The Greatness of John the Baptist, Part 3

Our most gracious heavenly Father, today we gather together to focus only on Jesus Christ. We thank you for your great and glorious Son. We thank you, Lord, that we can actually spend time studying the Word of God, the clear words of Christ, the words, Lord, that speak so deeply to the heart of man. And we pray that today as we encounter once again the living God, our hearts should be in tune with only Jesus Christ. And when it's all said and done and we get ready to leave this place, we will not leave the same.

We would truly leave a changed people. For your glory and for your honor, we pray in your name. Amen. It's always good to come back from vacation and have an opportunity to preach again. I love to preach. I love to study more than I love to preach. It's the greatest passion of mine to be able to study God's Word. And then the second passion is to be able to proclaim to you the things that God has taught me.

And today I had the wonderful opportunity to talk to you about one verse, just one verse. And I was sharing last night with my two youngest boys about what I was going to share with you today as we had some devotion time together last night. And I told them I was going to preach on one verse. And Kate said to me, wow, Dad, how long are you going to speak? And I said, oh, probably about 45, 50 minutes. He goes, on one verse? I said, yeah, one verse. He goes, what are you going to say about one verse?

How slow are you going to speak? I said, well, I never speak very slow, son, but there's so much there that's going to take me one whole service just to be able to explain it. And I said, I'll make sure you get the tape so that you can listen to it on the way home from church today. But it's just one verse. And it's a verse that Christ himself said about John the Baptist. We are studying Luke chapter 7. We are right in the midst of studying this great man, John the Baptist. And Jesus says these words about John, verse 28 of chapter 7.

I say to you, among those born of women, there is no one greater than John. We'll stop right there. No one greater than John. Now think about that. It's one thing for you to grow up and your mom and dad to say to you, son, you are great. And I'm sure Zacharias and Elizabeth at times said to their son, John, you are great. And, you know, when your parents say that about you, you know, it's nice, but they're not very objective. They're very subjective. And even your friends might say to you, man, you are great.

But again, you know, it's hard to judge that assessment. But when Jesus says it, it's always right. There's no debate about the greatness of John. He was the greatest man to ever live born of a woman. Greater than Daniel, greater than Ezekiel, greater than Jeremiah, greater than Moses, Joseph, Elijah, Elisha. And the list can go on and on and on about Old Testament heroes of faith. But above them all, there was one that was greater. And that was John, the baptizer. This man born of two women, excuse me, two people, John, his mother, Elizabeth and Zacharias, a Jewish priest.

People that had prayed for a child for years, up in their years, 70, maybe even 80 years of age, had always asked the Lord to give them a child. But Elizabeth was barren, had no children. And one day the angel Gabriel came and said, you're going to have a son. Not just any son, you're going to have the greatest of all sons. You know, sometimes God waits to answer prayer because it's not the right time to give us what it is He wants us to have. And when God answers the prayer and gives us that precise thing, or in this case, individual, that is beyond our wildest dreams, oh, he will be great in the sight of God, said Gabriel.

He will turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children. He will come in the spirit and power of Elijah. Oh, John was going to be great. How great? Well, Jesus tells us the greatest man ever born of a woman, that's John. And here was John. And one day his father would pick him up in his arms. And his father would say these words in Luke chapter one, verse number 76. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High. For you will go on before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give to his people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins.

Because of the tender mercy of our God, with which the sunrise from on high shall visit us. To shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. Zacharias's song speaks to us about the magnitude of John's ministry, the greatness of John's ministry. The Bible tells us that in verse number 80 of Luke chapter one, the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit. And he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

John, when he became a son of the law, around the age of 12, his bar mitzvah, he would move on, live in the wilderness. From age 13, somewhere around the age of 30. Luke 3 tells us that he was 30 years of age, when he came bursting out of the wilderness onto the scene. Many years of isolation, many years disconnected from society. Many years on the backside of the desert, just him and his God. Hard to imagine that someone so isolated from society could have such an influence on society. I would beg to say that those who are disconnected from the world will have the greatest effect on the world.

The closer you are to the world, and the closer you become a part of what the world is, the least amount of impact you will have on the world. John was completely disconnected from society. He lived in isolation. He lived on the backside of the desert in the wilderness. And when he burst on the scene, he was unlike any prophet before his time. He truly was the greatest man who ever lived. Massive influence during his ministry. Thousands of people would make their way down to the Jordan River to hear this man preach and to be baptized in the Jordan River.

A man unparalleled in character. But we saw that John wasn't called great because of his influence or because of his impact. As great as it was, that's not why Jesus said that he was the greatest man to ever live. Didn't write any books. The only part of the sermons that we have are what the gospels have given to us concerning John. He never started an institution or an organization. He never created anything. The Bible says he never did a miracle.

Never did. But he was the greatest man to have ever lived. He had a great character. We saw where he was humble. He was courageous. He was confrontive. He was bold. He said it unlike anybody else had ever said it up to his time because he never backed down from confrontation. He always stood stiff. That's why Jesus said that when you went down to the river, what did you go down to see? Did you, you didn't go down to see another reed blowing in the wind. He wasn't like everybody else. Oh no, John was different.

And they all knew it. They all knew it. In fact, everybody knew he was a prophet. Even some thought he was maybe even the Messiah. They asked him that question. Are you the Christ? Are, are you the one who we're looking for? Are you the Messiah? Massive influence. Incredible character. An incredible individual. Great man. John the Baptist. I guess if, if I had to have my children pattern themselves after anybody, it'd be John. He's the guy. I mean, I would love it if, if, if my kids would eat honey and locusts and just wear camel skin.

Do you think how much money I would save as a father? If that's all they ate and all they wore? I mean, gee, wouldn't you want your kids to be like John the Baptist in that area? But beyond that, I mean, he was a man of noble character. He was a man of noble virtue. He was a man of great calling, a privileged calling, because this man, unlike anybody else, was the prophet who was prophesied to come. He was the fulfillment of Isaiah chapter 40, verse number three.

He was the voice that would cry in the wilderness. He was the fulfillment of Malachi chapter three, verse number one.

He was the messenger who would come before the Messiah. He was the prophet who was prophesied to come. That's why Jesus said, when you went out to see him, oh, you went out to see more than a prophet. And we know that prophets are great because Matthew chapter five says that the greatest people in the kingdom of God are those who teach the word of God. Jesus said that in Matthew five. You want to be great in the kingdom of God? Then you teach people the word of God. You keep the word of God. So they in turn will keep the word of God.

And you will be the greatest person in the kingdom of God. And John was a prophet. But Jesus said, no, when you went out to see John, you saw more than a prophet. You saw the prophet who was prophesied to come. You saw the forerunner to the Messiah because Christ was backing them into a corner to get them to realize that if they would accept the message of John, they had to accept the message of Christ because he was the Messiah. And John the Baptist, according to the words of Christ, was the greatest man ever born of a woman.

In Luke one, we saw the identity of John. In Luke three, we saw the ministry of John. In Luke seven, you see the authority and the popularity of John. And Jesus said, of all those born of a woman, there is none greater than John. And yet Jesus concludes, verse 28, with these words, Yet he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. This is the spiritual realization that most people never understand. Yet those who are least in the kingdom of God are greater than the greatest man ever born of a woman.

What a shocking statement. It's alarming. It's astonishing. It goes beyond comprehension. We've read about John. We know about John. He was the one who pointed to the Lamb of God. He was the one who said, that's the Messiah. He was the one who touched the Messiah. He was the one who baptized the Messiah. And yet Jesus says and affirms the greatness of John.

And on the backside of that same verse, he says, Yet those who are least in the kingdom of God are greater than John. How can that possibly be? How is it people like you and me sitting here today, the least of us in the kingdom, how is it we are greater than John? Look around the room. Let's look around the room. I mean, come on. You gotta be kidding me, right? Lord, do you really mean that? Well, if the Lord said it, he means it, right? So we look around the room. We look at each other and we think, I'm not sure that guy's so great.

I'm not so sure I want to go there and say she is that great. But Jesus said, Jesus said, Yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than John. How can that be? That's why we're spending all day on one verse, just so you can understand what that means. And then I'm going to challenge you at the end, okay? How is it those who are least in the kingdom of God can be greater than John? We know that when John came, he came preaching the kingdom of God. He came preaching the kingdom of God is at hand.

Repent, repent. And he came pointing people to the Messiah. And yet, listen carefully to what I'm going to say. We need to come to grips with how John understood the kingdom of God and how we understand the kingdom of God. You see, John was in the kingdom of promise. The kingdom of God was something that was promised to come. And he believed that. He believed that hook, line, and sinker, everything about the coming kingdom, John believed. And so he would come and he would introduce the kingdom of God.

He believed in the coming of the Messiah. Yet, redemption had not been made. The sacrifice had not been given. And the new covenant had not been ratified in terms of the Old Testament saints in the kingdom of God. He believed in the kingdom as a promise. But those of us who are believers on this side of the cross are believers in the kingdom of God and its fulfillment. There is a difference. John had preached the coming kingdom of God. He was in the process of inaugurating that kingdom through pointing to the Messiah and showing people that they needed to believe in Jesus Christ as that Messiah.

And yet, John did not experience the fulfillment of that kingdom in its entirety. John was in prison at this time. John was asking the question, Are you the Messiah? Are you the coming one? We talked about that at length in verses 18 and following. He sent two of his disciples to ask the Christ, Are you the Messiah? Or should we look for someone else? And Christ would do a sweeping act of miracles and then show his disciples how he was the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy. And then they would go back and explain to John because John was expecting the kingdom of God to arrive and for the king to set up his kingdom and to rule.

And Jesus wasn't doing that. And if John's in prison and he's expecting the king to rule, then of course John would be one of the subjects and John would be instrumental in that kingdom. But John's in prison. And so he's confused and has all these questions. Christ answers those questions because that's the way he is. And a form of the kingdom had arrived when John was preaching because the king was there. Jesus is that king. And so when the king arrives, he brings his kingdom with him. And yet the greatest in the era of promise which John was, is surpassed by the least in the era of the fulfillment of that promise.

That's what Jesus is saying. Listen to the words of our Lord in Luke chapter 10 verse number 23. Our Lord says to his disciples privately, blessed are the eyes which see the things you see. For I say to you that many prophets and kings wish to see the things which you see and did not see them and to hear the things which you hear and did not hear them. There are many prophets and many kings who had hoped for the coming of the promise, had looked to the coming of the promise. And if they could have seen what you saw, if they could hear what you have had the experience of listening to on a regular basis, oh, how blessed they would have been.

But just think how blessed you are because of what you see and because of what you hear. In essence, Christ is saying the same thing in Luke chapter 7. The least in the era of fulfillment, that's us, is greater than the one in the age or era of promise. Why? Why? Not because we're any better than John. Not because our character is more noble than John. Simply because of the privilege we have received. The greatness refers not to character and to conduct. The privilege refers to the position and the opportunity that God has given to you and me.

This is so crucial to our understanding. This is so crucial for our coming to grips with what it is our Lord wants us to realize spiritually in our lives. John was a man who never saw the arrest of Christ, the trial of Christ, the death of Christ, the burial of Christ, the glorious resurrection of Christ, the ascension of Christ, the coming of the Spirit of God to inaugurate the church of Christ. John had no understanding of those things. But we do. And that which John did not see and did not hear, we have seen and we have heard.

That's why we are blessed. That's why we are greater than John because of the totality of its fulfillment. That is the promise and its coming. Think of it this way. John could never preach a sermon on the second coming of Christ.

He never heard the Olivet Discourse that Christ gave to his men in the book of Matthew. John knew nothing about the coming of Christ and all of his glory in the book of Revelation as he would return to earth to set up his kingdom. He didn't know anything about that because he did not have the privilege of seeing the vision that John saw. But he doesn't have what we have, the completion of the revelation of God. The privilege is the privilege of complete revelation. We have that. John did not. He did not have what we have.

Listen, John does not know what we know. John in the age, in the age of promise does not know what we know in the age of fulfillment. We have the four Gospels that talk to us about the entirety of the life of Christ. John didn't have that. We have the book of Acts that talks about the birth of the church. John had no idea about a church. And what that meant. We have all the epistles that explain to us about the ministry and the meaning of Christ and his authority in our lives. John didn't have that.

We had the book of Revelation that gives us a complete understanding of the future of the world. John did not have that. But we do. We had that at our fingertips. John was filled with the Spirit of God from his mother's womb. In fact, John even gave a prophecy from his mother's womb when he kicked upon the arrival of Mary when she came to tell Elizabeth about the fact that she had conceived in a miraculous way. And we, when we are born again, God's Spirit dwells us. And the Bible says in Acts chapter one, verse number eight, that when the Spirit of God comes upon us, when we receive the Spirit of God, we will receive the power of God and we shall become the witnesses of God all throughout the world.

So we begin to understand even more of that greatness because we have the full message. John did not. In fact, Paul calls it musterion, a mystery. Something that was concealed in the Old Testament, now revealed in the New Testament. Something that in the Old Testament would have been pictured in a clouded or shrouded or shadowy kind of way when in the New Testament that cloud is removed that we might clearly understand what it was that God was conveying in the Old Testament. Paul calls it a mystery.

In fact, in Ephesians chapter three, this is how he explains it. Ephesians three, verse number nine, that he was commissioned to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God. So what happens now is that that mystery concealed in the Old Testament now revealed in the New Testament is clearly seen by people like you and me, but John was not able to see it. Let me give you a few illustrations.

One is the mystery of the incarnation. John did get this one. We know in the Bible that Isaiah 7 14 talks about how this young woman, this virgin will conceive and bear a child. We know through Isaiah chapter nine, verse number six, that the child would be born, the son would be given and that child and son are one in the same and the name is El Gabor, the mighty God. He is the father of everlasting or in other words, the everlasting father, the originator of eternity. So in Isaiah chapter nine, verse number six, as the prophet Isaiah would convey to us that this son given this child born is the originator of eternity speaking to us about God becoming man.

Now, as you read the Old Testament, it might not be clearly revealed, but when you read the New Testament, you begin to understand the incarnation of Christ and how God became flesh and dwelt among us. John knew that because John identified Christ as the son of God, one equal to nature with God. John grew up in a home that would explain what was taking place in the life of Mary and how he would be the forerunner to that Messiah and he would point to Christ as the son of God. So John had a pretty good understanding of the incarnation.

That was a mystery according to Colossians chapter two, verses two and three. But over in Romans chapter 11, verses 25 to 29, you have the mystery of Israel's, listen, unbelief. The mystery of Israel's unbelief. Do you think John the Baptist understood that? No, he didn't. In fact, when he's preaching, thousands are coming down into the Jordan River. I mean, they are just flooding the Jordan River. Pardon the pun, but they are. They're just flooding the river with bodies because they want to hear this man preach and they want to be baptized in preparation for the coming of the Messiah.

So he's thinking, man, this is great. The kingdom's coming. The Messiah is here. This is going to be the inauguration of the kingdom. The king is going to sit on his throne and rule. This is absolutely astounding. This is incredible. But he couldn't even begin to imagine Israel's unbelief because in the Old Testament, it was not clearly articulated. It was sort of clouded. Granted, we read the Old Testament. We see Israel's unbelief all throughout the Old Testament. But who would have ever dreamt that Israel would not receive their Messiah when he arrived?

And even though Isaiah 53 verse number one says, who has believed our report? And Christ would quote that in the gospel of John to show the unbelief of Israel. But John, to John, that was a mystery. We understand it. We get it because that mystery has now been revealed in the New Testament. Over in Romans 11, also Romans 16, 25 to 27, you have the mystery of Gentile salvation. Now, granted, if you read the Old Testament, you know that the Messiah will be a light of revelation to the Gentiles. In fact, Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, would talk about how when John would prepare the way for the Messiah, he will be the sunrise who will rise, and he will be a light to all people.

He will even be a light to the Gentiles. But the scope of Gentile salvation is clouded in the Old Testament. It's nowhere clearly seen. But when you read the New Testament, what do you have? You have predominantly Gentiles giving their life to Christ and coming to faith in Jesus as the Messiah and the birth of the church. John the Baptist knew the Gentiles would embrace the Messiah, but not to the extent that we have, which is clearly seen in the New Testament. That was a mystery to John. Over in Ephesians chapter two, you have the mystery of Jews and Gentiles being one body.

You think John the Baptist understood that? Of course not. Because in the Old Testament, Jews were giving specific laws to be separate from us Gentiles, to be completely different than us Gentiles. The whole Judaistic system was set up so that Israel would not be influenced by the Gentiles. But when you read the New Testament, you have Jews and Gentiles in one body. The middle wall of partition is broken down. They come together and embrace the same Messiah and are one in the body of Christ. You think John understood that?

Not in your life. No way. Over in Colossians one, verses 25 to 27, you have the mystery of the indwelling Christ. The mystery, Christ in you, the hope of glory. The riches of Christ is understood through the residence of Christ in your body. Do you think John understood that? No. They knew God above us. They knew God among us. But they didn't understand God in us. That's a mystery. Completely concealed in the old, but revealed in the new. That Christ himself would take up residence in your life and in mine.

He now resides in our lives as Christians. That was a mystery. John could never preach that. He never understood that. He never came to grips with that. How could he? Second Thessalonians two, verse number seven, talks about the mystery of lawlessness.

Lawlessness. How can that be? When Messiah comes, he will wipe out all evil and he will rule and reign and everybody will be subject to him. John the Baptist understood nothing about the mystery of lawlessness. In fact, when the Messiah would come, things would get worse. Evil would begin to run even a higher course and even more so until he comes again to set up his kingdom. But John could not conceive a period of lawlessness when the Messiah would arrive. But second Thessalonians two, seven, talks about that mystery of lawlessness that will culminate in the ultimate lawless one who is the Antichrist before Christ returns again.

Which leads me to first Corinthians 15, 51, the mystery of the rapture of the church, the catching away of the church.

John could never preach a sermon about that. That somehow the church would be translated off of this earth into heaven into glory with our great God and Savior. He knew nothing about that. But Paul said, boy, I tell you a mystery. We shall all be changed in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump. Boy, there's going to be a translation of the saints from this present earth to glory. That's what first Thessalonians four, 13 to 18 is all about.

How we are to comfort one another with these words. Why? It's the blessed hope of the coming of our great God and Savior, the appearing of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. John didn't know that, had no idea about it. We do. We do. Ephesians one, verses eight to 10, speak about the mystery of the future. In other words, the summing up of everything in Christ himself. John did not understand. But we do. We do. We have a complete understanding of justification. John didn't understand that. How we are saved from the penalty of sin.

We have a complete understanding of sanctification. How we are saved from the power of sin. We have a complete understanding of glorification. How one day we will be saved from the presence of sin. John did not understand that and could not preach that. But we do. We preach it. We live it. We understand it. Why? Because of the fullness of the gospel. John couldn't preach the gospel like we preach it. Because he couldn't preach about the death of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, the coming of the spirit of God, the coming again of Christ.

He couldn't preach that. Oh, he preached the gospel because the kingdom of God was at hand. He called people to repentance and to believe in God to embrace the Messiah when he arrived. But did he understand the coming of the cross? And the whole elements of what that cross would do for you and me in the age of redemption? No, he didn't understand it. Romans 1 says, Paul says that, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God and the salvation to the Jew first and also the Greek.

The gospel is power. And over in 2 Thessalonians chapter 3, verse number 15, that scriptures make you wise unto salvation. The scriptures teach us about Christ and His saving work and how we can be saved from the penalty of sin and from the power of sin one day to be ultimately saved from the presence of sin in our life. John did not understand that. We do. We do. Our greatness is assigned to our privileged position and privileged revelation of the fullness of the gospel. And that's why Jesus could say, up till now, no man born of a woman greater than John.

Yet, he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than John. He who is least in the era of fulfillment of all that was prophesied is greater than he who was the most influential man in the age of promise. What a statement. I mean, can you digest it? Can you understand it? Can you somehow come to grips with what it is we understand about our privileged position and the privileged revelation that we have in Christ? The cross is the point which promise becomes fulfillment. And in a sense, we are greater on this side of the cross than those on the other side of the cross.

Not because they weren't redeemed, because they were. The blood of Christ redeems his people. But they were looking toward a promise. We have seen the promise fulfilled and are living in light of that promise fulfilled. To me, as I read this and I began to study this, I was taken back by the fact that I there'll be some people who leave today, and maybe you're one of them, who will leave and they'll leave in the usual manner in which they arrived. They will leave and business will go on as usual.

They'll leave and they'll get in the same car. They might even go to the same restaurant. They go every Sunday for lunch. Even maybe with the same people they go with every Sunday. And they'll go home and they'll do what they do every other Sunday in the fall. Watch football. And then they'll have their dinner and they'll go to bed and they'll do what they always do. They'll get up tomorrow and they'll go to work and they'll drive the same route to work. They'll do the same thing they always do. They'll punch the same widgets the same way they've always done them.

Collect the same paycheck they've always collected on the first and second or the third and fourth week of the month whenever they receive them.

Everything goes business as usual, as usual. How is it business goes on as usual when Jesus says, yet you who are the least in the kingdom of God are greater than the greatest man who ever lived, John the Baptist.

How is it business goes on as usual? So I began to write myself some notes. And I said simply business goes on as usual because we're not in the process of learning about our Christ. I mentioned a few mysteries this morning. Some of you mystery, to you it's a mystery about the rapture. What's that? To you it's a mystery about Jews and Gentiles being one in the body. To you it's a mystery about the age of lawlessness. What does that mean? To you it's a mystery about the age or the mystery of fullness or fulfillment and promise.

That's all a mystery to you. You don't understand it. And so because you don't understand it, you say, well, it's great. It's too much for me to know. And you leave as usual and continue on your usual business instead of learning about the Christ and the fullness of his glory and the joy that only he can bring. Business goes on as usual when we stop learning about the Christ. Where are you, by the way, in your learning process? Do you know more now at the end of the summer than you did at the beginning of the summer?

If not, you'll probably know a little less at the end of the fall than you did at the beginning of the fall. Not the fall of man, the fall season, sorry. Are you learning about the Christ? Are you involved in personal Bible study? Are you involved in even coming to church? I mean, I mean, you're here today, but are you here all the time? That you might digest the truth of God on a regular basis? Business goes on as usual when we stop learning about the Christ. Business goes on as usual when we stop leaning upon the Christ.

John the Baptist, filled with the Spirit of God from his mother's womb, kicked in his mother's womb upon the arrival of Mary and her talking to his mother Elizabeth, came in the power of Elijah because the Spirit of God indwelt this man. And when we stop leaning on the indwelling Christ, the indwelling Spirit of God that resides within us, we lead life as usual. We just carry on from day to day. Attitude never adjusts. It's always the same. It's always bad. It's always negative. My actions, sometimes they're good, sometimes they're bad.

But nothing changes because I'm not leaning. I'm not walking in the Spirit so I don't fulfill the lusts of the flesh. Let me tell you something.

When you don't fulfill the lusts of the flesh, you understand your greatness. Because you're learning to lean on the Spirit of God in every situation. So, those who leave as usual, carry on business as usual, everything is the same as it always was. Every week is just the same bore as the previous week. Every trip home is the same boring trip home as it is every day. Every time I live at home, it's the same boring place it's always been. It's because I'm not learning about my Christ. I'm not leaning upon my Christ.

And number three, I'm not leading others to Christ. I'm not leading others to Christ. 2 Corinthians 5 talks to us about we have been given the ministry of reconciliation. We have been commissioned by God as his ambassador. We are the ones who entreat and beg people be reconciled to God. So, let me ask you this question.

When was the last time you brought someone with you to church? When was the last time you even invited somebody to come to your church and then call them when they didn't show up? More than that, when was the last time you shared Jesus Christ with an unsaved individual? Folks, you'll never understand your greatness if you don't lead other people to Christ because that's all you're here for. You're not here for anything else. So, once you stop leading people to Christ, business, my friend, for you will always be as usual as it always has been because you're not living for what you were designed to do.

You were living to lead other people to Christ himself. And if that's not our ongoing ambition and mission in life, we go to work, don't talk to people about Christ. We go to school, don't talk to them about Christ. We go to our social gatherings and don't talk about Christ and invite people to Christ. We go home to our unsafe family and don't compel them to come to Christ. You will have a boring, subpar, mediocre, lousy life. I'm trying to think of some more adjectives. I couldn't think of anything else off the top of my head.

But that's just the way it's going to be. That's just the way it is, folks, because you have been given the ministry of reconciliation. You are to go into all the world and preach the gospel. You are to go into all the world and make disciples. That has been the mandate handed down to us. And when we don't fulfill our purpose, business as usual, humdrum kind of life. Hard to get up in the morning. Hard to go through the day. Can't wait to finally go to bed again.

To somehow sleep off the doldrums of my life. Business as usual, when we're not learning about the Christ, when we're not leaning on the Christ, when we're not leading other people to Christ, and when we are not longing for the return of Christ. Longing for the return of Christ. That's our blessed hope. That's our blessed hope that one day the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior will be seen by people like you and me. And we can't wait for Jesus to come back. We live every day in anticipation.

We live every day with excitement because we never know that if this is the day, I'm going to live it as if it's my last. If I'm anticipating the return of Christ, I live today. I preach this sermon as if it's my last sermon. I hug my wife as if it's the last time I'm going to hug her. I discipline my children as if it's the last time I'm going to discipline them. I lead my everyday life as if this is the last moment of breath that I have. And therefore, I anticipate with all that I have that Jesus Christ might return at this very moment.

And folks, that erases all boredom from your life. All boredom. Because I'm always looking for Jesus to come. I can't wait for his arrival. Can you? Jesus said, Yet, he who is the least in the kingdom of God is greater than John. And the only reason you don't understand that greatness is simply this. You refuse to learn about him. You refuse to lean on him. You refuse to long for him. Because if you did those things, you would sense your greatness. Let's pray. Our most gracious heavenly father, you have given us a great responsibility.

The opportunity before us requires our responsibility to fulfill it. And the accountability that we have in your word is so clear. My prayer is for everyone in this room, myself included. The Lord, we would learn more about you every day. No matter what it takes. We would spend time learning about only Jesus. Leaning upon you for everything that we so desperately need. Your guidance, your power, your grace and your mercy, your patience, your love. And that Lord, we would be engaged in leading people to the saving knowledge of Jesus.

Jesus Christ, our Lord. Always longing for your arrival to take us home to be with you forever. Help us, Lord, to stay focused. In Jesus name, amen.