john the baptist. truly, i say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater...

John the Baptist

John the Baptist

Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist.

Matt 11:11

Isaiah 40:3

3 A voice cries: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Malachi 4:5 5 "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.

Malachi 4:6 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction."

13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come

Matt 13:14

Matt 3: 5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins

Site of main ministry

Case study C: Mrs Kim

Stay on Message

Repentance

Living Focus on Jesus

Accurate consistent

Witness

Unafraid to confront society

Lessons from the greatest prophet who ever lived

The Herald of Christmas

1. Staying on message

Staying on message

Messages he could have done

Pay less taxesA just societyIndependenceRelief for poor farmers

The God you have missed

Staying on Message2 "Repent, for the kingdom of

heaven is at hand.“

Matt 3:2

Does not hide the real agenda

Change You can Believe In

Attracted large crowds

Power of God

Today’ message

Come to Jesus …rest your weary souls

Appeal to crowds self interests

The power of man

John 131 I myself did not know him, but

for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel."

Prepares the hearts for the revelation

Obstacles to staying on message

…believing himself to be in direct communication with God, and therefore God’s appointed agent, the fundamentalist can in his own mind , never be wrong

David Lavoie

This narrowness in religious belief had no single home, but has appeared many times in many cultures. Always it has brought suffering and death with it.

David Lavoie

Drowned out by chorus

Booty Call

Focus on the sin Focus on their response to

sin.Don’t focus on their pain or

loneliness Don’t focus on the illness ..but on

the sinOnce they are wiling to turn away

then only are they willing to accept another point of view

Most not willing to repent-love darkness

2. Living focus on Jesus

Totally Focused on Jesus

1857, on Charles Bridge, pointing to Gothic St. Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle

John 3:2626 And they came to John and said

to him, "Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness- look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him." 27 John answered, "A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven

Bible college class on Hebrews

Leighton Ford and Billy GrahamHalifax, Nova Scotia.

Corinthians

1 Corinthians 1:12 2 What I mean is that each one of you says, "I follow Paul," or "I follow Apollos," or "I follow Cephas," or "I follow Christ."

Some do not serve because aligned to certain leaders or stumbled by certain leaders

True joy lies in focusing on Jesus

28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.' 29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him,

Illustration standing there thinking why son’t I get her afterall I am the best man

rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.“

Genuine Joy

When the one you love is honored or happy

Mac prodcues more joy buy for son then for self

Authority of Jesus ..John 1

26 John answered them, "I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 2

27 even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie."

Not my ministry but His

Bible colleges DenominationsCongregationsCell groupsLeadersSome do not serve because stumbled by

leaders

Real joy begins when focus on Jesus

Walter Kallestad is pastor of Community Church of Joy in Phoenix, Arizona.

If our church, with its sheer number of people, was populated with disciples, we would be feeding the hungry, building meaningful relationships with neighbors, and transforming our community. But we were neither salt nor light.

In 1980’s Rick Warren -that people didn't want to give anything, sing anything, or do anything—they wanted anonymity, not communityTook his eye of the ball …lost focus

Walter Kallestad is pastor of Community Church of Joy in Phoenix, Arizona.

After pouring more than 25 years of my life into this church, I knew we weren't developing disciples who were taking up their crosses to follow Jesus. We'd produced consumers—like Pac-Man, gobbling up religious experiences, navigating a maze but going nowhere in particular.

“Today, that's how we define success. One changed life and one empowered disciple at a time”

Walter Kallestad is pastor of Community Church of Joy in Phoenix, Arizona.

3. Accurate Consistent

Witness

32 And John bore witness: "I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me,

John 1

'He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God."

29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

Matt 3

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

Accurate witness -Reason for the witness the impending doom

$7-8 BILLIONA meal = 1 mths salaryElectricity n waterRise 250% each mth

Genocide Report by Amnesty International - level 7 - (level 8 is after it's happened and everyone is in denial).

Edward Everett Hale

1822-1909Chaplain to the US Senate

“No, I look at the Senators, and pray for the country.”

'I am one. I cannot do everything, ---but I can do something.. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do. What I can do, I should do. And what I should do, by the grace of God, 

I will do.‘

Definition of a witness

“A witness is someone who by explanation and demonstration gives audible and visible evidence of what he has seen and heard without being deterred by the consequences of his action.” 

S. Briscoe, Getting Into God, p. 76.

Confrontational? -(Acts 2) Repent and be baptized, save yourselves from this corrupt generation.

Intellectual? (Acts 17) Paul debated with the philosophers on

Mars Hill to convince them. Testimonial?

(John 9) One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!

Relational? (Mark 5) Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you.

Invitational? (John 4) The Samaritan woman at the well begged the people of the city to come and hear Jesus for themselves.

Serving? (Acts 9) Dorcas impacted her city by

doing deeds of kindness.

4.Unafraid to confront society

Reasons for not sharing gospel

Leighton Ford, Motivations of the Early Church for Witness, Good News is for Sharing, P. 25-7. Training session in BGC

Fear

Forgot

Unafraid to confront society

Matt 3: 7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.

Unafraid to confront society

9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father,' for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.

Herod and Herodias

17 For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because he had married her.

Herod and Herodias 18 For John had been saying to

Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." 19 And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death

Fortress of Macherus

Acts 4:29-30 29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.

Boldness comes with the HS

Acts 4:31 31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

Cardinal Jaime Sin

Desmond Tutu

Irene Fernandez

James Lai

Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist.

Matt 11:11

Amongst all prophets he pointed most unambiguously to Christ

…Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Matt 11:11

Disciples of Christ

Our most essential function is to acknowledge Jesus before people This function is our essential greatness. Even the least in the kingdom points to Jesus Christ more clearly than all his predecessors

Case study C: Mrs Kim

Stay on Message

Repentance

Living Focus on Jesus

Unafraid to confront society

The Least in the Kingdom of Heaven

The Heralds of Christmas

Accurate consistent

Witness