LIFE OF CHRIST
John 1:19-34
HAVE WE MISSED THE POINT?
Life of Christ #7
When was the last
time you went next door to tell someone about Jesus?
When the last time
you risked rejection or shame to tell someone about Jesus?
When was the last
time you made a sacrifice to share your faith in Christ?
Have we missed the
point that faith in Christ is the only way to true joy and fulfillment in this
life?
Have we missed the
point that nobody goes to Heaven without believing on the Lord Jesus Christ?
Have we missed the
point that is our responsibility to tell others about the Lord Jesus Christ?
John 10:10, John
14:6, Mark 16:15
John the Baptist
did not miss the point.
John the Baptist
knew what it was to direct people to the Lord Jesus.
In John 1:19-34
John teaches us the point that evangelism, or directing people to Jesus, should
be at the top of our priority list. In
fact John shows us how not to miss the point!
We will not miss the point if we understand 3 things that John
understood.
UNDERSTAND WHO
YOU ARE
I think a lot of
times we do not do what we should do as Christians because we do not understand
who we are as Christians.
Vs. 19 – As we mentioned previously, John the Baptist had a tremendous impact
on
There are places
in the Gospel of John that the word, “Jews” is used to refer to the religious
leadership in
John’s ministry
was not officially sanctioned by the religious leaders, so they wanted to know
who he was.
Vs. 20 – It is important to note that John the Baptist knew who he was. It is also important that we know who we are
if we are going to be effective witnesses for the Lord Jesus.
John, in knowing
who he was, knew who he wasn’t!
First of all, he
knew that he wasn’t the Christ, or
Vs. 21 – If John wasn’t the Christ, they wanted to know, then was he Elias or
Elijah? The return of Elijah was promised in Malachi 4:5-6.
But John the
Baptist denied that He was Elijah.
John was also
asked about being “that prophet” that was promised by Moses in Deuteronomy
18:15.
Again John denied
being that prophet.
John knew who he
wasn’t.
He knew that
relatively speaking, he was nothing compared to the one he was preceding. The world did not revolve around John the
Baptist. The world revolved around the
coming Messiah.
John spoke of the
coming Messiah and not himself, because John was dead to himself. To John the Baptist, John the Baptist was not
important!
One of the reasons
why we miss the point of the importance of Evangelism is because we think of
ourselves and not of our Savior.
We think of
ourselves and not the need of others to know the Lord Jesus.
We have so much
going on in our lives and the lives of our children, that we fail to think of
telling others about Christ.
We need to be able
to say with the Apostle Paul in Galatians 6:14, But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.
Listen to your own
conversation and how much you talk about yourself. The more you talk about yourself, the less
you will talk about the Lord Jesus. The
less you talk about yourself, the less you will talk about Jesus.
John 7:18 - He that speaketh
of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him,
the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.
John knew who he
wasn’t. Do you understand that the world
does not revolve around you and your interests?
John understood
this. That’s why he knew who he was.
John 1:23 - He said, I am the voice of one
crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the
prophet Esaias.
John wasn’t the
Messiah.
John wasn’t
Elijah.
John wasn’t that
prophet.
John was the
voice. In the wilderness of
John knew who he
was. John knew he was the voice.
You need to know
who you are. You need to know that you
are the voice crying out in today’s post modern culture to a people who need to
make straight paths in their hearts and receive Jesus as their Savior.
Jesus has
recruited you to be a voice. Acts 1:8, 2Corinthians 5:18, 1 Peter 3:15
John knew who he
wasn’t, thus knowing who he was.
John knew he was
the voice.
Don’t miss the
point. You too are a voice for the Lord Jesus Christ.
UNDERSTAND WHO
YOU SERVE
John understood 3
things about the Lord Jesus that you need to understand so you don’t miss the
point.
·
YOU SERVE JESUS WHO IS
Vs. 27 – In the
culture of the day, a disciple would do all the things that a servant would do
except unloose the sandals of his master’s feet. This was the lowest task that
a servant did.
John understood
that Jesus was preferred before Him.
John understood
that Jesus must always come first.
John understood
how unworthy he was even to serve the Lord Jesus in the humblest way.
Do you understand
that Jesus was preferred before you?
Do you understand
that Jesus always comes first?
Do you understand
that you are not worthy to do anything for the Lord Jesus because you are a
sinner and he is not?
·
YOU SERVE JESUS WHO IS SAVIOR
Vs. 29 – John is saying, “Here He is the solution to the world’s sin problem!”
John calls Jesus,
“the lamb of God”.
The Jewish people
were familiar with lambs and other animals being sacrificed for sin.
These sacrifices
were like “promissory notes”.
They covered sin
until God’s true sacrifice for sin showed up.
Jesus is and was
the only true sacrifice for sin.
He only, as the
sinless Son of God, could pay for our sins.
There is no other
solution to the sin problem. There doesn’t need to be! Hebrews 9:12, Hebrews
9:28
There is only one
way to Heaven.
Jesus died for
your sins, was buried, and rose again.
The one that
trusts in Jesus Christ as Savior is the one who is going to Heaven. John 3:36
·
YOU SERVE JESUS WHO IS THE SON
OF GOD
Vss. 30 – In identifying Jesus, John says that this is the one preferred before
him because he was before Him. John is
referring to the preexistence and eternality of the Lord Jesus as God the Son.
Jesus said of
Himself in John 8:58: …Verily, verily, I
say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
Vss. 31-33 – At the Baptism of Jesus, John saw the Holy Spirit descending upon
Jesus like a dove and abiding on Him.
This is the one who God had promised would baptize people with God’s
Holy Spirit. Only God can baptize with the Holy Spirit.
Today, every
person who truly believes in Christ is baptized with the Holy Spirit. 1
Corinthians 12:13
Vs. 34 – John
concludes, “THIS IS THE SON OF GOD!”
If you are going
to get the point that speaking for the Lord Jesus Christ is important, you need
to understand who you serve.
UNDERSTAND WHAT
TO SAY
John knew what to
say to direct people to Jesus.
And besides being
afraid to speak about the Lord Jesus in the first place, I think the second
biggest problem is our not knowing what to say.
John knew what to
say.
1.
He told them what happened to
Himself. He told of his own experiences concerning the Lord Jesus.
2.
He told people to get ready
because Jesus is coming.
3.
He told them to look to the Lamb
of God that takes away their sin.
So lets follow John’s example.
1.
Tell people what happened to
you.
Tell them of your
own conviction of sin and need of a Savior.
Tell them how
Jesus has changed your life.
Tell them of the
assurance you have for Heaven, always directing them to the Lord Jesus.
2.
Tell them to get ready.
They do not know
when they will die.
They do not know
when Jesus may return.
3.
Tell them to look to the Lamb of
God who died for their sins.
Tell them to
believe on the Lord Jesus and be forgiven or saved!
Have you missed
the point?
Are you so caught
up in everything else that you have neglected sharing your Savior with others?
To get the point:
UNDERSTAND WHO YOU
ARE
UNDERSTAND WHO YOU
SERVE
UNDERSTAND WHAT TO
SAY