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My pastor preached a sermon on John the Baptist this past Sunday. \u00a0It got me to thinking about John and his mission in life, given to him before he was even born. \u00a0John was a forerunner.<\/p>\nMy pastor preached a sermon on John the Baptist this past Sunday. \u00a0It got me to thinking about John and his mission in life, given to him before he was even born. \u00a0John was a forerunner.<\/p>\n
No, silly, not one of “those” forerunners…<\/p>\n
The angel of the Lord foretold to John’s parents, Zacharias and Elizabeth, that their son would “make ready a people prepared for the Lord<\/em> (Luke 1:17). \u00a0If you like, you can read about John and his parents and his birth in Luke 1<\/a>, along with the story of Joseph, Mary and Jesus.<\/p>\n John the Baptist was also proclaimed as the forerunner of Jesus Christ, as told in Malachi 3:1:<\/p>\n Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me<\/strong>: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. \u00a0(Malachi 3:1, King James Version, abbreviated as KJV going forward)<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Also, see\u00a0Isaiah 40:3:<\/p>\n The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. (Isaiah 40:3, KJV)<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n We read in Matthew 3 that John the Baptist started his ministry, preaching in Judea, saying, “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (v 2).<\/em>”<\/p>\n Multitudes from Judea and Jerusalem came to John to be baptized and confess their sins. \u00a0When John saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptisms, he said:<\/p>\n “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear<\/strong>: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: \u00a0Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire (vs 11-12).<\/em>“<\/p><\/blockquote>\n To summarize, John’s calling was to “prepare the way” for Jesus Christ’s first coming to this earth. \u00a0He tried to warn the Jews that their Messiah was coming soon, and that they needed to cleanse their hearts and ways in order to be ready for His appearing.<\/p>\n John preached very boldly against sin, and this eventually cost him his head.<\/p>\n In Mark 6:17:30 we read that John had told Herod that it was not lawful for him to be married to Herodias, who was formerly his brother Philip’s wife. \u00a0Herodias held a grudge against John because of this, and arranged for her daughter to dance before Herod and the lords, high captains, and chief of the estates of Galilee. \u00a0King Herod granted to the daughter whatever she wished as a result of this dance. \u00a0It must have been some\u00a0dance. \u00a0Having been prompted by her mother, Herodius, she asked for John the Baptist’s head on a platter. \u00a0Scripture says that the king was sorry, but he had John’s head removed and gave it to the damsel. \u00a0Apparently Herod wasn’t quite sorry enough to spare John.<\/p>\n But John had completed his mission… to prepare the way for Jesus to come.<\/p>\n From the gospels, we know that Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life. \u00a0The Jews rejected Him as their Messiah nonetheless.<\/p>\n The priests and Pharisees were so scared of losing their way of life (and income, and power) that they incited the crowds to yell, “Crucify (Jesus)!” when Herod asked who should be released from prison at the time of the feast.<\/p>\n So Herod washed his hands of Jesus (not that it did him any good), and sent Jesus to be crucified. \u00a0He set Barabbas free, a murderer and criminal (Mark 15:15).<\/p>\n Jesus gave up His life on the cross, after taking upon Himself the sins of the whole world, from the beginning of time (Genesis) to the end of time (Revelation). \u00a0He suffered on the cross, shedding His blood, and paying the price for the sins of all mankind. \u00a0He died on the cross, but the Roman nails and torture didn’t take His life. \u00a0He gave up his life freely, because of His love for you, and me. \u00a0See John 3:16.<\/p>\n Mark 16 tells of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, after His body had lain in a\u00a0borrowed tomb for 3 days and nights. \u00a0In rising from the dead, Jesus showed fully that He had victory over death, hell, and the grave.<\/p>\n On God’s timetable, the next event to occur in Christendom is the calling-up to Heaven of the saved from the earth.<\/p>\n So what does “saved” mean? \u00a0I’m glad you asked. \u00a0Being “saved” means that:<\/p>\n That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved (Romans 10:9<\/a>, KJV).<\/em><\/p>\n For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13<\/a>, KJV).<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n The “whosoever” in verse 13 includes you, and you, and me. \u00a0And the “shall be saved” in the same verse is a promise from God to you. \u00a0God can’t lie, and so His promises are true. \u00a0There has never been a promise from God from the beginning until now that has not come true. \u00a0That tells us that His promises for the future will come true, also.<\/p>\n So by following these simple steps, you can know for sure that you’re saved, and on your way to heaven. \u00a0There’s even a verse to help you know. \u00a0It’s 1 John 5:13<\/a>, which says:<\/p>\n\n