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There Came a Man Sent From God, Part 3 · CCC West Covina

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For one last time, John chapter one verse number six, there was
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a man sent from God whose name was John.
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Now I told you weeks ago that we would not always cover one verse
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a week or one phrase of one verse a week, forever, only for
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a while. And so Lord willing, this is the
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last week we will be on John one verse #6 it's an important verse
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because you need to know the kind of man that God sent, What
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kind of man was John the Baptist?
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And so we spent a couple of weeks describing to you this
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man, because after all, if he's the greatest man ever born of a
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woman, that means he was greater than King David, greater than
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Moses, greater than Elijah, greater than Elijah, greater
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than Jeremiah, greater than Isaiah, and the list goes on and
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on. So if he's the greatest man ever
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born of a woman, then we need to understand how great he really
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was and why the Bible characterizes him as such.
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But remember, it's the Lord who said that about John.
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Well, if that's the case, what does greatness look like?
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And so in order to understand biblical greatness, you need to
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understand John the Baptist. To understand true manhood, you
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need to understand John the Baptist, because this was the
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greatest man ever born of a woman.
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So we spent a couple of weeks looking at this man.
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There was a man, not just any man.
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He was an extraordinary man. And this man was sent from God.
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And so the last couple of weeks we've talked to you about how it
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is John was sent from God because there are similar
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instances in terms of how God sends us, because John, the
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greatest man ever born of a woman, yet the least in the
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Kingdom of heaven, are greater than John.
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So if that's the case, how is it that God sent John?
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To help us understand how God sends you and me?
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And so we told you he was sent personally.
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Luke 3 verse #4 the word of the Lord came to John.
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I'm sorry. Luke 3 verse #2 The word of the
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Lord came to John. God spoke to John, and so God
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sent him personally. He was waiting for God to send
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him, and He was sent personally by the true and living God.
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And then we said he was sent privately because he was in the
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wilderness. Luke 3 verse #2 Again, John was
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in the wilderness when the word of the Lord came to him.
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How long was he there? We do not know.
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The Bible does not tell us. But most people believe that at
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the age of 20, when he was to enter the priesthood because he
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was the son of a priest, that that would be the time he
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entered the wilderness. That was the case.
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He would have been there for 10 years, all the while communing
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with his God, reading Old Testament manuscripts about how
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God had prepared a forerunner to come before the Messiah.
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He would get to know his God so that he would be ready to
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present his God to people who needed to follow him.
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So we said that this man sent from God was sent personally.
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He was sent privately in the 30. He was sent prophetically
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because he could read Malachi 3 verse #1 he could read Isaiah 40
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verse #3 that all talked about this, this forerunner, this one
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that would come, this messenger that would come before the
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Messiah. And so he began to understand
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that everything about his life was prophesied, which would only
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fuel his his energy, which would only mobilize his, his desires
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to, to serve as God because he saw himself as a fulfillment of
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prophecy. And so he was sent
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prophetically. And then we said last week he
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was also sent providentially, providentially, it was in the
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Providence of God for him to be on the scene at the time he came
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on the scene. The Bible says in Galatians 4
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that in the fullness of time, God sent forth his Son born of a
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woman, born under the law, that he might redeem those who were
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under the law. So if there was a specific time
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politically and spiritually and economically and socially at the
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Messiah would come, then there had to be a specific time for
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their forerunner to come, because He would pave the way
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for the arrival of the Messiah. But all in the province of God.
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God had designed Zacharias and Elizabeth, a priest, his wife,
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and they were barren for many, many years.
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And it just so happened that Zacharias was in the temple,
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providentially performing his precinct duties when the Angel
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Gabriel showed up and told him that his wife was going to have
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a son. Just a great testimony to the
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Providence of God. And he would come at the right
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time and providentially he would be cared for all throughout the
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wilderness. God would take care of John the
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Baptist. He'd prepare John the Baptist to
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be the kind of man he needed to be.
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So there was a man, not just any man, but an extraordinary kind
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of man, the last Old Testament prophet, the first New Testament
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preacher. And he came because he was sent
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by God personally, privately, prophetically, providentially,
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and #5 He was sent passionately, passionately.
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If you got your Bible, turn me to Luke chapter 3.
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Luke chapter 3. And I want you to listen to what
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Luke says in verse #4 as it is written in the book of the words
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of Isaiah the prophet, The voice of one crying in the wilderness.
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Stop right there. There was a voice of one crying
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in the wilderness. This was the fulfillment of
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Isaiah 40 verse #3 But John was sent passionately.
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It wasn't a small voice, it wasn't a quiet voice.
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It it wasn't a shy voice. It was a loud voice.
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It was a a voice that would shout, a voice that would cry in
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the wilderness. That there was passion behind
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John's message. He was a passionate kind of man.
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He had spent the last several years all by himself in the
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wilderness, communing with his God, recognizing that he would
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be sent prophetically, he'd be sent personally by God, He'd be
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sent providentially by God. And all of that welling up on
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the inside is now going to burst forth in great shouts of praise
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that the Messiah is here in anticipation of that which all
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had been longing for the expected one to come.
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He's going to announce that the expected one has now arrived.
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And so there's great passion behind his message.
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It wasn't that he would just simply talk about Jesus.
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It wasn't simply that he would just mention him by name.
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No, he was a a prophet and a preacher.
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But there was passion behind all that he did.
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There was passion behind him confronting Herod the King.
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There was passion behind him confronting the Pharisees when
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he called them a brood of Vipers.
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There was passion behind all that he said.
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Because John the Baptist was sent passionately.
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When you know that God prophetically has assigned you
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to represent him, and that God providentially cares for you and
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moves you to a specific place of employment, a specific family, a
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specific church, you can't help but cry in the wilderness and
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shout for the sake of God's Kingdom.
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What did he say? Well, it says, make ready the
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way the Lord make his past straight.
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Every ravine will be filled and every mountain and hill will be
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brought low. The crooked will become straight
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and the rough roads smooth, and all flesh will see the salvation
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of God. He is shouting in the
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wilderness. He is crying out to people to
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help them to understand that he is the fulfillment of that
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prophecy. Although he does not say look at
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me, I, I am the the prophet that was foretold.
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No, he quotes, he quotes the Old Testament.
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He does it with passion. Why?
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Because you see, this was a an entire analogy of his message.
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He preached the baptism of repentance and Isaiah 40 verse
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#3 is the supreme example of what repentance looks like.
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The Messiah is coming. You got to prepare the way for
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the Messiah. It was a, it was a phrase used
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for, for preparing the way of the king so that when the king
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would arrive, he'd have a smooth entrance into the city, a smooth
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entrance to to the people. And John is saying in order for
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there to be a smooth entrance for the Messiah into your heart,
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these things must take place. For this is what repentance
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looks like. He says simply that all the
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ravines must be filled up. That's an analogy of the dark
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places of the soul, the the depths of sin.
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Because repentance calls a man from the deep dark recesses of
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his heart and the things that he has hidden, that he might
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confess them and to turn from them.
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And even the high places, the mountains, why, the Jews thought
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themselves as very proud people. They were, of course, the people
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of God. They were the only ones who were
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given the oracles of God. They saw themselves as very
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special. But all the, the high places,
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all the mountains must be brought down.
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All the arrogance, all the pride must be destroyed.
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Not just the deep dark places in the recesses of your soul.
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Not only must they come up and be confessed, but you must be
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brought low before the Lord. And then he talks about the
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crooked places, the devious places, the devilish places, the
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the lying and the perverseness. Then he talks about the rough
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roads, all the distractions on the road in your heart, all the
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self love, all the love of money, all the love for the
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world and the lust of the flesh, all the apathy, all the
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unbelief, all the lethargy, all those things that happen to be
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obstacles that keep you from giving your life to the Lord.
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And then and then all flesh will see the glory of the Lord, see
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the salvation of the Lord. If you as a nation want to
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receive your Messiah, then you as individuals you personally
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must prepare the way for and become.
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And the only way to do that is to have a repented heart to turn
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from your sin and follow the Messiah.
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He did this with great passion. Passion.
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John the Baptist was not a passive person.
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Passivity is man's biggest failure.
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If you're a man, you should never be passive.
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Ever Notice that? We are.
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We are passionate about the things that don't matter, but
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we're passive about the things that do matter.
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You ever notice that? Just just ask your wife what
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you're passionate about. Ask your kids what drives you,
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What motivates you, what compels you.
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They'll tell you because they see you all the time, and you'll
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begin to notice that the things that drive you and you're
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passionate about really usually don't even matter.
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But we find that we're very passive about the things that do
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matter. The Lord, the gospel, the
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preaching of that gospel, the leadership in our homes,
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spiritually, all those things. John was a very passionate man,
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and therefore when God sent him forth, he was going to send
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somebody who had a small voice or a low voice or a quiet voice.
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He would send someone with energy, would drive with
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passion. Why?
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Because you're representing the king.
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You're representing the Kingdom of God, and you're going to be
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his ambassador, his representative.
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How can we represent God in a passive way?
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How can we represent Christ in a shallow, shy way?
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You really can't. Because you see, once you
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understand who God is, you cry, you shout, you scream the truth.
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And John did. The apostle Paul was a very
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passionate man. The Bible says in 2nd
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Corinthians 5 verse 14. For the love of Christ compels
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me, controls me, constrains me that the very fact that Christ
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loves me is the single most motivating element of my life.
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It controls everything that I do.
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And and Paul was was passionate about his God.
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And Paul would speak forth the truth about his God in such a
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way that that others would would be persuaded.
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I mean, it was like it was like Agrippa said Paul, thou almost
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persuadest me. Why?
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Because Paul and his delivery and Paul and his passion and
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Paul and his drive to see God glorified would not be held
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back. And so many of us are held back
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for what purpose? And here was John, here was
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Paul. Paul would go on and say this.
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The love of Christ compels us. Having concluded this, that one
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died for all, therefore all died, and he died for all, so
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that we, they who live might no longer live for themselves, but
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for him who died and rose again on their behalf.
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He died so I would live for him. I'm living for Christ.
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That's why I'm passionate. That's why you're not
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passionate. See, you're not living for
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Christ, you're living for yourself.
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So how can you be passionate about the things of God?
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You're not, but you're passionate about the things for
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yourself because you're living for yourself and not living for
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God. But Paul says the love of Christ
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compels me because one died for all, therefore all died, and
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therefore it moves me. So I no longer live for me, but
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I live for Christ. That's the point.
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He goes on to say this in verse 20.
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We are ambassadors for Christ as though God, we're making an
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appeal through us. God is making an appeal through
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you. How does God make an appeal
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through you? I hope you give your life to
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Jesus. I hope you love Jesus.
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Oh, that's not an appeal. So he says this, we beg you on
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behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
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There's a pleading that's there. There's a passion that that's
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there. There's a drive that's there.
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I want you to be reconciled to God.
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I want you to come to Godfather Mother, ask yourself why your
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parent, your children are not coming to God.
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Do they see the passion that you have for God, the drive you have
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for him? The love of Christ just compels
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you. Now it might be that God has not
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called him to himself as of yet, and he might next week or down
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the road. But we can't be a hindrance in
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the communication of the gospel. We must be passionate behind
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what we do. We must drive, be driven behind
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what we do. Why?
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When it's all said and done, that's why we're here, to preach
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the gospel and to present Christ to a lost world.
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This is so important. And so here is John the Baptist.
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He's been waiting 30 years, 30, to somehow be that voice that
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will show people the Messiah, that will point people to the
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Messiah, that they will understand who he is.
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He's been waiting and now the time has arrived and he can't
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contain the passion. He can't contain that which
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compels him. Just love for the Lord like it
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was for Paul, His love for the Lord like it should be for you
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and me. Our love for the Lord.
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But ask yourself, are you a passionate man or a passive man?
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How about your children? Father, are your sons, are they
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passionate or are they passive? Ask yourself why?
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Why are my kids on a fire for the Lord I am?
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How come my kids are on a fire for the Lord?
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There should be this compulsion that drives you.
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Now, it doesn't mean that all your children are going to be
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that way. I understand that.
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I get that. And yet we as parents, we as
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fathers especially need to be passionate men because our said
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it's on the wall. Our passion is to pursue the
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Christ, right? Our passion is to pursue him
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that we might know him. Here's John the Baptist
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privately communing with God for year upon year, week upon week,
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month upon month, always communing with his God, to know
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his God. Paul would say, oh, that I might
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know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship
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of his suffering. There was a passion behind Paul.
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There was a passion behind John the Baptist.
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There was a passion behind every great man of God to know his
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God. Our passion is to pursue him.
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So our priority will be to portray Him.
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So our purpose then will be fulfilled in proclaiming Him.
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That's our philosophy and ministry so that we can fulfill
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our practice of praising Him. That's how it works, see.
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But if we find ourselves not proclaiming Him and not
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portraying him, it's simply because we're not passionate to
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pursue him. It's just that simple.
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And so here is John, here is Paul, here are men of God who
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the love of Christ compels him. It motivates them, it drives
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them. What drives you, what drives you
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to get up in the morning? What drives you through your
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day, right? There's got to be a motivation
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behind each and every day. It's got to be the Christ.
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Why? Because not only was John sent
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passionately, number six, he was sent purposefully.
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Purposefully. There was a purpose behind God
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sending John, and one was to present the Gospel right,
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another. Another was to present the
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Messiah, in other words, to point to the Messiah as the Lamb
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of God. Turn with me in your Bible to
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Matthew chapter 3 for a moment. Matthew chapter 3 verse 13.
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Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan, coming to John to
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be baptized by him. What?
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Why is Jesus being baptized? I thought this was the baptism
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of repentance, but John tried to prevent him, saying I have need
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to be baptized by you and do you come to me.
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But Jesus answering said to him, permit it at this time.
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For in this way it is fitting for us, us to fulfill all
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righteousness. John is permitting for us to
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fulfill all righteousness. This is very important.
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Why, why, why would Jesus be baptized?
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Well, let me briefly give you 4 reasons.
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One was for exemplification, 1 was for validation, 1 was for
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identification, and one was for prefiguration.
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That's why Jesus was baptized. One was for exemplification.
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He would be the supreme example of what it meant to follow the
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Father's will. He came to do the Father's will,
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and he becomes the supreme example of obedience.
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And as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto God.
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And so he would exemplify to everyone around him that he was,
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as he said, I've come to do the will of my Father who is in
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heaven. So one is exemplif
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exemplification. The second one is validation.
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He was validating John's ministry.
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He was affirming John's ministry, that the message John
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was preaching was true, and that as the Messiah, you are paving
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the way of your heart by coming to a place where you recognize
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your sin and you need to turn to a Savior.
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And so he is validating John's ministry.
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And then there was identification.
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He's identifying with sinful man.
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Notice that the sinless Son is identifying with sinful man.
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The one who had no sin would be baptized for those who had no
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righteousness. That's very important because
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you see, he came to identify it with, with, with, with man.
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That that's why he became a man. Isaiah 53 verse #12 He was, he
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was numbered with the transgressors.
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So he could bear all of our iniquities, right?
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And therefore he would identify with the with the sins of man.
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He would he would ultimately bear man's sins on the cross.
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We see to the 4th element. There was a prefiguration by him
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going down to the water, coming back up out of the water again.
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He prefigured all that would happen through his death, burial
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in resurrection. Why?
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Because we as believers then would identify with Christ in
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his death, burial in resurrection, that there was a
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whole purpose behind John's, John's coming, John being sent.
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This man was sent purposefully to baptize the Messiah so that
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all righteousness would be fulfilled.
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Everything that had been planned and ordained by God needed to
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happen on schedule with the right guy, at the right time, in
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the right place, so everything was providentially cared for and
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taken care of. And here was Jesus coming to
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John in the wilderness to be baptized by John.
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But John would also be the one who would point to the Messiah.
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John 129 Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the
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world. Nobody else had done that.
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Nobody had pointed to the Messiah until John, and then he
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would say the Lamb of God. How?
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How did he know that? How did he get that?
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Oh, by the way, how come nobody ever questioned John about that?
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What do you mean Lamb of God? What are you talking about,
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John? That's because they knew Genesis
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22. Any of the substitutionary
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atonement was prefigured in Genesis chapter 22 with Abraham
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and Isaac on Mount Moriah. John would know that he would
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see Christ as that ultimate sacrificial lamb, that
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everything up to this point, every ceremony, every ritual was
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pointed to one substitute, 1 sacrifice, 1 Lamb of God that
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would do away with man's sin, no longer cover them, but erase
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them. So we could say the Lamb of God
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who takes away the state of the world doesn't cover them, He
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takes them away. So here is here is John with a
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purpose. Do you not think you have the
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same purpose? Do you not think that you were
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sent purposefully? Do you think you were not sent
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purposefully to your school or to your workplace or to your
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community? There's a whole plan of God
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behind where you live and where you work and who your friends
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are, who you associate with. All that is for a purpose.
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Don't think for one moment that things just happen to Willy
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nilly around you as if there is no concern on the part of God.
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No, everything that happens around you happens for a
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purpose, because God has placed you there purposefully so that
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others will see the Messiah. Because you will point to the
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Messiah. You'll explain to them who the
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Messiah is. You'll explain to them what it
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means to be redeemed, how it is you repent, how you give your
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life to Christ. That's why you are left here
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after your saved. Why else would God leave you
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here after he saved you to make money when all your treasures
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are in heaven anyway? God saved you so that you can
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have a family. No, God saves you and left you
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here for only one reason, to worship him.
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No, because your worship in heaven's going to be glorious
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death. Fellowship with other believers.
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No, because your fellowship in heaven will be perfect.
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The only thing that you're going to do here that you won't do
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there is preach the gospel. That's it.
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That's the only reason God left you here after He saved you.
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There is no other reason. Your family needs to hear the
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gospel. Your friends need to hear the
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gospel, the people you work with, the people you play with,
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you all need to hear the gospel. And God has put you in a
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specific arena that he's not placed me or the person in front
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of you or behind you. He's only put you there for one
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purpose only one, and that is to proclaim the name of Jesus
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Christ our Lord. That's it.
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So why is it we have such a hard time fulfilling that purpose?
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It's because we have other reasons that we think give us
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purpose. Other things mean more more to
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us than the gospel. Other things mean more to us
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than glorifying the name of Christ through the preaching of
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the gospel. And yet God has purposefully
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designed you to be where you are this very day, in your very job,
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in your very family, in your very community, with your very
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friends, because they need to hear about Christ.
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As this man was sent from God, so you too are sent from God.
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You are sent personally by God. He called you into His Kingdom
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by His glorious grace through the word of truth that was
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spoken to you. He's called you prophetically
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because your name was written in the Lamb's book of life before
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the foundation of the world. He called you providentially
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because at the right time, in the exact place, with the right
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word, with the right person, you heard the gospel and you gave
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your life to Christ, all in the Providence of Almighty God.
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And he called you passionately. He said you're representing me
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in my Kingdom, You're representing me in my mercy, in
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my grace, you're representing my love.
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How can you not be passionate about that?
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He's called you purposefully because there is a purpose for
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why you were here, and it's only one purpose, and that is to
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proclaim the gospel message of Christ to those around you who
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do not know Him. That's it.
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And lastly, John the Baptist was called powerfully, powerfully.
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Luke chapter 1 says in verse #14 or excuse me, verse #15 For he
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John, will be great in the sight of the Lord.
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Notice then say he'll be great in the sight of the world.
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He'll be great in the sight of the Lord, and that was good
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enough for John. I wonder if it's good enough for
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you to be great in the sight of the Lord.
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We so desperately want to be great, seen as great, treated as
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great, looked at as great. But the Lord wants you to be
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great in His eyes. He will be great in the eyes of
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the Lord, He would drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled
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with the Holy Spirit. While yet in his mother's womb.
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He will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their
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God. It is He who will go as a
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forerunner before him in the spirit and power of Elijah.
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Powerfully He was sent by God to turn the hearts of the Father's
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back to the children, the disobedient to the attitude of
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the righteous, so as to make ready of people prepared for the
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Lord. John was sent powerfully because
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he came in the spirit and power of Elijah.
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So when he would preach, he would preach unashamedly.
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When he preached, he would preach unhindered.
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It was almost as if He was unhinged when he did preach
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because he had nothing back, because he came in the spirit
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and power of Elijah. He was filled with the spirit
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from his mother's womb. No other man was like that
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except John. Because God was going to use
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them in a very powerful way. And you know what?
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God sends us forth powerfully as well, does He not?
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He's given us a spirit of power according to Acts chapter one
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verse #8 right, so that we can be His witnesses.
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He gave us the spirit of power. He infused us with His strength.
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And so we don't have to be ashamed when we speak up in the
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classroom. We don't have to be shy when we
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speak forth the gospel in the workplace.
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We have the spirit of power. I've been sent powerfully by the
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Lord because I've been sent providentially by the Lord,
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because I've been sent prophetically and personally by
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the Lord. Therefore, I can be passionate
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about what it is I believe because I have a purpose for
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living. I'm living for Christ and not
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for myself. I'm living to honor God and not
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myself. I'm living for Him and therefore
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I powerfully proclaim the gospel.
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That was John. There was a man, there was a man
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not just any man. He was an extraordinary man.
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He was different than every other man.
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We explained that to you on how different that he he really was
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uncompromising in his his message, unorthodox in his
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mannerisms, unrivalled among men.
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We gave you the list of those things that made this man the
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man that he was. This man, he was sent from by
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God, he was called by God, he was chosen by God, he was
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consecrated by God, he was cared for by God so he would be able
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to communicate his God in the most effective way.
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And he did. So the challenge for you and me,
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having spent five weeks on just one verse, what kind of man or
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woman are you? Because the standard is the
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Scriptures, The standard is the word of God.
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Standard's not me. Standard's not your parents.
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The standard is the word of God. The standard is John, the
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greatest man, whoever lived. So you must ask yourself the
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question, how do I measure up to that standard?
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Because that is the standard. And this man was sent from God.
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So too are you sent from God. If God has called you into his
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marvelous Kingdom, you've been sent by him.
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You've been sent by him to your family, to your church, to the
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world, to your friends, to your community.
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God has sent you. And how are you?
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How are you communicating the gospel to those people?
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How are you representing the Christ to those people?
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Do you do it powerfully? Do you do it passionately, or do
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you do it passively and impotently?
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That's the question we got to ask and answer ourselves.
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I can't ask. I can ask you that question, but
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only you can answer that. I can't answer it for you.
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But my prayer for all of us is that there would be this driving
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force behind us. The love of Christ, our
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relationship with the living God that compels me, that moves me,
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that constrains me, that motivates me to get up every
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morning. Today's a new day.
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To fulfill my purpose of communicating the gospel.
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Today's a new day to passionately represent my God.
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Today's a a new day to be able to help others understand how it
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is they can be in a relationship with the living God like I am.
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There is no greater force than that to drive you to get up
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everyday to be used by the Lord. God so desperately wants to use
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His people. That's why I saved you.
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Does He need you? No.
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Does he want to use you? Absolutely.
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Absolutely. Will you be used by him?
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When you go home today and you go through your day and you lay
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down at night, just say this to yourself.
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There was a man sent from God, and just insert there was a
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woman sent from God whose name was Sue, whose name was
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whatever, but there was a person sent from God.
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Will you be that person? Will you be that man?
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Will you be that woman and say to yourself, I've been sent by
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God and you will later say to the disciples, as the Father has
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sent me, so send I you. We've been sent to go into all
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the world and make disciples. What a great purpose for living
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every single day. Let me pray with you, Father, we
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thank you for all that you do and all that you say and all
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that you are. We thank you that Lord we can
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understand more about this man and how it is you sent him.
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And pray, Father, that we would be the kind of people that would
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represent you well every day, knowing that you've called us to
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be used by you for the glory of your Kingdom until you come
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again, as you most surely will, in Jesus name, Amen.