Latest / CCC West Covina / The Legacy of John the Baptist, Part 3

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The Legacy of John the Baptist, Part 3 · CCC West Covina

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Take your Bible and turn with me to John chapter 1 and we will
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continue to look at the legacy of of John the Baptist.
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John's legacy lasted has lasted for over 2000 years and the
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legacy that he leaves behind is the the life that he lived
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before the people that he ministered to.
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You can't leave behind that which you don't live before.
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And so he is leaving behind a legacy that is summed up in 3
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words. Word #1 is presentation, word #2
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is preparation, and word #3 is proclamation.
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And we spent the last two weeks looking at word #1 for John Kane
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to present the preeminence of the light.
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We showed you how he did that and why he did that.
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That's in verses 6-7 and eight, as well as verse #15 of John
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chapter 1. John chapter 5, verse #35 tells
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us that John came to testify to the truth and that he was a lamp
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that was burning bright. He was a a lamp that was shining
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bright and there was something about John that was on fire for
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the Lord that was able to illuminate all those round about
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him. Because if you're going to leave
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a legacy, then you do it because you present the preeminence of
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the light in your life. We are the lights of the world.
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We are the salt of the earth and we are to present to others the
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beauty and splendor of the light of Christ.
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And John said, I'm not the light.
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I just come to testify about the light.
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That's what I do. And six different times in John
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chapter one, it talks about the fact that he came to be a
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witness. He came to testify, He came to
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make sure that people knew who the Messiah was.
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You see, if you want to leave a lasting legacy, it's all
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centered around the Christ. It's all centered around the
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Messiah. If if you want it to be an
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eternal legacy, a lasting legacy, it must be focused on
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the Christ and not on yourself. And so John was, was prepared to
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do that. And so he came to present the
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preeminence of the light. That was the last two weeks.
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Today we will see how we came to prepare the pathway of the Lord,
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and then we'll see how He became to proclaim the Person of the
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Lamb. You got your Bible verse #19 let
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me set it in your heart and mind this morning down through verse
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#34 It's more important than that.
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We read the Word of God then that I explain the word of God,
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right? My explanation is a far
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secondary importance as compared to just the reading of the text,
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says the verse #19 This is the testimony of John when the Jews
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sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who
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are you? And he confessed and did not
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deny, but confessed. I am not the Christ.
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They asked him, What then? Are you Elijah?
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He said, I am not. Are you the prophet?
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And he answered no, But they said to him, Who are you?
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So we may give an answer to those who sent us.
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What do you say about yourself? He said, I am a voice of one
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crying in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the
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Lord, as Isaiah the prophet said.
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Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.
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They asked him, and said to him, Why then are you baptizing, if
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you are not the Christ or Elijah, nor the prophet?
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John answered them, saying, I baptize in water, but among you
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stands one whom you do not know. It is he who comes after me, the
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thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.
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These things took place in Bethany, beyond the Jordan,
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where John was baptizing. The next day he he saw Jesus
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coming to him and said, Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away
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the sin of the world. This is he on behalf of whom I
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said, After me comes a man who is mightier than higher in rank
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than I, for he existed before me.
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I do not recognize him, but so that he might be manifested to
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Israel. I came baptizing in water, John
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testified, saying, I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove
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out of heaven, and He remained upon him.
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I did not recognize him, but he who sent me to baptize in water
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said to me, He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and
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remaining upon him, this is the one who baptizes in the Holy
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Spirit. I myself have seen and have
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testified that this is the Son of God.
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These verses sum up for us the the legacy of John the Baptist.
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Not only did he present the preeminence of the light, but he
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was the one who prepared the pathway for the Lord.
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So think about the context. The Bible says in John chapter 2
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verse #13 that the Passover was near.
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I'm not sure you understand the implications of that.
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Jerusalem has a population of around 350,000 people during the
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time of Christ, but during Passover it would swell
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somewhere between 2 1/2 to 5 million people.
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Why? Because there had to be a
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sacrifice, and 1 lamb could be sacrificed for a minimum of 10
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people, a maximum of 20. Now you have to think that if
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you're coming to Passover and you live far away, it's a long
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journey. It's not that you can get in
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your car and drive there in a day or two.
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No, you are walking from a a long way away to be at Passover.
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And so you're going to leave early to make your journey.
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You're not going to get there at the last minute.
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You're going to get there to prepare everything for Passover,
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and that's going to last you 7 days.
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Well, after Passover is a feast of first fruits.
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And then shortly after that comes Pentecost.
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And if you you've traveled a long way, you're not going to
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necessarily go back and come back again because you don't
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have the time to do all that. That's just too much work, too
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much traveling. They're doing this on foot.
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And so people are coming and they are staying in Jerusalem
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for a long periods of time. And so as they're there, they
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are wondering, what are we going to do?
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And someone comes along and says, well, you know, let me
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tell you something. I know that the mall isn't open
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today, but you can go down to the to the Jordan because
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there's a guy down there in, in camel skin tied around with a
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leather belt who's telling people to get right with God.
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And you need to go down and see what that's all about.
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And so they did all kinds of people.
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Matthew's account tells us that there were tax collectors, there
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were soldiers, there were the common people.
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Luke tells us there were Pharisees, or, excuse me, magic
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tells us there were Pharisees and Sadducees.
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We also know from this text that there are Levites and priests.
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Mark tells us that all in Jerusalem and all from the
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country of Judea were making their way down to the Jordan
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where John was baptizing. That doesn't mean every single
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person, but it talks about a majority of people who are
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making their way down to the Jordan River to see what was
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happening with this man who is proclaiming that the Kingdom of
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heaven was was near and he was baptizing down in the Jordan
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River. Now if you're going to go down
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there, it's it's 1300 feet below sea level.
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So you're going to travel down from Jerusalem to Bethany beyond
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the Jordan, which is about 30 miles.
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It's going to take you 2 days to get down there.
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And they say, look, if you're going to go down there, you're
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going to get baptized. Make sure that you realize you
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take a change of clothes because once you get down there, get
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baptized, you're going to be pretty dirty.
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Now I have baptized in this location in Jordan, and this is
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a place that where the water is like chocolate milk.
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It's pretty nasty, but we had shower facilities so when we
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were all done, we could shower. There were no shower facilities
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for the people in those days, so they didn't have to take a
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change of clothes to journey back up to Jerusalem.
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Once again, this was not an easy journey, but scores of people
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going down by the thousands, they were going down there.
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And so they're going to send a delegation down to the Jordan.
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That is the Pharisees are, it says in verse 26 that the
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Pharisees sent a delegation, a group of Levi's and priests sent
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them down to the Jordan to see who this guy is, what is
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happening down in the Jordan today.
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Everybody would be there with cell phones, videotaping all
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that was taking place, taking snapshots with John, baptizing,
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posting on their social media so everybody could see what was
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happening. And, and if John was alive and
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that was happening, he would say he would Nix that.
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He never signed, no cell phones, no video take any place here
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because John wasn't that kind of guy.
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He didn't want any recognition. He wouldn't let people take
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selfies with him. He wouldn't do that because John
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was just a voice. That's all he was.
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I've got to decrease. He must increase.
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No videos of the baptisms, no pictures on social media.
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We're not doing this here. It's not about that, see?
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We don't understand that because that's what we're all about.
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See, We don't get that. But John, no, he was different.
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Why? Because he was a protester.
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He protested the religiosity of the day.
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He protested the hypocrisy of the day, he protested the
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falsity of each and every day of the religious establishment.
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And so they sent this delegation down to the Jordan to figure out
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what's going on, who this guy is.
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Now, I've told you before, and I do believe this, they knew John
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the Baptist, they knew John. They grew up together.
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They were Levites and priests. His mother was from a line of
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the priesthood. His father was a priest.
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And so they would grow up together in the streets of
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Jerusalem. They play whatever games they
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played in those days together. They'd run around together.
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They knew John. So when they come down to the
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Jordan River, the question is not who are you?
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As if they don't know. The question is, who in the
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world do you think you are? Do you think you're the Christ?
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You think you're the Messiah? Do you think you're do you think
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you're Elijah? Do you think that you're the
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prophet? The prophet that's from
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Deuteronomy 18 where Moses said that there will come a prophet
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who is greater than him and you should listen to him.
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That's the prophet of Deuteronomy 18A prophecy about
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the coming Messiah. Are you Elijah?
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Because they all knew about the coming of Elijah.
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They knew in Malachi chapter 3 verse #1 that there would be a
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forerunner to the Messiah. They knew in Malachi chapter 4
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that Elijah was going to come before the great and terrible
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day of the Lord. They knew that, and they also
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knew that. I mean, that's why it passed
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over. They had this empty chair for
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Elijah, and they send the young one out to go see if Elijah's
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there. Because if Elijah's there, that
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means the great and terrible day of the Lord is there.
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They do that at every Passover. So you know about Elijah?
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Now? John did come in the spirit and
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power of Elijah, but he wasn't Elijah.
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So are you the Crichton? I'm not the I'm not the Messiah.
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Are you Elijah? Do you think you're Elijah?
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I'm not Elijah. Well, are you the prophet then?
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Is that who you think you are? No, I'm not the prophet.
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I'm not that one, but see, John's account of the situation
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is a little different than Matthew's account situation.
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We read John's account. John is describing John the
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Baptist as somebody who's pretty amiable, pretty kind, pretty
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nice. But when you read Matthew's
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account, it's a little different.
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It says this Matthew chapter 3 verse #7 But we saw many of the
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Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism.
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He says to them, many of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
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Now Please remember that Luke's account tells us that the people
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were living in a state of expectation.
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What were they expecting? Well, here's this, this guy down
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by the Jordan River saying that the king is coming, the Kingdom
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of heaven is at hand. You need to repent and be
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baptized for the remission of sins because the Kingdom of
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heaven is at hand. And so people are thinking the
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Kingdom of heaven is coming, no, that that must mean the Messiah
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is coming and he is the expected. 1 Psalm 118 and in
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Psalm 40. And they lived in the state of
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expectation of the coming one. So Luke tells us that they were
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all in the state of expectation. There had not been a prophet in
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Israel in 400 years, 400 years. And now all of a sudden, scores
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of people are going down to the Jordan River to hear this
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prophet talk about the king and his coming Kingdom.
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So now they're in the state of expectation thinking, well, if
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the king is coming, he must be be right around the corner.
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So let's go down and get prepared for the arrival of the
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Messiah. So now come these Pharisees and
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Sadducees. They're coming down.
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They've already sent a, a group of Levites and priests down
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there. Here come the Pharisees and the
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the Sadducees, the the religious elites, the ritualistic people,
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the ones who who Christ condemned over and over again
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because what they did, they thought would be highly esteemed
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before men, but that just was an abomination to God because they
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would use their tradition to trump truth and they would
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elevate their tradition over the truth of God.
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That's why Jesus said in Matthew 5 that we're discussing on
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Wednesday nights. You, you have heard that it was
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said by the rabbis of old. This is what the tradition tells
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you. But I say unto you, this is the
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truth of the law of the, of the gospel.
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This is the truth that I wanted to convey to you so that you
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know the truth and you can set aside your traditions.
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You need to know the truth. So the Pharisees and Sadducees
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come down. It says this.
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He said to them, you brood of Vipers, you pack of snakes, who
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warned you to flee from the wrath to come.
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This is how Matthew presents them, right?
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They they, they want to say, who are you are?
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Who do you think you are? He says, you pack of snakes
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today They would say, well, you know, you shouldn't talk to
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people that way, John. You know, you can be sued for
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that. People would want to take you to
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court because you called them names, you know, and today
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people are so sensitive anyway and they'd be taken to court
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over all kinds of things. But John didn't care about that
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stuff. John want to call out the
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religiosity. He wanted to call out their
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hypocrisy. He wanted to call out the
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falsity of the religion and all that the tradition stood for.
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And they that's why he was a protester.
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See, he was a priest. That they're coming down and
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saying, John, what are you? What are you wearing camel skin
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for? You should be in priest clothes.
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You should be up in the temple with us.
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What are you doing down here? Do you think you're Elijah?
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You think you're the Christ? Do you think you're the prophet?
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Who in the world do you think you are wearing?
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The clothes you're wearing, saying the things you're saying,
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doing what you're doing? And so John says you're a pack
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of snakes. He says therefore bear fruit in
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keeping with repentance. In other words, demonstrate the
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fact that you're truly repentant.
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You want to come down and get baptized, show you're truly
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repentant. He says and do not suppose that
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you can say to yourselves we have Abraham for our father for
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I say to you that from these stones that could be referring
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to Gentiles because stones were helpless and hopeless and that's
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how they referred to the Gentiles anyway.
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He says from the helpless and hopeless God is able to raise up
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children. Abraham, you think you're a
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child of Abraham, but I because you're circumcised.
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Why? Because you were born a Jew.
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You think you're going to go to heaven because of your
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ethnicity. That's not the case.
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John says, he says the axe is already laid at the root of the
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trees. Therefore every tree that does
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not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
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If you are not willing to come and, and, and repent of your
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sins and bear fruit and keeping with repentance, you're going to
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be burned up. You're going to hell, you're not
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going to heaven. That's that's preaching.
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I said John the Baptist preach. You don't hear much of that
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today. And that's unfortunate.
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That's why we have so many, so many cotton candy Christians in
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the in the Pew. They can't stand strong for
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anything because they didn't have been taught anything.
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And here's John the Baptist truly preaching the truth
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because he's got to pave the pathway for the Lord.
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He's got to make sure they understand the right way to the
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Lord because they've been taught the wrong way all their lives.
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And so they say, who are you? He goes, I'm a voice.
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I, I'm just a voice crying in the wilderness.
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We told you before, it's not just a location, the wilderness.
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It's it's the, the condition of man's hearts.
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I'm a voice. Crying in the wilderness,
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preparing the way of the Lord again, taking two ways.
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One is because he needs to prepare the way to the Lord.
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Because people don't know how to get to the Lord.
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They think they do. They think it's all about
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rituals. They think it's all about
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ceremonies. They think it's all about the
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symbols they think about. It's all the things that they do
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on the outside or that they don't do.
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But see, we know that doesn't work.
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Just look at the rich young ruler.
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He comes to Christ. He says, what must I do to
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inherit eternal life? You see, when you when you have
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a works based system, you never have assurance of eternal life.
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You never have any ironclad clarity about what it means to
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be on your way to heaven. You don't have that.
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So here's the rich ruler who believes that he is a
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traditionalist who is keeping the traditions of Judaism, but
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he knows there's something missing in his life.
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So he goes to somebody who will, who will tell him or affirm that
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what he's doing is good enough. But Christ doesn't do that.
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Christ confronts him on his idolatry and he goes the way sad
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because he realizes that there's nothing he can control to get
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him into heaven. See, when you have a works based
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system, it's all about you. When you have Christianity, it's
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all about the Christ in his work and what he does in the life of
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the unregenerated person. And so John says, I'm, I'm here
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to, to clear out all the paraphernalia along the pathway
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to the Lord. So people have a clear path.
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They know where to go. There, there there is one name
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under heaven given among men whereby you must be saved.
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He is the way, the truth and the life.
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No one comes into the Father, but through the Christ there was
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1 mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.
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So here is John the Baptist preparing the way, the pathway
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to the Lord, so people will have a clear understanding of how to
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get to the Messiah. You see, that's a legacy that
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lasts that that's the legacy you need to leave behind.
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Do the people in your family, do the people closer to you know
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that the only pathway to heaven is through Jesus Christ?
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Do they know that the only pathway to glory is through the
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death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord?
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You see, our legacy lasts because not only do we present
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the preeminence of the light, but we prepare the pathway to
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the Lord. So people know what it means to
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truly be born again, to truly be saved from their sin.
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We erase the confusion from their minds.
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We show them exactly what it means to be born again.
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John says I'm a voice. I'm a voice crying in the
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wilderness. Prepare the way of the Lord.
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At the same time he's going to help people understand how it is
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they are to prepare their hearts, how to repent of their
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sins. And that's why in Matthew's
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account, he tells them what it means to to to repent and what
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repentance looks like. So you can bear bring forth
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fruit that bears the fact that you truly have been repentant.
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This is what John does. He wants them to understand true
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repentance and what it looks like so there's no confusion in
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their minds. See, that's a legacy.
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And and he says as he quotes from Isaiah chapter 40, he tells
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them God's word is my authority. I'm going to share the word of
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God. That's what John does.
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That was his motivation. I'm just going to share what God
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has has taught me what what God's word has said to me, and
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how God has spoken to me that I might show you what God says.
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You see, the only lasting word that you will ever invest in,
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people are not your opinions and not what you think, because
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nobody cares about your opinion or what you think.
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It's the word of God that lasts. It's the truth of the Word of
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God. Give people the truth of the
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word of God. That's what John the Baptist
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did. I am preparing the way of the
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Lord. I am declaring to you what God
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has shown me, that you might know the truth about how to get
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to God. Because you see, they had been
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so confused. They thought that it was all
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about tradition, a works based system, that you do this or you
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don't do that and and you'll gain a standing with God.
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And that's why Christ condemned the religious establishment over
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and over and over again because they were leading people the
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wrong way. And people who are a part of a
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false religion and lead people the wrong way need to be
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confronted and condemned based on what they are doing.
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Why? Because they're leading people
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to hell, not to heaven, and Satan uses them in all kinds of
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ways to disguise the truth. There's a pathway.
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The road is narrow, Matthew 7 tells us.
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Very narrow. The gate is very small.
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Very small. And of the the smallness of the
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pathway and the smallness of the gate, of the few that find it,
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Luke tells us, even fewer ever ever get in.
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Few people are really ever truly saved.
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That's important to understand that the road is narrow, the
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gate is small, and few there be that find it.
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And the Luke tells us strive to enter because the few that find
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it, even fewer will ever enter the Kingdom of heaven.
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This is so important to understand this.
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And John is just trying to take care of all the clutter that
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people have been taught for years and tell them how to get
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right with God. So he did.
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He prepared the pathway to the Lord.
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As a parent, you prepare the pathway to the Lord for your
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children. Show them what's right, what's
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wrong, what the Bible says. You don't give them your
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opinion. You don't give them what you
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think. You tell them the truth to those
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of your unsaved friends there. There is so much confusion in
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Christianity Today about what it means to truly be born again,
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what it means to truly repent of your sin, what it means to give
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your life to Christ, what it means to be a follower of
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Christ, what it means to be a true child of the living King.
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What does that mean? Can you explain that to people?
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Can you prepare the way to the Lord for people?
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That's the that's the lasting legacy that matters.
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Nothing else really does because it's, it's eternal treasures.
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People's eternal lives are at stake.
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Their destiny with God or without God is at stake.
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You want to explain that to them?
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This is John's passion. Who are you?
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I'm just a voice, just a voice, you know?
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And I, I'm not even worthy to, to untie the, the sandals of the
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ones coming after me #3 not only did he present the pre eminence
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of the light, and no, not only did he, not only did he prepare
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the, the pathway to the Lord, but he was the one who
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proclaimed the person of the lamb.
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He proclaimed the person of the Lamb.
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Notice the text says this. Oh, John says, by the way, John,
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as I'm saying, I baptize in water.
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But among you stands one whom you do not know.
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Note that, and most commentators don't.
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Jesus is in the crowd. There's one among you that you
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do not know. Now Jesus has already been
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baptized by John. Jesus has already been in the
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Judean wilderness for 40 days, being tempted by the devil.
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Now he's back. He's among the thousands that
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are there around the Jordan River and John wants to know
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there's there's one among you that you do not know, but he is
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here. He is here.
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It is he who comes after me, the thong on of whose sandal I am
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not worthy to untie. And then the next day, the next
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day, verse 29, he saw Jesus coming to him and said, behold,
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the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
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Now he's going to proclaim, He's going to proclaim the person of
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the Lamb. He sees Jesus and now he's going
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to point to the Messiah. He's going to identify the one
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they did not know that was in the crowd as the Lamb of God who
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takes away the sin, not the sins plural, but singular, the sin of
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the world. Why?
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Because there's something that separates you from your God,
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from the day you were born, conceived in, in sin, did your
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mother conceive you. You were born in sin.
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You were born separated from God and there is coming one who
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deals with that essence of sin, that that concept of sin, that
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one thing that keeps you from being reconciled to God.
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There is one who is coming. He is the Lamb of God and He's
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going to take away that one thing that's keeping you from
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having a relationship with a true and living God.
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Now they know about the sacrificial system because
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they're all involved in it. It's passed over season.
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They know about what the lambs coming in and being offered and
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sacrifices for. But they also know that the
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blood of bulls and goats can never take away the sin.
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It can only cover the sin of man.
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But they lived in anticipation and expectation of One who would
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cleanse them of all of their sin.
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That whole sacrificial system was set up by God to increase
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the anticipation and expectation of the people of God, knowing
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that there would be one who would come and remove them other
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sin. That's the promise of the new
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covenant. Remember what it says in in
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Ezekiel chapter 36 verse 25. Then I will sprinkle clean water
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upon you and you will be clean. I I will cleanse you from all
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your filthiness and from all your idols.
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Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit
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within you. I will remove the heart of stone
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from your flesh and give you a of flesh, and I will put my
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spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you
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will be careful to observe my ordinances.
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That's a new covenant promise. And that's what they were living
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in expectation for. That's what they were
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anticipating. And here comes John and says,
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look, and here's the Lamb of God.
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They, they, they know about the sacrificial system.
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The temple is built on Mount Moriah.
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They know about Genesis chapter 22 and the great substitute that
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the Messiah would bring, that Abraham called that place Yahweh
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Yuray. God will provide.
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What will God provide? He will provide a substitute so
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you can have your sins taken away.
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That that's why the temple is on Mount Moriah.
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That's why it's there, so people will always be reminded of the
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great substitutionary sacrifice of the one who would come and
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take away their sin. So incredibly important.
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What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus,
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says the songwriter First Peter 118 and 19.
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It's the precious blood as of a lamb that cleanses us from all
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of our sin. It's Jesus Christ alone and John
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is saying you are going through all these rituals, you're doing
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all these things, but I want to point to the one who's going to
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take away your sin. It's the Lamb of God.
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He came to take away the sin of the world.
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And then he says this. This is he on behalf of whom I
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said after me comes a man who has a higher rank than I, for he
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existed before me. He's going to describe the
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person of the Lamb as one who existed before him.
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And John is older than Jesus physically because Jesus was
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born six months after John. But he says he emphasizes the
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eternality of the sun. He emphasizes the pre existence
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of the sun. The same thing that John has
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already said in John one verse #1 in the beginning was the Word
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and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
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Speaking of the pre existence of God, the self existence of the
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Word as well as the coexistence of the Word with God.
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And so therefore John the Baptist is testifying to that
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which John has already spoken about by virtue of his testimony
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that the one coming after me, He existed before me even though I
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was born before him. He existed in the eternity past.
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Speaking of the eternality of the of the Son of God.
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Now this is interesting. This is what it says.
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He says I did not recognize him twice.
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It says that once in verse #31 I did not recognize him.
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Once in verse #33 I did not recognize you.
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How did John not recognize him? Did weren't they cousins?
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Yes, they were cousins. You know, Drew's family is here
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from from Indiana and, and all the cousins that haven't seen
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each other for over a year are greeting one another in in the
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parking lot because they're cousins.
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They, they, they know each other, right?
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And even though they might not see each other for a while, they
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by virtue of family know one another.
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Wait, wait. Here is here is John the
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Baptist, the son of Elizabeth. And Elizabeth and Mary are a
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part of the same family. They're cousins.
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They grew up together. They played together just like
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the priests and Levites. They knew John.
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John the Baptist knew Jesus. So what do you mean he didn't
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recognize him? Why did he say that twice?
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Didn't recognize him. Didn't recognize him?
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No. He knew him as Jesus, but he did
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not recognize him as Messiah. He did not recognize him as
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Lord. He did not recognize him as God
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in the flesh. See, he only recognized him as
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cousin Jesus that he grew up with and played with, but he did
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not recognize him. He didn't come to a full
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comprehension, a full recognition of the identity of
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the Messiah himself. How do we know that?
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Read on. It says I did not recognize him,
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but so that he might be manifested to Israel.
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I came baptizing in water, John testified, saying, I have seen
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the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and he remained
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upon him. I did not recognize him, but he
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God, who sent me to baptize in water, said to me, He upon whom
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you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon him, this is
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the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.
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So John is saying, look, I didn't recognize him in terms of
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his full identity as the Messiah of Israel until God said to me,
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when you see, the Spirit of God descended upon him like a dove.
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The Spirit of God is not a dove. He's not a please.
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The Spirit of God is a person. He's not a dove.
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So take the dove off the back of your windshield.
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He is not a dove. He descended like a dove.
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The person of the Spirit of God descended like a dove upon upon
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Jesus and his baptism. And that's when the Lord said,
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Behold, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.
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Listen to him. And God told John while he was
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in the woods, and as he said, look, when you see the Spirit of
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God descended upon this one. This is the Messiah and that
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Spirit will remain upon him. Remember in the Old Testament,
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the Spirit of God came upon different individuals to perform
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different tasks. That's why David after his sins
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said, do not take your Holy Spirit from me.
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Why did you say that? Because the Spirit of God came
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upon him to perform his kingly duties right in a special and
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unique way. But the mystery of the, of the,
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of the Old Testament revealed in the New Testament is that Christ
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in you, the hope of glory. And so the Spirit of God comes
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with, comes within you and envelops you.
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This is very important. Why?
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Because there's one who is coming.
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I baptize in water. He's going to baptize you with
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the Spirit. Now this is very, very important
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because you need to understand the baptism of the Spirit.
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It it's very confusing in a lot of Christian circles today.
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It need not be. It's very simply explained.
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There are 7 occasions and only seven in the New Testament that
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speak about the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
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Six of them all say the same thing.
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There's one that doesn't. That's First Corinthians 12/13.
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We are all baptized by 1 Spirit in the body of Christ.
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The one who does the baptizing is Christ.
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He baptizes you with His Spirit. The baptism of the Spirit is
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God's method by which He puts you into the body of Christ and
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seals you unto the day of redemption.
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That is the baptism of the Spirit.
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And oh, by the way, just in case you don't know this, everybody
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in the room is either going to be baptized by the Spirit by
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Jesus, or you will be baptized by fire by Jesus.
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So everybody in the room is going to receive a baptism from
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Jesus. How do we know that?
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Matthew chapter 3. Let me read it to you.
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It's getting hot in here, isn't it?
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Whoa man, it's getting hot in here.
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Anyway, Matthew chapter 3, Listen to what John says, verse
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11. As for me, I baptize you with
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water for repentance, but He was coming after me as mightier than
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I, and I am not fit to remove his sandals.
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He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
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Whoa, his women fork is in his hand and he will thoroughly
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clear the threshing floor and he will gather his wheat into the
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barn. Those are believers.
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But he will burn up the chaff. That's the unbeliever with
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unquenchable fire. So listen, everybody in the
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world is going to be baptized by Jesus.
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He's going to be baptized by the Spirit of God into the body of
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Christ. That is salvation or you'll be
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baptized by the Lord with fire in unquenchable fire and you
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will burn in hell forever. Those are your only two options.
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Only two. There's nothing in between.
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That's it. And John makes it very clear.
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John says I, I came to baptize in water.
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Why? Because the water symbolically,
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This is why the, the the Pharisees were so upset with
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John. What are you doing?
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Well, what authority do you have to baptize people?
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You're not the Christ, you're not Elijah, you're not the
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prophet. So John, tell us you're just a,
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a protester in a priestly line. Who's the prophet who thinks
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that he has authority to baptize people in water?
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Who gave you that authority? Who says that you have this
41:45
authority to do this? Why would they say that?
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Because Jews were never baptized.
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These weren't only Gentiles were baptized.
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And that's when they wanted to convert to Judaism.
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So if I, I'm, I'm a Gentile and I want to convert to Judaism,
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number one, I'm going to go through the the art of
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circumcision and #2 I will, I will be baptized.
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Listen. And no Gentile proselyte was
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ever baptized by anyone. They baptized themselves.
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They went into a mikvah, which is a cleansing bath, and they
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would go in after having been circumcised.
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They would go down into the mikvah.
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They would go down into the water.
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Why? Because they were symbolizing
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their cleansing from their idolatrous life, worshipping
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other gods, that they would serve the one true God, the God
42:35
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But nobody baptized them.
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They did that themselves. See.
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But here is John baptizing Jews, you know, like what authority do
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you have, John, to do this? Who do you think you are,
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especially as smelly as you are? And camel skin and then getting
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it wet on top of that. The stench would be horrendous.
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But thousands were coming. Thousands because he was
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proclaiming the Messiah, the Lamb of God who would take away
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the sin of the world. People are coming down in droves
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to hear this man, this, this wild protester in the in the
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wilderness proclaiming the gospel about the coming Messiah.
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John says I baptize you the water, but there's one coming.
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You see, John's baptism was symbolic.
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There's only one who baptizes the water.
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That's me. And there's only one who
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baptizes you with the Spirit of God, and that's the Messiah
43:38
himself. Jesus is the one who does that.
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No one else does. And when you're regenerated and
43:45
you're born again, the whole part and parcel to regeneration
43:50
is that you are baptized by the Lord Jesus Christ or through
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through the Lord Jesus Christ by the Spirit of God into the body
43:58
of Christ. You were immersed in his Spirit
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and you are born again. That's the baptism of the Spirit
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of God. Then John says in verse 34, I
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myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son
44:17
of God. Wow, this is the Son of God.
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He's already listen, he's already testified to the light,
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He's already testified to the Lamb.
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He's already testified to the Liberator takes away your sin.
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Now he testifies to the Lord, he is the Son of God.
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The phrase used 10 times in John's Gospel.
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It's a theme of the Gospel, John 2031.
44:53
These things are written that you may believe that Jesus is
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the Son of God, that he's the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of
45:00
God. And John says, the one coming
45:05
after me, who existed before me, he's the light of the world.
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He's the Lamb of God. He's the Liberator of man, the
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one who releases us from our sins.
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That's according to Revelation chapter one verse #5 He loves us
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and has liberated us or released us from our sins.
45:29
And he is the Lord. This is the Son of God.
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This is John's legacy. He presented the preeminence of
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the light. He prepared the pathway to the
45:45
Lord, and he proclaimed the person of the Lamb, the Son of
45:50
God, the Liberator of man, the light of the world.
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This is his legacy that he has left.
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And you know what? We preach that same gospel, that
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same legacy over and over again. This legacy that's lasted for
46:06
2000 years, it continues today because it was a God centered
46:12
legacy. What legacy will you leave once
46:16
you leave this planet? It'll be similar to that.
46:21
I would trust that it is. And if you hear today, today,
46:25
and you've never given your life to Christ, my friends, there's
46:27
only one who can take away your sin.
46:30
Only one. It's not by works of
46:33
righteousness which you have done, it's by the washing of
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regeneration. It's by the renewed of the
46:37
Spirit of God that one is born again.
46:40
You cannot save yourself. You cannot earn your way to
46:42
heaven. All the rituals, all the
46:44
ceremonies, all the symbols, all the things that you think you
46:47
can do to get you there will never be enough.
46:50
The rich young ruler testified to that.
46:52
What must I do? I need eternal life.
46:55
And Christ said, sell all that you have and follow me.
46:58
You have to stop being an idolater.
47:01
You don't want to do that because he loved himself too
47:06
much today. I just want to let you know that
47:09
if you're here and you've never given your life to Christ, you
47:14
need to come to Christ today. Today is the day of salvation,
47:17
not tomorrow. Today's the day.
47:20
Roger Flores is right down here to my right.
47:23
He'll be glad to introduce you to Jesus Christ our Lord.
47:26
Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for today.
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We thank you for the legacy of John the Baptist.
47:36
Thank you for his testimony, his life.
47:39
What a man, what a man. You said he was the greatest of
47:44
all men ever born of a woman after that time, greater than
47:49
David, Moses, Elijah, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Malachi, the list goes
47:56
on and on and on. He was the greatest.
47:59
And Father, he left a legacy behind for all of us to follow
48:03
our prayers that that would be us.
48:06
We would be just like John the Baptist.
48:09
We'd be bold like John the Baptist, courageous like John
48:12
the Baptist, committed like John the Baptist.
48:16
That we would. We would present you as
48:20
preeminent. That we'd shine forth the light
48:24
of the glorious gospel of Christ, so others can see you
48:26
and who you are. Oh Lord, if there's someone here
48:30
today who does not know you, may today be the day of their
48:32
salvation. May they not leave, not knowing
48:37
the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world in Jesus
48:42
name, Amen.