Dear Friends,

Living in this culture can be hard if you want to follow God. Sometimes standing for God can be difficult. The role of the church and the individual follower of God fulfills all the works of God in the Old testament.

We are now to be the prophetic voice to a world under the control of the fallen principalities and powers. We are a kingdom of priests. We are a prophetic community that must have only one total allegiance; Christ alone.

This is hard to do. In John’s time, the religious leaders were in alliance with the corrupt political leaders like Herod. When John stood up calling out the immoral history and character of Herod he was imprisoned and killed.

Later when Jesus got in the way of the unholy alliance between the ruling religious leaders and the political leaders He was tortured and killed.

All this to say that standing up for God can be costly even from people who claim to serve God.

Standing up for right is the key to the Baptist’s call. I pray we can have the strength to stand as John in the evil day.

Blessings,

Joe

 

Preparing for Sunday-January 12, 2020 His-Story

“The Seven Ways Of A Prophet”

Please carefully and prayerfully read the following scripture and consider the questions.

 

 

Luke 3:1-20 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene,2 in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. 3 And he came into all the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins; 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT. 5 ‘EVERY RAVINE WILL BE FILLED, AND EVERY MOUNTAIN AND HILL WILL BE BROUGHT LOW; THE CROOKED WILL BECOME STRAIGHT, AND THE ROUGH ROADS SMOOTH; 6 AND ALL FLESH WILL SEE THE SALVATION OF GOD.'” 7 So he began saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8  “Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. 9 “Indeed the ax is already laid at the root of the trees; so, every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” 10 And the crowds were questioning him, saying, “Then what shall we do?” 11 And he would answer and say to them, “The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise.” 12 And some tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” 13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.” 14 Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, “And what about us, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages.” 15 Now while the people were in a state of expectation and all were wondering in their hearts about John, as to whether he was the Christ, 16  John answered and said to them all, “As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 “His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor and to gather the wheat into His barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” 18 So with many other exhortations, he preached the gospel to the people. 19 But when Herod the tetrarch was reprimanded by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the wicked things which Herod had done,  20 Herod also added this to them all: he locked John up in prison.

 

 

What was an old testament prophet’s role in society?

 

 

In what ways has the church become the fulfillment of the job of the old testament prophet?

 

 

What about John’s message was positive and hopeful?

Luke 3:4 -6 as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT. 5 ‘EVERY RAVINE WILL BE FILLED, AND EVERY MOUNTAIN AND HILL WILL BE BROUGHT LOW; THE CROOKED WILL BECOME STRAIGHT, AND THE ROUGH ROADS SMOOTH; 6 AND ALL FLESH WILL SEE THE SALVATION OF GOD.

 

 

Why was John’s baptism so humbling for a Jew?

Luke 3:7 So he began saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8  “Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. 9  “Indeed the ax is already laid at the root of the trees; so, every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

 

 

Matthew 3:7-9 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 “Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; 9 and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’;

Luke 3:17-20 “His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” So, with many other exhortations, he preached the gospel to the people. 19 But when Herod the tetrarch was reprimanded by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the wicked things which Herod had done, 20 Herod also added this to them all: he locked John up in prison.

Matthew 3:9 For I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.

 

 

What is real repentance?

Luke 3:10-14  And the crowds were questioning him, saying, “Then what shall we do?” 11  And he would answer and say to them, “The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise.” 12  And some tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” 13  And he said to them, “Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.” 14  Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, “And what about us, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages.”

 

 

In what way are even the least followers of Jesus greater even than John the Baptist?

Luke 7:28 “I say to you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John, yet he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

Luke 9:46-48 An argument started among them as to which of them might be the greatest. 47  But Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and stood him by His side, 48  and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great.”

1 Peter 1:10-12  As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, 11  seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. 12  It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven–things into which angels long to look.

 

 

How can we pray for you?