And those 3 words will inevitably, inevitably make up 33 00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:43,520 our three points this week, next week, and probably the week 34 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:49,600 after as we begin to understand the legacy of John. 35 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:54,040 So if you have your Bible, let me, let me read to you John 36 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:58,120 chapter one verse #6 we'll pick it up there. 37 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:00,840 There came a man sent from God whose name was John. 38 00:03:00,840 --> 00:03:05,880 He came as a witness to testify about the light, said all might 39 00:03:05,880 --> 00:03:08,880 believe through him he was not the light, but he came to 40 00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:14,160 testify about the light. Jump down to verse #15 John 41 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:18,440 testified about him and cried out, saying, this was he of whom 42 00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:23,940 I said, He who comes after me has a higher rank than I pre 43 00:03:23,940 --> 00:03:29,840 existed before me. Then jump to verse #19 This is 44 00:03:29,840 --> 00:03:34,080 the testimony of John when the Jews sent to him priests and 45 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:38,480 Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who are you? 46 00:03:39,840 --> 00:03:43,120 And he confessed, and did not deny, but confessed I am not the 47 00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:45,920 Christ. They asked him, What then are 48 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:49,000 you, Elijah? He said, I am not. 49 00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:53,000 Are you the prophet? And he answered no. 50 00:03:54,280 --> 00:03:56,000 Then they said to him, Who are you? 51 00:03:57,040 --> 00:04:00,400 So we may give an answer to those who sent us. 52 00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:08,240 What do you say about yourself? He said, I am a voice of one 53 00:04:08,240 --> 00:04:11,120 crying in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the 54 00:04:11,120 --> 00:04:14,160 Lord, as Isaiah the prophet said. 55 00:04:15,760 --> 00:04:18,800 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. 56 00:04:19,880 --> 00:04:23,640 They asked him, and said to him, Why then are you baptizing, if 57 00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:26,520 you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet? 58 00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:32,000 John answered them, saying, I, I baptize in water, but among you 59 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:39,080 stands one whom you do not know. It is he who comes after me, the 60 00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:41,960 song of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie. 61 00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:46,840 These things took place in Bethany, beyond the Jordan, 62 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:53,600 where John was baptizing. The next day he saw Jesus coming 63 00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:57,280 to him, and said, Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the 64 00:04:57,280 --> 00:05:01,560 sin of the world. This is He on behalf of whom I 65 00:05:01,560 --> 00:05:07,120 said, after me comes a man who has a higher rank than I, for he 66 00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:11,200 existed before me. I did not recognize him, but so 67 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:15,200 that he might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in 68 00:05:15,200 --> 00:05:20,480 water, John testified, saying, I have seen the Spirit descending 69 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:24,680 as a dove out of heaven, and he remained upon him. 70 00:05:25,720 --> 00:05:29,640 I did not recognize him, but he sent me to baptize in water. 71 00:05:29,640 --> 00:05:34,560 Said to me, He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and 72 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:39,720 remaining upon him, This is the one who baptizes in the Holy 73 00:05:39,720 --> 00:05:44,280 Spirit. I myself have seen and testified 74 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:53,680 that this is the Son of God. This sums up John's legacy. 75 00:05:55,240 --> 00:06:03,080 It begins with a presentation, and that is that John came to 76 00:06:03,120 --> 00:06:06,560 present the preeminence of the light. 77 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:17,040 He came, number one, to present the preeminence of the light. 78 00:06:19,360 --> 00:06:24,440 He said I am not the light, but I came to testify about the 79 00:06:24,440 --> 00:06:28,480 light. Notice six times in the passage 80 00:06:28,520 --> 00:06:33,840 we read, it talks about John's testimony, John's witness. 81 00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:39,600 I am a a witness. I am here to testify. 82 00:06:39,880 --> 00:06:48,080 I am a testimony to the light. He came to present the the 83 00:06:48,080 --> 00:06:53,280 preeminence of the light so others would be able to see what 84 00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:58,440 he had already seen and what he had already known. 85 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:05,040 This is where John's legacy begins to explode. 86 00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:11,480 The Bible says he did this because, as it says in Luke 87 00:07:11,480 --> 00:07:18,000 chapter one verse #7 he came as a witness to testify about the 88 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:28,120 light so that all may believe. That's why he did it, so that 89 00:07:28,120 --> 00:07:32,080 others would believe. And that's the theme of, of, of 90 00:07:32,080 --> 00:07:35,760 John's gospel. John 20 verse #31 these things 91 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:38,280 were written. These things were a testimony. 92 00:07:38,280 --> 00:07:41,720 This was that which was testified before you, that you 93 00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:47,440 may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. 94 00:07:50,040 --> 00:07:57,360 And John will give 8 witnesses 8 testimonies throughout the 95 00:07:57,360 --> 00:08:00,680 Gospel. This is the first of the 8. 96 00:08:03,320 --> 00:08:09,280 John the Baptist is the first testimony to witness, to 97 00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:15,160 proclaim, to present the preeminence of the light. 98 00:08:16,840 --> 00:08:24,080 And John is a great witness. Think about it #1 he's a 99 00:08:24,080 --> 00:08:29,760 prophet, right? Matthew tells us twice that 100 00:08:29,760 --> 00:08:31,640 everybody recognized him as a prophet. 101 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:39,039 The Lord had not sent a prophet in over 400 years. 102 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:43,720 Malachi was the last Old Testament prophet. 103 00:08:46,360 --> 00:08:48,640 And so for 400 years there was silence. 104 00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:56,080 Nobody had spoken from God. So when John comes on the scene, 105 00:08:56,760 --> 00:09:01,120 he is recognized as a prophet by everyone. 106 00:09:03,320 --> 00:09:08,840 So this gives him credibility. It gives him credibility. 107 00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:13,640 He was the voice of God to the people. 108 00:09:15,600 --> 00:09:20,240 In fact, over in John 5, which we will see further in a moment, 109 00:09:20,680 --> 00:09:27,640 it says in verse #35 that John was the lamp that was burning 110 00:09:28,320 --> 00:09:33,680 and was shining, and you were willing to rejoice for a while 111 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:40,440 in his light, that that's just a great verse to describe John. 112 00:09:41,560 --> 00:09:48,560 John was, was a light that was burning, that was shining so 113 00:09:48,560 --> 00:09:51,360 that you could see the way to the Messiah. 114 00:09:53,720 --> 00:09:58,840 And so John becomes this credible testimony because he's 115 00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:02,440 a prophet. But now is he a prophet? 116 00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:08,200 He's a priest because he's a prophet, he breathes 117 00:10:08,200 --> 00:10:11,120 credibility. And because he's a priest, he 118 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:15,840 breathes believability. Remember, his father was a 119 00:10:15,840 --> 00:10:23,080 priest and John was in the in the life in line of the 120 00:10:23,080 --> 00:10:26,720 priesthood. So for all practical purposes, 121 00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:30,880 John's a priest. Now, he wasn't trained in the 122 00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:33,120 priesthood. He didn't follow his father in 123 00:10:33,120 --> 00:10:34,840 the priesthood. More about that in a second. 124 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:41,760 But everybody would know about his believability as a priest 125 00:10:43,080 --> 00:10:45,840 because all they would have to do is think back just just a 126 00:10:46,720 --> 00:10:51,600 measly 30 years to his birth. Do you not? 127 00:10:51,640 --> 00:10:56,480 Do you not think that the priesthood, the 18,000 priests 128 00:10:57,080 --> 00:11:02,000 in the land of Israel at the time of Jesus and John, they 129 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:05,640 didn't know about the miraculous birth of John the Baptist? 130 00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:13,840 I mean Elizabeth was barren. She was in her late 70s, early 131 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:16,000 80s before she gave birth to John. 132 00:11:16,480 --> 00:11:21,240 She was advanced in years. The Bible says so all the 133 00:11:21,240 --> 00:11:25,320 priesthood would know because they would look at Elizabeth as 134 00:11:25,320 --> 00:11:27,360 being cursed because she had no child. 135 00:11:29,040 --> 00:11:33,040 But then there's this birth announced by the Angel Gabriel. 136 00:11:35,040 --> 00:11:36,960 And so it was a miraculous birth. 137 00:11:38,720 --> 00:11:44,560 And on top of that, Zacharias was was unable to speak for nine 138 00:11:44,560 --> 00:11:47,920 months. Do you think the priest didn't 139 00:11:47,920 --> 00:11:49,120 know about that? Of course they did. 140 00:11:49,720 --> 00:11:57,400 They all knew that and outcomes John the Baptist and Zacharias 141 00:11:57,400 --> 00:12:00,840 is able to speak and continue his ministry. 142 00:12:02,240 --> 00:12:07,240 And then he he wrote this song, this prophecy is in Luke chapter 143 00:12:07,240 --> 00:12:09,520 1. And don't you think the 144 00:12:09,520 --> 00:12:12,760 priesthood knew about that? Of course he did. 145 00:12:14,640 --> 00:12:19,240 So everything about John as a priest breeds believability 146 00:12:20,800 --> 00:12:23,280 because everybody knew about the miraculous birth of John. 147 00:12:23,280 --> 00:12:26,560 That's why when we get to it next week, when they ask the 148 00:12:26,560 --> 00:12:30,840 question, who are you? It's not like they didn't know 149 00:12:30,840 --> 00:12:35,320 who he was. I mean, John grew up in the 150 00:12:35,320 --> 00:12:41,040 streets of Jerusalem. John grew up with all these 151 00:12:41,040 --> 00:12:45,120 other priests and Levites and Pharisees. 152 00:12:47,120 --> 00:12:48,520 They all, they all went to school together. 153 00:12:48,520 --> 00:12:50,120 They played together in the streets. 154 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:53,320 That's why they ask the question, who are you? 155 00:12:53,320 --> 00:12:55,000 It's more like, who do you think you are? 156 00:12:55,360 --> 00:12:57,400 The Christ? Who do you think you are? 157 00:12:57,400 --> 00:12:59,320 Elijah? Who do you think you are? 158 00:12:59,360 --> 00:13:04,520 The prophet. But you see, he was lying to be 159 00:13:04,520 --> 00:13:09,040 a priest. And so it breeds believability. 160 00:13:10,280 --> 00:13:15,640 He was a prophet. It breeds credibility. 161 00:13:16,760 --> 00:13:26,200 But there's one more John, unlike other priests, was a 162 00:13:26,200 --> 00:13:30,840 protester. And because he was a protester, 163 00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:37,040 it would breed integrity. Because, you see, he protested 164 00:13:37,280 --> 00:13:43,640 the hypocrisy of Judaism. He protested the hypocrisy of 165 00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:46,800 the Pharisees and the scribes and the Levites. 166 00:13:48,560 --> 00:13:51,000 He would speak against, He would live against. 167 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:54,440 He would even dress unlike the priests. 168 00:13:54,440 --> 00:13:59,080 He, he would wear. He would wear camel skin. 169 00:13:59,080 --> 00:14:01,760 Have you, have you ever been around a camel? 170 00:14:03,240 --> 00:14:07,560 I have. I've rode several camels. 171 00:14:09,680 --> 00:14:15,000 Camels smell to high heaven. Unlike any other animal. 172 00:14:15,920 --> 00:14:22,760 They smell atrocious and, and their hair is, is like a wire 173 00:14:22,760 --> 00:14:26,600 brush. It's not like a, a fluffy dog 174 00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:29,840 where you would lay down with them and, and put your head on 175 00:14:29,840 --> 00:14:32,600 their chest. And why say why this is so soft 176 00:14:32,600 --> 00:14:34,680 and and cuddly? No, they're camels. 177 00:14:37,280 --> 00:14:40,240 They're not comfortable at all. But this is John's outerwear. 178 00:14:41,200 --> 00:14:46,200 I'm not sure how he was able to get the stench out of the 179 00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:49,480 camel's skin. I'm not sure he could ever do 180 00:14:49,480 --> 00:14:53,720 that. I think it was just wrapped in 181 00:14:53,720 --> 00:14:56,280 it. And so wherever he went, he 182 00:14:56,280 --> 00:15:00,000 smelled like a camel. But his whole life was to 183 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:04,400 protest the hypocrisy of the religious establishment. 184 00:15:05,880 --> 00:15:07,600 That's why he dressed the way he did. 185 00:15:07,760 --> 00:15:10,920 That's why he ate what he ate, and that's why he said what he 186 00:15:10,920 --> 00:15:14,080 did. Completely different man. 187 00:15:14,920 --> 00:15:21,480 This was John. And so John the Apostle uses 188 00:15:21,480 --> 00:15:28,440 John the Baptist as the primary testimony to presenting the 189 00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:32,720 preeminence of the light because not only is he the forerunner, 190 00:15:32,760 --> 00:15:34,840 he is the prophet, He is the priest. 191 00:15:34,960 --> 00:15:39,240 He is the protester who actually breeds credibility, 192 00:15:39,240 --> 00:15:42,880 believability, and integrity so that people would begin to 193 00:15:42,880 --> 00:15:46,800 understand who the Christ is based on the testimony of this 194 00:15:46,880 --> 00:15:55,200 one man and his legacy. And this is John's legacy, to 195 00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:59,520 present the preeminence of the light. 196 00:16:01,440 --> 00:16:08,280 So John 5 says that he was a burning shining light. 197 00:16:09,200 --> 00:16:12,960 And Jesus says at first you rejoiced in that light. 198 00:16:14,520 --> 00:16:20,320 At first you were excited about the light at first, but after a 199 00:16:20,320 --> 00:16:25,240 while saw a couple of weeks ago you thought John had a demon. 200 00:16:27,760 --> 00:16:35,320 But this is John the Baptist. And so I thought today and next 201 00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:39,920 week we would ask this question, how? 202 00:16:40,880 --> 00:16:51,160 How does John reflect the light so he shines so bright? 203 00:16:54,840 --> 00:16:59,960 And then we would ask the question, why did John reflect 204 00:16:59,960 --> 00:17:03,280 the light? Because they ask and answer the 205 00:17:03,280 --> 00:17:08,119 why. And the how is to ask and answer 206 00:17:08,119 --> 00:17:17,480 the question on how you and I reflect the light and why we 207 00:17:17,480 --> 00:17:23,040 should reflect the light. But the Bible calls us the light 208 00:17:23,040 --> 00:17:26,880 of the world. John says I am not the light, 209 00:17:27,920 --> 00:17:30,320 but I came to testify about the light. 210 00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:39,120 So all may believe, but the least in the Kingdom is greater 211 00:17:39,120 --> 00:17:42,120 than the greatest man. Whoever lived, that's you and 212 00:17:42,120 --> 00:17:45,800 me. And that's because we are the 213 00:17:45,800 --> 00:17:50,440 light. The Bible says you are the light 214 00:17:50,440 --> 00:17:53,720 of the world. You are the salt of the earth 215 00:17:53,720 --> 00:17:59,880 and we are to we are to let that light shine so that others will 216 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:04,640 see our good works and glorify our Father who is in heaven. 217 00:18:06,560 --> 00:18:12,680 And so we are to shine brightly for Christ that that's that's 218 00:18:12,680 --> 00:18:16,800 part and parcel to our legacy. We are we are to present the 219 00:18:16,800 --> 00:18:21,320 preeminence of the light by being the light of the world by 220 00:18:21,320 --> 00:18:25,880 being the salt of the earth. In fact, the Bible says in and 221 00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:29,000 Peter that we are partakers of the divine nature and God is 222 00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:32,400 light and the light lives within us. 223 00:18:33,720 --> 00:18:37,680 So part of our DNA is the light of the world. 224 00:18:39,080 --> 00:18:43,480 That's part of our identity. And that light is to shine 225 00:18:44,240 --> 00:18:50,120 brightly. Paul would say we're to walk as 226 00:18:50,120 --> 00:18:53,480 children of the light. Ephesians 5 verse #8 We're to 227 00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:56,760 walk brightly as children of the light. 228 00:18:58,600 --> 00:19:00,480 Why? Because when you begin to 229 00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:05,600 examine your legacy, that is what it is you're going to leave 230 00:19:05,600 --> 00:19:11,040 behind. It begins with a presentation, 231 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:17,960 the opportunity to present the preeminence of the lights to all 232 00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:21,480 those round about you. That's what John did. 233 00:19:23,320 --> 00:19:26,920 So I'm going to make this really, really simple for you. 234 00:19:28,520 --> 00:19:30,920 I don't want to bring the cookies down to the bottom 235 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:34,320 shelf. So all you got to do is take the 236 00:19:34,320 --> 00:19:39,360 word light, LIGHT in case you want to know how to spell it, 237 00:19:40,560 --> 00:19:44,320 and just write it down the side of your paper in which you are 238 00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:47,400 taking copious notes because you're great students of the 239 00:19:47,400 --> 00:19:49,840 Word and I know you love to take notes. 240 00:19:50,480 --> 00:19:53,440 And so just write the word light down the left hand side of your 241 00:19:53,440 --> 00:19:57,640 paper and I will show you how John the Baptist reflected the 242 00:19:57,640 --> 00:20:01,600 light. So you will know how to reflect 243 00:20:01,600 --> 00:20:04,320 that same light. Because when you give glory to 244 00:20:04,320 --> 00:20:07,080 God, remember we are to give glory to the Lord. 245 00:20:07,200 --> 00:20:09,280 Whatever you do, whether you eat or drink, do alter the glory of 246 00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:12,280 the Lord, right? First Corinthians 10/31 And the 247 00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:15,240 glory of the Lord is what the the the presence of God 248 00:20:15,240 --> 00:20:19,480 manifested in brilliant light. So when we as believers give 249 00:20:19,480 --> 00:20:23,880 glory to to the Lord, we are reflecting the righteous 250 00:20:23,880 --> 00:20:27,880 radiance of our Redeemer in and through his redeemed. 251 00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:30,400 That's what it means to give glory to the Lord. 252 00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:34,800 You're going to reflect the, the, the, the righteousness of 253 00:20:34,800 --> 00:20:37,560 your Redeemer. So others will see the purity 254 00:20:37,560 --> 00:20:41,600 and the beauty and the holiness of Christ in your life that they 255 00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:46,960 might, as John said, believe. Believe. 256 00:20:48,360 --> 00:20:51,280 And that's the theme of John's Gospel, and that's the theme of 257 00:20:51,840 --> 00:20:55,600 your life and mine. We let our light shine so others 258 00:20:55,600 --> 00:20:58,880 may believe. So how did John reflect the 259 00:20:58,880 --> 00:21:02,240 light? Well, let me explain it to you. 260 00:21:03,120 --> 00:21:08,200 The first way was lovingly and longingly. 261 00:21:09,720 --> 00:21:14,480 Lovingly and longingly. Now, we wouldn't think of John 262 00:21:14,480 --> 00:21:18,760 as a loving person necessarily. Oh, but he was. 263 00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:22,840 Why would you? Please remember this? 264 00:21:22,840 --> 00:21:26,200 Love is giving people what they need, not what they want. 265 00:21:27,600 --> 00:21:30,680 But we think we love because we give to people what they want. 266 00:21:31,360 --> 00:21:33,400 We think we love our children because we give to them what 267 00:21:33,400 --> 00:21:36,960 they want. Probably when you do that, you 268 00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:40,280 show you don't love them because loving is giving people what 269 00:21:40,280 --> 00:21:43,760 they need. And what did Israel need? 270 00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:50,040 They needed to see the lights. They needed to hear the hear the 271 00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:53,880 gospel. Now remember when John is 272 00:21:53,880 --> 00:21:56,280 speaking, the world is engulfed in darkness. 273 00:21:58,480 --> 00:22:02,160 John 3 verse #19 They walked in darkness. 274 00:22:02,200 --> 00:22:06,680 They lived in darkness, right? We, we live in a world that's 275 00:22:06,680 --> 00:22:11,760 dark and that world that's dark needs to see the light of the 276 00:22:11,760 --> 00:22:16,120 gospel. Remember, John was a, a voice 277 00:22:16,280 --> 00:22:21,800 crying in the wilderness. And yes, he was for location 278 00:22:21,800 --> 00:22:26,920 purposes in the wilderness. He was in the Judean wilderness. 279 00:22:27,800 --> 00:22:29,920 He was down by Bethany in the Jordan. 280 00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:35,800 Now think about that. That's a 40 minute drive by car. 281 00:22:38,360 --> 00:22:41,080 How long do you think it would take people to walk from 282 00:22:41,080 --> 00:22:46,960 Jerusalem to Bethany, beyond the Jordan, down below Jericho, if 283 00:22:46,960 --> 00:22:54,520 they were to make that that track or that journey in a day 284 00:22:55,600 --> 00:22:58,600 long time? And they were coming down by the 285 00:22:58,600 --> 00:23:03,680 thousands, by the scores of thousands to be baptized in the 286 00:23:03,680 --> 00:23:06,840 Jordan River. So it wasn't like they could 287 00:23:06,840 --> 00:23:12,200 just get in the car and and drive down to the Jordan and get 288 00:23:12,200 --> 00:23:16,440 baptized. They have cars, they had to 289 00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:19,960 walk. So they wanted to hear this 290 00:23:19,960 --> 00:23:22,600 prophet. They wanted to see this priest. 291 00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:25,000 They wanted to understand this protester. 292 00:23:26,120 --> 00:23:30,960 So they made this journey, this 30, the 35 mile journey from 293 00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:34,240 Jerusalem because the Bible says that all of Jerusalem was coming 294 00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:36,800 down to be to be baptized in the Jordan. 295 00:23:39,120 --> 00:23:43,880 But you see, John the Baptist loved his people. 296 00:23:45,520 --> 00:23:48,520 He loved them enough to give them the gospel. 297 00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:53,200 He loved them enough to give them the truth. 298 00:23:55,160 --> 00:23:59,880 He loved them enough to speak to them in a way that they needed 299 00:23:59,880 --> 00:24:04,840 to hear the truth. So when he reflected the light, 300 00:24:04,840 --> 00:24:08,560 he did it lovingly. In fact, when they asked about 301 00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:12,960 repentance, listen what he says in verse 10 of Luke 3, the 302 00:24:12,960 --> 00:24:15,640 crowds were questioning him, saying what shall we do? 303 00:24:16,560 --> 00:24:18,640 You want us to repent and be baptized, What do we do? 304 00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:23,920 He would answer and say to them, the man who has two tunics is to 305 00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:27,200 share with him who has none in the US. 306 00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:31,760 Food is to likewise. And some tax collectors also 307 00:24:31,760 --> 00:24:34,640 came to be baptized and they said to him, Teacher, what shall 308 00:24:34,640 --> 00:24:37,680 we do? You want us to be baptized? 309 00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:43,960 What does that mean? He says collect no more than 310 00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:46,720 what you have been ordered to because tax gathers would 311 00:24:46,720 --> 00:24:48,840 collect more for their own purposes. 312 00:24:50,120 --> 00:24:52,960 Some soldiers were questioning him saying and what about us, 313 00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:56,080 what shall we do? He said to them, do not take 314 00:24:56,080 --> 00:25:00,680 money from anyone by force or accuse anyone falsely and be 315 00:25:00,680 --> 00:25:06,080 content with your wages. Very lovingly, very kindly, he 316 00:25:06,080 --> 00:25:08,560 would speak to them and tell them you want to repent. 317 00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:11,280 You want to turn from your ways. Think about the other person 318 00:25:12,440 --> 00:25:15,200 because the, the commandment of God is to, is to love him with 319 00:25:15,200 --> 00:25:17,040 all your heart, soul, mind and strength and to love your 320 00:25:17,040 --> 00:25:20,400 neighbor as yourself. So therefore show your your love 321 00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:22,440 to them. If you're truly going to repent 322 00:25:22,440 --> 00:25:26,520 of your sins, you're going to love your neighbor almost as if 323 00:25:26,520 --> 00:25:29,200 to say as as I love you enough to tell you the truth. 324 00:25:31,200 --> 00:25:35,360 But he did it lovingly and he did it longingly longingly. 325 00:25:36,080 --> 00:25:38,840 Why? Because he had waited a long 326 00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:43,440 time to be the forerunner. He waited a long time to be able 327 00:25:43,440 --> 00:25:46,560 to come out of the Judean desert and be able to proclaim the 328 00:25:46,560 --> 00:25:48,800 gospel of the Christ. Why? 329 00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:50,640 Because he lived in a state of expectation. 330 00:25:50,760 --> 00:25:54,040 He lived in a state of anticipation knowing that Israel 331 00:25:54,040 --> 00:25:58,200 was living in that same state. That's why it says back in in 332 00:25:58,200 --> 00:26:00,840 Luke chapter, chapter 3, verse 15. 333 00:26:01,120 --> 00:26:06,480 Now, while the people were in a state of expectation, why? 334 00:26:06,600 --> 00:26:09,040 Because they were longing for the expected one. 335 00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:10,960 Remember, that's a title for the Messiah. 336 00:26:11,080 --> 00:26:14,120 Psalm 118, Psalm 40. He's called the coming one or 337 00:26:14,120 --> 00:26:17,480 the expected one. That's why we talked to you 338 00:26:17,480 --> 00:26:20,160 about Luke 7, where, where John would come back when he was in 339 00:26:20,160 --> 00:26:22,680 prison and say, hey, are you the expected one? 340 00:26:22,840 --> 00:26:24,440 Are you the one that we've anticipated? 341 00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:26,720 Are you the coming one? Are you the one that we've 342 00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:29,520 longed for? Because when John would preach 343 00:26:29,520 --> 00:26:32,000 and teach, he would do it longingly. 344 00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:34,200 Why? Because there was a longing in 345 00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:37,920 this heart for not only his people to know the Messiah, but 346 00:26:37,920 --> 00:26:40,520 there was a longing in this heart for the King to come 347 00:26:40,520 --> 00:26:44,880 instead of his Kingdom. See the same way. 348 00:26:44,880 --> 00:26:50,680 For for you and me, we reflect the light lovingly and longingly 349 00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:53,960 because we live in a state of expectation of Christ's coming. 350 00:26:53,960 --> 00:26:57,840 Again, we live in a state of expectation that Christ could 351 00:26:57,840 --> 00:27:01,200 come at any moments, and he's the King. 352 00:27:02,520 --> 00:27:05,520 So we live in anticipation of that coming King. 353 00:27:06,640 --> 00:27:12,480 And this was John. Not just longingly, not just 354 00:27:13,160 --> 00:27:23,280 lovingly, but John would reflect the light instinctively and 355 00:27:23,280 --> 00:27:30,160 incessantly. Instinctively, John didn't have 356 00:27:30,160 --> 00:27:37,040 to to to work up a message then to think about what he was going 357 00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:42,200 to say because it was part and parcel to his, his DNA. 358 00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:46,920 He, he was filled with the Spirit of God from his mother's 359 00:27:46,920 --> 00:27:50,320 womb. No one else ever was like that. 360 00:27:51,920 --> 00:27:55,480 So he was filled, controlled by the Spirit of God from his 361 00:27:55,480 --> 00:28:00,360 mother's womb, so that so that everything about his life would 362 00:28:00,360 --> 00:28:03,760 be under the control and domination of God's Spirit that 363 00:28:03,760 --> 00:28:06,680 would move him through life. So that he would instinctively 364 00:28:06,720 --> 00:28:12,760 always speak about the Christ, always present the preeminence 365 00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:15,280 of the light. So he did. 366 00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:19,680 Oh, by the way, the Bible says in action to one verse #8 that 367 00:28:19,680 --> 00:28:24,920 when you receive the Spirit of God, right, power will come upon 368 00:28:24,920 --> 00:28:30,080 you when you receive the Spirit, and you will be my witnesses, 369 00:28:31,160 --> 00:28:36,240 then say you will do witnessing, because we don't do witnessing. 370 00:28:37,680 --> 00:28:41,520 We are witnesses. It's part of our DNA. 371 00:28:43,240 --> 00:28:45,520 You don't become a witness, you are a witness. 372 00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:47,400 You don't become light, you are light. 373 00:28:47,400 --> 00:28:48,960 You don't become salt, you are salt. 374 00:28:49,600 --> 00:28:51,600 This is who we are, this identity. 375 00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:55,240 So when the Spirit of God comes upon you, you will receive 376 00:28:55,240 --> 00:28:57,320 power. And once you receive that power, 377 00:28:57,400 --> 00:29:04,640 you will become someone. What a witness, John says. 378 00:29:04,880 --> 00:29:08,360 I'm a witness. I came to testify to the truth. 379 00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:15,440 It's what I do. When we become believers and 380 00:29:15,440 --> 00:29:18,680 we're infused with the Spirit of God, we become witnesses. 381 00:29:20,680 --> 00:29:24,080 And so we are able to reflect the light instinctively. 382 00:29:25,240 --> 00:29:30,360 It's what we do. It's who we are, but not only 383 00:29:30,400 --> 00:29:35,840 instinctively, but incessantly. This is what John did. 384 00:29:36,200 --> 00:29:41,000 If you go back to John chapter one in verse 19, it says this is 385 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:45,000 the testimony of John when the Jews sent to him priests and 386 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:47,160 Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, who are you? 387 00:29:48,200 --> 00:29:53,440 OK, that's day one. Day 2 is verse 29. 388 00:29:54,160 --> 00:29:57,520 The next day he saw Jesus coming to him. 389 00:29:58,680 --> 00:30:01,280 Day three is verse 35. Again. 390 00:30:01,280 --> 00:30:05,040 The next day John was standing. So. 391 00:30:05,200 --> 00:30:10,280 So John the Apostle gives us 3 consecutive days in the life of 392 00:30:10,280 --> 00:30:14,760 John the Baptist to show you the incessant nature of his 393 00:30:14,960 --> 00:30:18,120 presenting, the preeminence of the light. 394 00:30:19,840 --> 00:30:23,400 It was something that he was always doing because his whole 395 00:30:23,400 --> 00:30:29,320 life was consumed about describing one person and the 396 00:30:29,320 --> 00:30:33,920 purpose he came. That's what John did. 397 00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:38,040 That's who he was. That's why the Bible says preach 398 00:30:38,040 --> 00:30:40,800 the word in season and out of season. 399 00:30:41,480 --> 00:30:43,360 That's because the Word is always in season. 400 00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:47,560 It's never out of season. It's always available, it's 401 00:30:47,560 --> 00:30:53,400 always there, and we are to live a life that incessantly promotes 402 00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:59,040 nothing but the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. 403 00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:04,960 So this is John who's a testimony, a witness to the 404 00:31:04,960 --> 00:31:08,680 light. His legacy is to present the 405 00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:12,360 preeminence of the light. He does it lovingly, he 406 00:31:12,360 --> 00:31:17,760 longingly, He does it instinctively and incessantly. 407 00:31:18,600 --> 00:31:24,080 Listen to this one. He does it graphically and 408 00:31:24,080 --> 00:31:31,760 graciously or gracefully. He does it graphically. 409 00:31:33,040 --> 00:31:41,120 And this is so important because John calls out sin, calls it for 410 00:31:41,120 --> 00:31:46,400 what it is, because he knows that the wages of sin is death. 411 00:31:46,880 --> 00:31:50,120 He knows that all of sin then come short of the glory of God. 412 00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:55,480 So he's very graphic on how he portrays sin. 413 00:31:55,680 --> 00:31:58,800 That's why he says to the Pharisees, you are snakes, 414 00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:03,000 you're snakes, you're a brood of Vipers. 415 00:32:04,560 --> 00:32:08,200 He tells them who told you to flee from the wrath to come 416 00:32:09,480 --> 00:32:12,040 because you're about to experience the wrath of God, 417 00:32:12,880 --> 00:32:16,080 see, because he knew the judgement was coming. 418 00:32:18,160 --> 00:32:23,000 You compare John's reflecting of the light to our reflecting of 419 00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:26,320 the light. We've come to a place where we 420 00:32:27,000 --> 00:32:35,720 we want to present the lights in a way that's non judgmental, non 421 00:32:36,480 --> 00:32:42,880 confrontational. You can't do that because when 422 00:32:42,880 --> 00:32:48,320 you present the gospel, it confronts every Sinner in their 423 00:32:48,320 --> 00:32:51,720 sin. So you can't water down the 424 00:32:51,720 --> 00:32:56,680 gospel to appease the Sinner. You have to tell him that 425 00:32:56,680 --> 00:33:01,360 judgment is coming and that if they're not right with Christ, 426 00:33:01,640 --> 00:33:03,800 their soul will be damned forever. 427 00:33:05,080 --> 00:33:09,840 And you call them into account. And John would very graphically, 428 00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:18,880 yet very gracefully present the preeminence of the lights. 429 00:33:21,040 --> 00:33:23,840 And we'll talk more about that next week. 430 00:33:24,080 --> 00:33:27,240 Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for today 431 00:33:27,240 --> 00:33:31,320 and the brief opportunity we had this morning to look at the word 432 00:33:31,320 --> 00:33:34,920 of the Lord. Thank you for John's testimony. 433 00:33:34,920 --> 00:33:38,040 That legacy that he is, he is left. 434 00:33:39,880 --> 00:33:44,560 Our prayer, Father, is that we'd recognize that legacy and live 435 00:33:44,560 --> 00:33:48,440 in line with it, that we might leave a legacy that impacts 436 00:33:48,440 --> 00:33:52,360 those round about us. Pray, Father, you'd be honored 437 00:33:52,360 --> 00:33:54,120 and glorified. And for those who are here today 438 00:33:54,120 --> 00:33:57,560 and do not know you, we pray for their salvation. 439 00:33:58,560 --> 00:34:00,840 They would come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ our 440 00:34:00,840 --> 00:34:04,600 Lord, that they might be able to present the preeminence of the 441 00:34:04,600 --> 00:34:09,600 light. Pray this in Jesus name, Amen.