There Came a Man Sent From God, Part 3

For one last time, John chapter 1, verse number 6. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. Now I told you weeks ago that we would not always cover one verse a week, or one phrase of one verse a week forever.

Only for a while. And so, Lord willing, this is the last week we will be on John 1, verse number 6. It's an important verse because you need to know the kind of man that God sent.

What kind of man was John the Baptist? And so we spent a couple of weeks describing to you this man. Because after all, if he's the greatest man ever born of a woman, that means he was greater than King David, greater than Moses, greater than Elijah, greater than Elisha, greater than Jeremiah, greater than Isaiah, and the list goes on and on. So if he's the greatest man ever born of a woman, then we need to understand how great he really was, and why the Bible characterizes him as such.

But remember, it's the Lord who said that about John. Well, if that's the case, what does greatness look like? And so in order to understand biblical greatness, you need to understand John the Baptist. To understand true manhood, you need to understand John the Baptist, because this was the greatest man ever born of a woman.

So we spent a couple of weeks looking at this man. There was a man, not just any man, he was an extraordinary man. And this man was sent from God.

And so the last couple of weeks, we've talked to you about how it is John was sent from God. Because there are similar instances in terms of how God sends us. Because John, the greatest man ever born of a woman, yet the least in the kingdom of heaven are greater than John.

So if that's the case, how is it that God sent John to help us understand how God sends you and me? And so we told you he was sent personally. Luke 3, verse number 4. The word of the Lord came to John.

I'm sorry, Luke 3, verse number 2. The word of the Lord came to John. God spoke to John.

And so God sent him personally. He was waiting for God to send him. And he was sent personally by the true and living God.

And then we said he was sent privately because he was in the wilderness. Luke 3, verse number 2 again. John was in the wilderness when the word of the Lord came to him.

How long was he there? We do not know, the Bible does not tell us. But most people believe that John at the age of 20, when he was to enter the priesthood because he was a son of a priest, that that would be the time he entered the wilderness. If that was the case, he would have been there for 10 years.

All the while, communing with his God. Reading Old Testament manuscripts about how God had prepared a forerunner to come before the Messiah. He would get to know his God so that he would be ready to present his God to people who needed to follow him.

So we said that this man sent from God was sent personally. He was sent privately. And then thirdly, he was sent prophetically because he could read Malachi 3, verse number 1.

He could read Isaiah 40, verse number 3, that all talked about this forerunner, this one that would come, this messenger that would come before the Messiah. And so he began to understand that everything about his life was prophesied, which would only fuel his energy, which would only mobilize his desires to serve his God because he saw himself as a fulfillment of prophecy. And so he was sent prophetically.

And then we said last week, he was also sent providentially, providentially. It was in the providence of God for him to be on the scene at the time he came on the scene. The Bible says in Galatians 4 that in the fullness of time, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law that he might redeem those who are under the law.

So if there was a specific time politically and spiritually and economically and socially that the Messiah would come, then there had to be a specific time for the forerunner to come because he would pave the way for the arrival of the Messiah. But all in the providence of God, God had designed Zacharias and Elizabeth, a priest, his wife, and they were barren for many, many years. And it just so happened that Zacharias was in the temple providentially, performing his priestly duties when the angel Gabriel showed up and told him that his wife was going to have a son.

Just a great testimony to the providence of God. And he would come at the right time. And providentially, he would be cared for all throughout the wilderness.

God would take care of John the Baptist. He'd prepare John the Baptist to be the kind of man he needed to be. So there was a man, not just any man, but an extraordinary kind of man, the last Old Testament prophet, the first New Testament preacher.

And he came because he was sent by God, personally, privately, prophetically, providentially. And number five, he was sent passionately, passionately. If you got your Bible, turn with me to Luke chapter 3.

Luke chapter 3. And I want you to listen to what Luke says in verse number four. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, the voice of one crying in the wilderness.

Stop right there. There was a voice of one crying in the wilderness. This was the fulfillment of Isaiah 40, verse number 3.

But John was sent passionately. It wasn't a small voice. It wasn't a quiet voice.

It wasn't a shy voice. It was a loud voice. It was a voice that would shout, a voice that would cry in the wilderness, that there was passion behind John's message.

He was a passionate kind of man. He had spent the last several years all by himself in the wilderness, communing with his God, recognizing that he would be sent prophetically. He'd be sent personally by God.

He'd be sent providentially by God. And all of that welling up on the inside is now gonna burst forth in great shouts of praise that the Messiah is here in anticipation of that which all had been longing for, the expected one to come. He's going to announce that the expected one has now arrived.

And so there's great passion behind his message. It wasn't that he would just simply talk about Jesus. It wasn't simply that he would just mention him by name.

No, he was a prophet and a preacher. But there was passion behind all that he did. There was passion behind him confronting Herod the king. There was passion behind him confronting the Pharisees when he called them a brood of vipers. There was passion behind all that he said because John the Baptist was sent passionately.

When you know that God prophetically has assigned you to represent him, and that God providentially cares for you and moves you to a specific place of employment, a specific family, a specific church, you can't help but cry in the wilderness and shout for the sake of God's kingdom.

What did he say? Well, it says, make ready the way of the Lord, make his path straight. Every ravine will be filled and every mountain and hill will be brought low. The crooked will become straight and the rough road smooth and all flesh will see the salvation of God.

He is shouting in the wilderness. He is crying out to people to help them understand that he is the fulfillment of that prophecy. Although he does not say, look at me, I am the prophet that was foretold.

No, he quotes the Old Testament. He does it with passion. Why? Because you see, this was an entire analogy of his message.

He preached a baptism of repentance and Isaiah 40, verse number 3 is the supreme example of what repentance looks like. The Messiah is coming. You gotta prepare the way for the Messiah.

It was a phrase used for preparing the way of the king so that when the king would arrive, he'd have a smooth entrance into the city, a smooth entrance to the people. And John is saying, in order for there to be a smooth entrance for the Messiah into your heart, these things must take place for this is what repentance looks like. He says simply that all the ravines must be filled up.

That's an analogy of the dark places of the soul, the depths of sin because repentance calls a man from the deep, dark recesses of his heart and the things that he has hidden that he might confess them and return from them. And even the high places, the mountains. Why? The Jews thought themselves as very proud people.

They were, of course, the people of God. They were the only ones who were given the oracles of God. They saw themselves as very special but all the high places, all the mountains must be brought down.

All the arrogance, all the pride must be destroyed, not just the deep, dark places in the recesses of your soul. Not only must they come up and be confessed but you must be brought low before the Lord. And then he talks about the crooked places, the devious places, the devilish places, the lying and the perverseness.

Then he talks about the rough roads, all the distractions on the road in your heart, all the self-love, all the love of money, all the love for the world and the lust of the flesh, all the apathy, all the unbelief, all the lethargy, all those things that happen to be obstacles that keep you from giving your life to the Lord. And then, and then all flesh will see the glory of the Lord, see the salvation of the Lord. If you as a nation want to receive your Messiah, then you as individuals, you personally must prepare the way for him to come.

And the only way to do that is to have a repentant heart, to turn from your sin and follow the Messiah. He did this with great passion, passion. John the Baptist was not a passive person.

Passivity is man's biggest failure. If you're a man, you should never be passive. Have you ever noticed that we are, we are passionate about the things that don't matter, but we're passive about the things that do matter? You ever notice that? Listen, just ask your wife what you're passionate about.

Ask your kids. What drives you? What motivates you? What compels you? They'll tell you, because they see you all the time. And you'll begin to notice that the things that drive you and you're passionate about really usually don't even matter.

But we find that we're very passive about the things that do matter. The Lord, the gospel, the preaching of that gospel, the leadership in our homes spiritually, all those things. John was a very passionate man.

And therefore when God sent him forth, he wasn't going to send somebody who had a small voice or a low voice or a quiet voice. He would send someone with energy, with drive, with passion. Why? Because you're representing the king.

You're representing the kingdom of God. And you're gonna be his ambassador, his representative. How can we represent God in a passive way? How can we represent Christ in a shallow, shy way? You really can't.

Because you see, once you understand who God is, you cry, you shout, you scream the truth. And John did. The apostle Paul was a very passionate man.

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 14, for the love of Christ compels me, controls me, constrains me. The very fact that Christ loves me is the single most motivating element of my life. It controls everything that I do.

And Paul was passionate about his God. And Paul would speak forth the truth about his God in such a way that others would be persuaded. I mean, it was like Agrippus said, Paul, thou almost persuadest me.

Why? Because Paul in his delivery and Paul in his passion and Paul in his drive to see God glorified would not be held back. And so many of us are held back. For what purpose? And here was John.

Here was Paul. Paul would go on to say this. The love of Christ compels us.

Having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died, and he died for all so that we, they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him who died and rose again on their behalf. He died so I would live for him. I'm living for Christ.

That's why I'm passionate. That's why you're not passionate, see. You're not living for Christ, you're living for yourself.

So how can you be passionate about the things of God? You're not. But you're passionate about the things for yourself because you're living for yourself and not living for God. But Paul says, the love of Christ compels me because one died for all, therefore all died, and therefore it moves me.

So I no longer live for me, but I live for Christ. That's the point. He goes on to say this in verse 20.

We are ambassadors for Christ as though God were making an appeal through us. God is making an appeal through you. How does God make an appeal through you? I hope you give your life to Jesus.

I hope you love Jesus. Oh, that's not an appeal. So he says this.

We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. There's a pleading that's there. There's a passion that's there.

There's a drive that's there. I want you to be reconciled to God. I want you to come to God.

Father, mother, ask yourself why your parent, your children are not coming to God. Do they see the passion that you have for God? The drive you have for him? The love of Christ just compels you. Now, it might be that God has not called him to himself as of yet.

And he might next week or down the road. But we can't be a hindrance in the communication of the gospel. We must be passionate behind what we do.

We must be driven behind what we do. Why? When it's all said and done, that's why we're here. To preach the gospel and to present Christ to a lost world.

This is so important. And so here is John the Baptist. He's been waiting 30 years. 30. To somehow be that voice that will show people the Messiah. That will point people to the Messiah. That they will understand who he is. He's been waiting. Now the time has arrived.

And he can't contain the passion. He can't contain that which compels him. Just love for the Lord.

Like it was for Paul, his love for the Lord. Like it should be for you and me, our love for the Lord. But ask yourself, are you a passionate man or a passive man? How about your children? Father, are your sons, are they passionate or are they passive? Ask yourself why.

Why are my kids not on fire for the Lord? I am. How come my kids aren't on fire for the Lord? There should be this compulsion that drives you. Now it doesn't mean that all your children are gonna be that way.

I understand that. I get that. And yet, we as parents, we as fathers especially, need to be passionate men.

Because we said it's on the wall. Our passion is to pursue the Christ, right? Our passion is to pursue him, that we might know him. Here's John the Baptist privately communing with God for year upon year, week upon week, month upon month, always communing with his God to know his God.

Paul would say, oh that I might know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his suffering. There was a passion behind Paul. There was a passion behind John the Baptist.

There was a passion behind every great man of God to know his God. Our passion is to pursue him, so our priority will be to portray him, so our purpose then will be fulfilled in proclaiming him. That's our philosophy of ministry so that we can fulfill our practice of praising him.

That's how it works, see? But if we find ourselves not proclaiming him and not portraying him, it's simply because we're not passionate to pursue him. It's just that simple. And so here is John, here is Paul, here are men of God who the love of Christ compels them.

It motivates them. It drives them. What drives you? What drives you to get up in the morning? What drives you through your day, right? There's gotta be a motivation behind each and every day.

It's gotta be the Christ, why? Because not only was John sent passionately, number six, he was sent purposefully, purposefully. There was a purpose behind God sending John. And one was to present the gospel, right? Another, another was to present the Messiah.

Another was to point to the Messiah as the lamb of God. Turn with me in your Bible to Matthew chapter 3 for a moment. Matthew chapter 3, verse 13.

Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John to be baptized by him. What? Why is Jesus being baptized? I thought this was the baptism of repentance. But John tried to prevent him saying, I have need to be baptized by you and do you come to me? But Jesus answering said to him, permitted at this time for in this way it is fitting for us, us to fulfill all righteousness.

John is permitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. This is very important, why? Why would Jesus be baptized? Well, let me briefly give you four reasons. One was for exemplification, one was for validation, one was for identification and one was for prefiguration.

That's why Jesus was baptized. One was for exemplification. He would be the supreme example of what it meant to follow the father's will.

Well, he came to do the father's will and he becomes the supreme example of obedience. And as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto God. And so he would exemplify to everyone around him that he was, as he said, I've come to do the will of my father who is in heaven.

So one is exemplification, the second one is validation. He was validating John's ministry. He was affirming John's ministry, that the message John was preaching was true and that as the Messiah, you are paving the way of your heart by coming to a place where you recognize your sin and you need to turn to a savior.

And so he is validating John's ministry. And then there was identification. He's identifying with sinful man.

Notice that the sinless son is identifying with sinful man. The one who had no sin will be baptized for those who had no righteousness. That's very important because you see, he came to identify with man.

That's why he became a man. Isaiah 53, verse number 12, he was numbered with the transgressors so he could bear all of our iniquities, right? And therefore, he would identify with the sins of man. He would ultimately bear man's sins on the cross.

We see through the fourth element, there was a prefiguration by him going down into the water, coming back up out of the water again. He prefigured all that would happen through his death, burial and resurrection. Why? Because we as believers then would identify with Christ in his death, burial and resurrection.

There was a whole purpose behind John's coming, John being sent. This man was sent purposefully to baptize the Messiah so that all righteousness would be fulfilled. Everything that had been planned and ordained by God needed to happen on schedule with the right guy at the right time, in the right place.

So everything was providentially cared for and taken care of. And here was Jesus coming to John in the wilderness to be baptized by John. But John would also be the one who would point to the Messiah.

John 1:29, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Nobody else had done that. Nobody had pointed to the Messiah until John.

And then he would say, the Lamb of God. How did he know that? How did he get that? Oh, by the way, how come nobody ever questioned John about that? What do you mean, Lamb of God? What are you talking about, John? That's because they knew Genesis 22. They knew the substitutionary atonement was prefigured in Genesis chapter 22 with Abraham and Isaac on Mount Moriah.

John would know that. He would see Christ as that ultimate sacrificial Lamb that everything up to this point, every ceremony, every ritual was pointed to one substitute, one sacrifice, one Lamb of God that would do away with man's sin, no longer cover them, but erase them. So he could say, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Doesn't cover them, he takes them away. So here is John with a purpose. Do you not think you have the same purpose? Do you not think that you were sent purposefully? Do you think you were not sent purposefully to your school or to your workplace or to your community? There's a whole plan of God behind where you live and where you work and who your friends are, who you associate with.

All that is for a purpose. Don't think for one moment that things just happen willy-nilly around you as if there is no concern on the part of God. No, everything that happens around you happens for a purpose because God has placed you there purposefully so that others will see the Messiah because you will point to the Messiah, you will explain to them who the Messiah is, you'll explain to them what it means to be redeemed, how it is you repent, how you give your life to Christ.

That's why you are left here after you're saved. Why else would God leave you here after he saved you? To make money? When all your treasures are in heaven anyway? God saved you so that you can have a family? No. God saves you and left you here for only one reason.

To worship him? No, because your worship in heaven's gonna be glorious. To have fellowship with other believers? No, because your fellowship in heaven will be perfect. The only thing that you're gonna do here that you won't do there is preach the gospel.

That's it. That's the only reason God left you here after he saved you. There is no other reason.

Your family needs to hear the gospel. Your friends need to hear the gospel. The people you work with, the people you play with, they all need to hear the gospel.

And God has put you in a specific arena that he's not placed me or the person in front of you or behind you, he's only put you there for one purpose. Only one. And that is to proclaim the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

That's it. So why is it we have such a hard time fulfilling that purpose? It's because we have other reasons that we think give us purpose. Other things mean more to us than the gospel.

Other things mean more to us than glorifying the name of Christ through the preaching of the gospel. And yet God has purposefully designed you to be where you are this very day, in your very job, in your very family, in your very community, with your very friends, because they need to hear about Christ as this man was sent from God. So you too are sent from God.

You are sent personally by God. He called you into his kingdom by his glorious grace through the word of truth that was spoken to you. He's called you prophetically because your name was written in the language of life before the foundation of the world.

He called you providentially because at the right time, in the exact place, with the right word, with the right person, you heard the gospel and you gave your life to Christ, all in the providence of almighty God. And he called you passionately. He said, you're representing me and my kingdom.

You're representing me and my mercy and my grace. You're representing my love. How can you not be passionate about that? He's called you purposefully because there is a purpose for why you are here.

And it's only one purpose. And that is to proclaim the gospel message of Christ to those around you who do not know him. That's it.

And lastly, John the Baptist was called powerfully. Powerfully. Luke chapter 1 says in verse number 14, or excuse me, verse number 15, for he, John, will be great in the sight of the Lord.

Notice, it doesn't say he'll be great in the sight of the world. He'll be great in the sight of the Lord. And that was good enough for John.

I wonder if it's good enough for you to be great in the sight of the Lord. We so desperately want to be great, seen as great, treated as great, looked at as great. But the Lord wants you to be great in his eyes.

He will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He will drink no wine or liquor and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother's womb, he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. It is he who will go as a forerunner before him in the spirit and power of Elijah.

Powerfully, he was sent by God to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. John was sent powerfully because he came in the spirit and power of Elijah. So when he would preach, he would preach unashamedly.

When he preached, he would preach unhindered. It was almost as if he was unhinged when he did preach because he held nothing back. Because he came in the spirit and power of Elijah, he was filled with the spirit from his mother's womb.

No other man was like that except John because God was gonna use them in a very powerful way. And you know what? God sends us forth powerfully as well. Does he not? He's given us a spirit of power according to Acts chapter 1, verse number 8.

Right? So that we can be his witnesses. He gave us a spirit of power. He infused us with his strength.

And so we don't have to be ashamed when we speak up in the classroom. We don't have to be shy when we speak forth the gospel in the workplace. We have the spirit of power.

I've been sent powerfully by the Lord because I've been sent providentially by the Lord. Because I've been sent prophetically and personally by the Lord. Therefore I can be passionate about what it is I believe because I have a purpose for living.

I'm living for Christ and not for myself. I'm living to honor God and not myself. I'm living for him.

And therefore I powerfully proclaim the gospel. That was John. There was a man.

There was a man, not just any man. He was an extraordinary man. He was different than every other man.

Let me explain that to you on how different that he really was. Uncompromising in his message. Unorthodox in his mannerisms. Unrivaled among men.

We gave you the list of those things that made this man the man that he was. This man, he was sent by God. He was called by God. He was chosen by God. He was consecrated by God.

He was cared for by God so he would be able to communicate his God in the most effective way. And he did. So the challenge for you and me, having spent five weeks on just one verse, what kind of man or woman are you? Because the standard is the scriptures.

The standard is the word of God. The standard's not me. The standard's not your parents.

The standard is the word of God. The standard is John, the greatest man who ever lived. So you must ask yourself the question, how do I measure up to that standard? Because that is the standard.

And this man was sent from God. So too are you sent from God. God has called you into his marvelous kingdom.

You've been sent by him. You've been sent by him to your family, to your church, to the world, to your friends, to your community. God has sent you.

And how are you communicating the gospel to those people? How are you representing the Christ to those people? Do you do it powerfully? Do you do it passionately? Or do you do it passively and impotently? That's the question we gotta ask and answer ourselves. I can't ask. I can ask you that question, but only you can answer that.

I can't answer it for you. But my prayer for all of us is that there be this driving force behind us. The love of Christ.

A relationship with the living God that compels me, that moves me, that constrains me, that motivates me to get up every morning. Today's a new day to fulfill my purpose of communicating the gospel. Today's a new day to passionately represent my God.

Today's a new day to be able to help others understand how it is they can be in a relationship with the living God like I am. There is no greater force than that to drive you to get up every day, to be used by the Lord. God so desperately wants to use his people.

That's why he saved you. Does he need you? No. Does he want to use you? Absolutely.

Absolutely. Will you be used by him? When you go home today and you go through your day and you lay down at night, just say this to yourself. There was a man sent from God.

And just insert there was a woman sent from God whose name was Sue, whose name was whatever. But there was a person sent from God. Will you be that person? Will you be that man? Will you be that woman? And say to yourself, I've been sent by God.

He will later say to the disciples, as the Father has sent me, so send I you. We've been sent to go into all the world and make disciples. What a great purpose for living every single day. Let me pray with you.

Father, we thank you for all that you do and all that you say and all that you are. We thank you that, Lord, we can understand more about this man and how it is you sent him.

And pray, Father, that we would be the kind of people that would represent you well every day, knowing that you've called us to be used by you for the glory of your kingdom until you come again, as you most surely will. In Jesus' name, amen.