ISRAEL
Hi Richard,
I just wanted to return to a few points we spoke of earlier today.
What is happening in Israel and threatening to engulf the whole
region at large is something that has been developing for
decades, and like an increasingly active volcano that has reached
its critical mass, it is exploding. This explosion has great potential
to resolve a central issue...that is, the total weakening, and
hopefully the total destruction of various centers of those parties
committed to Israel's destruction. The current operation is a
sensitive one that demands patience, perhaps for the length of a
couple months, until Israel's goals are achieved. This would not
be possible if it wasn’t for President Bush's resolutely standing
against world consensus to stand on the "right side" of the issue.
Any other person serving in his stead would have already put
pressure on Israel to "restrain" itself and stop the war before
achieving its goals. It just shows me how God is in control and
raises and deposes leaders in concert with his plans for the world,
as He is doing at such a time as this.
MATTHEW 3
3:1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching
in the wilderness of Judaea,
KEY INSIGHT: The word CAME means APPEARED
KEY OBSERVATION: Matthew simply says - in those days John
the Baptist APPEARED
Luke, in his account of the life of Christ, does an awesome job
of framing the public ministry of Jesus in it’s historical context.
Luke 3:1-2 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod
being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of
Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis,
and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene,2Annas and Caiaphas
being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the
son of Zacharias in the wilderness.”
We need to know that John doesn’t JUST appear - doesn’t
just COME OUT OF NO WHERE
Luke 1:13-17 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias:
for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a
son,
Extraordinary! She was old and barren - this was a miracle of
the same proportions as Abraham and Sarah
NOTE WELL: This miracle - this child - was not merely for the
sake of comforting a couple and giving them a son in Israel!
Yes - as we will see they would have great joy at his birth.
But God the greatness of the miracle was because God
had a GREAT PLAN for this child.
and thou shalt call his name John. 14And thou shalt have joy and
gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. 15For he shall be
great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor
strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from
his mother’s womb. 16And many of the children of Israel shall he
turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before HIM in the
spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the
children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make
ready a people prepared for the Lord.
Whenever God does the extraordinary it is because He
has extraordinary plans and purposes in mind! (Deb/Sean)
2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven
is at hand. 3 For this is he that was spoken of by the
prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in
the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.
KEY INSIGHT: Jesus declared that John the Baptist was
greater than any prophet ever born among women.
Now that’s remarkable when you think of the list –
Moses
David was a prophet
Elisha
Elijah
Jeremiah
Isaiah
Daniel
Ezekiel.
Yet Jesus himself said that John was the greatest prophet that
was ever born. He was the greatest man that was ever born
from women.
HOW IS THAT?
BECAUSE out of all the Old Testament prophets that pointed
the way to the Messiah, John the Baptist is really the only one
who could actually take his finger and point at Jesus and say
Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.
He was the prophet that was prophesied of by Isaiah.
NOTE: In Luke 16:16, Jesus himself says that the Law and the
Prophets were until John.
So the last authentic Old Testament prophet, was not Malachi,
but John the Baptist.
Malachi is the last book we have written by an Old
Testament prophet.
But it is John who ends a grand succession of prophets
which according to Hebrews 11 began with Abel
4 And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair,
and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat
was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then went out to him
Jerusalem, 5 and all Judaea, and all the region round
about Jordan, 6And were baptized of him in Jordan,
confessing their sins.
So this man suddenly APPEARS on the scene
NOTE IT WELL: Though to man’s eye John seems to come out of
nowhere - He comes out of the eternal plans and purposes of God
He is God’s appointed man His coming was promised over 700 years earlier by
Isaiah
His birth announced by an angel - His birth miraculous
in nature
And he APPEARS at God’s appointed time
And what a time it was
THE TIME at which God incarnate would step into the
view of mankind!
Luke 3 tells us there was great anticipation in the people.
As they heard about John the Baptist they came out and said
are you the one are you the Messiah?
Are you the one that Moses prophesied about.
Are you Elijah?
Thousands upon thousands were coming.
CRUCIAL: And there was POWER in his ministry
Just as Gabriel promised Zechariah - This man came forth in
the spirit and the power of Elijah.
As a result, the hearts of the people were touched.
All Judaea (include Jerusalem), and all the region round about
Jordan, 6And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing
their sins.
They flocked out to the WILDERNESS of Judea!!
No Christian - club-med…. No Christian Cruise (Need
to see it! )
WHY? Because of the power of the Holy Spirit
NOTE WELL: It was the power of the Holy Spirit that caused
broken heartedness and tears!
THAT has always been has through the entire history of the
church.
There was NOTHING like NOT “church as usual!!”
This was NOT some guy stumbling upon some idea that
could get crowds of people to show up for an hour a week
and then other “ministers” going on line to get his formula
and trying it out to get their own crowds!!
This was multitudes of people coming into the most
desolate of places BROKEN and REPENTING and
LOOKING for God to show up!!
Whenever there is a great move of the Holy Spirit there is
repentance and broken heartedness and tears.
Don’t you long for THAT? Don’t you long for MORE than
“church as usual?”
KEY OBSERVATION #1 - The whole area came out
KEY OBSERVATION #2 - His message was repent.
KEY INSIGHT: Metenoia, to change the mind.
If you don’t know Jesus Christ personally - THIS is the very
thing that the Bible asks of you for you to have your sins
forgiven and enter into a personal relationship with God repentance.
= Make a U-turn in your heart and mind.
You’ve been heading away from God your entire life
The Bible says metanoia - Change direction, turn towards
Him.
1 Thes. 1:9 how ye turned to God from idols to serve the
living and true God;
Turn your thoughts away from sin and self, towards Him.
By the way - God WANTS men and women everywhere to
TURN TO Him
2 Pet. 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise,
as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to
us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all
should come to repentance.
That is what John was preaching, a repentance, a turning towards
God and away from this world’s system.
Repent for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.
CHECK OUT THE VESSEL USED BY GOD: In verse 4 we are
told that his clothing was that of camel’s hair.
In contrast to the beautiful robes of the Pharisees and
Sadducees, the religious leaders of the nation.
In our culture he would be this guy who wore jeans with holes
in his knees
This is a guy that would freak everybody out in the religious
establishment.
I mean he was not status quo.
He was a wild man. He had spent years alone in the
desert.
His hair was probably all matted down - prophet with
dreadlocks
He didn’t have shampoo and conditioner out there.
Wearing garments made of camels hair - the clothing of a
poor man, very coarse - uncomfortable
It said his food was that of locusts and wild honey.
Now many go to great extremes to try to tell us that locusts
are carob pods.
These are just misinformed chocolate lovers
First of all John was out in the area of the Essenes, down
by Beth-abara - the house of passage or the house of
crossing.
Probably where the children of Israel had crossed the
Jordan, south of Jericho, into the promised land.
Anybody who’s been in Israel knows there are no carob
trees growing there.
KEY POINT: Now this is not the advance man that you would
choose.
When Billy Graham comes to town and they send advance
guys to promote the crusade
He NEVER sends the guy who has long matted hair,
leather girdle, you know, sticky beard with grasshopper
wings and legs stuck in it, you know, honey.
When people are getting ready to do a church plant they
NEVER send the guy who is going to walk into town and put
his finger into everybody’s face and say - you broad of vipers! But this was fine for Jesus.
This was HIS guy and this was HIS message!
What a remarkable, remarkable character he must have been.
At some young age was moved by God to go out into the
wilderness alone and there to be schooled by God and
there was prepared to step on the scene with power to
prepare the way of THE LORD!!!
5 Then went out to him Jerusalem and all Judaea,
and all the region round about Jordan, 6 And were
baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.
7But when he saw (Notice) many of the Pharisees and
Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them,
No diplomacy here. O generation of vipers, who hath
warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Amazing!
KEY INSIGHT: In John 1 we are told that these men were sent as
a delegation
The religious leaders sensed a ground swell of spiritual hunger
that was being answered in John’s ministry
They sense the fact that they’re loosing the grip on the
multitudes…… Because the multitudes are flooding out to this
prophet to repent and to be baptized.
That’s the only reason that they had taken a journey all the
way down to the Jordan (hot and miserable) to find this wild
man out there in the midst of all of these crowds.
THESE men DIDN’T go out to repent and be baptized!
You can just see them Sanctimonious with their robes
As they arrive the people part to let them through.
And John the Baptist looks at them and says, who warned you
to flee, you brood of vipers.
Nobody had ever talked to these guys like this.
John calls them Generation of vipers.
Jesus told them their father was the devil.
7who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to
come? 8Bring forth therefore fruits meet for
repentance:
KEY INSIGHT: You judge a tree by its fruit.
Have you ever noticed that when a Christian is backslidden,
the first thing they tell you is judge not lest you be judged.
You see - backsliders have their favorite verses.
Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.
When they run to hide behind that passage - you just say,
I’m just fruit inspecting. I’m not judging, I’m fruit inspecting.
Rotten fruit, baby.
Well look, that’s what John’s saying.
You say you repented? Where’s the evidence of it in your life?
The Bible is very clear on this -
(2 Tim 2:19 NKJV) Nevertheless the solid foundation of God
stands, having this seal: "The Lord knows those who are His,"
and, "Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from
iniquity."
Because it is utter confusion in your life - and the life of
anybody who watches you and hears you say you’re a
Christian.
It is utter confusion to the lost who God dearly loves when
they see no change in your life.
Your life can cause them to believe that they can just
profess Christianity without a conversion.
What a false security they’re given –
It is FALSE security because a changed life is THE
evidence of the power of the Holy Spirit and the
resurrection of Jesus Christ.
And he says here bring forth fruit fitting for repentance.
9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have
Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God
is able of these stones to raise up children unto
Abraham.
KEY POINT: You CAN’T fall back on - Well my mom was a
Christian, my dad was a Christian.
Paul says that flesh and blood can’t inherit the kingdom of
God. 1 Corinthians 15:50.
In other words, your parents, in their will, can leave you the
house and the sofa and the car.
But they can’t leave you their entrance into heaven.
Just because your parents are Christians, there’s no security
for you.
Just because the wife is, there’s no security for the husband.
Or if the husband is there’s no security for the wife.
It is an individual choice.
And John says - Don’t think that your religious heritage
makes better than anyone else.
CRUCIAL INSIGHT: What John had to say to these guys was
driven by love.
That’s what love does.
It isn’t just that John is enjoying giving these guys what for.
Part of love is truth.
Without truth - love is anemic and it’s not worth anything.
It is NOT loving to NOT tell people about sin - repentance the cross!!
10And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the
trees:Because he told them to bring forth fruit, there was none.
the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore
every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is
hewn down, and cast into the fire. 11I indeed baptize
you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh
after me is mightier than I, whose shoes (sandals) 11
I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the
Holy Ghost, and with fire:12Whose fan is in his
hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and
gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up
the chaff with unquenchable fire.
There will be a cutting down of false religiosity because the
Lord is looking for fruit.
NOT membership
NOT a ministry resume
He is looking for FRUIT because FRUIT is the PROOF of
CONVERSION
John 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen
you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth
fruit, and that your fruit should remain:
Bad fruit will be your own testimony against yourself and you
will be cast into the fire.
He will baptize with the Holy Ghost and with fire.
Now the Pentecostals have historically equated THIS fire with
emotionalism.
That’s not what it’s talking about.
He’s talking about judgment.
13Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto
John, to be baptized of him. 14But John forbad him,
saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and
comest thou to me? 15And Jesus answering said
unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh
us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
KEY INSIGHT: This is NOT something that Jesus is doing so
that HE can become righteous!
The idea is that Jesus came to be identified with sinners.
He came to take His place among us and to bare all of our
sins.
The ONLY way that the righteous demands of the Law could
be fulfilled would be by the death of the righteous Son of God
in our place!
And He says to John the Baptist, we’re fulfilling all
righteousness by this.
Our righteousness is only on account of His death.
Baptism is a picture of death.
So John then agrees….. Jesus goes into the water, is
baptized.
16 saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and
lighting upon him: 17And lo a voice from heaven,
saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased.
CRUCIAL INSIGHT: The Father is literally saying, this is my
beloved Son in whom I am already well pleased.
Jesus had not begun His public ministry.
Jesus had not preached a single sermon
He had not performed a single miracle
He had not done a single thing that would identify Himself as
the Messiah
He had spent thirty years, as it were, in the carpenter’s
shop, setting door jams, hanging doors, putting in windows.
Yet the Farther is ALREADY pleased with him.
KEY APPLICATION: This is so important because the vast
majority of us we will spend our Christian life in that kind of
obscurity.
The vast majority of us are not going to have a public ministry.
The vast majority of us will spend our life as carpenters or
plumbers or doctors or lawyers or whatever.
Christ only had three and a half years of public ministry.
The vast majority of his life was lived in privacy.
And yet the Father from Heaven said, this is my beloved
Son in whom I am already well pleased.
The Father is saying No miracles yet
NO sermons preached yet
But is am already pleased with My Son because He hung
every door jam right.
He didn’t do any shoddy work.
HE didn’t over bill anybody.
He fellowshipped with Me in the morning and in the
afternoon and in the evening.
We had communion, sweet fellowship.
This is My Son, the carpenter whom I love, whom I find
pleasure in.
And I think that is very important for all of us this morning.
There are good works, it says in Ephesians, foreordained that
we should walk in them.
God has things for us to do.
The majority of us will do them privately
We’ll will do them without the eye of man
Without anybody patting us on the back
Without anybody saying to us - Oh you’re the best Christian
carpenter, man you drive every nail straight, you write your
bills right.
The majority of us are going to do that and just be pleasing
Him knowing that the Father who sees in secret is going to
reward us openly.
It’s very important for us to know.
Were those first thirty years less important to the
Father?
NO - Because the Father had already had found joy in
them and pleasure in them.
I think that He’d been waiting since the garden of Eden to
spend an entire life with a man and hadn’t since the first Adam.
But now the second Adam was on the scene and they had
spent thirty years walking together, enjoying each other’s
presence and fellowship. What a remarkable thing.
Now begins a brief three and a half year ministry.
This certainly will please the Father.
But the Father said, this is my Son - And I’m already just
tickled.
I’m already finding My pleasure in Him.
I’m already fulfilled in My relationship with Him.
This is My beloved Son in whom I am already well pleased.