What is Your Vision for Your Life?

Introduction

Opening Illustration — Trump

Donald Trump

He is a controversial person in the world.

I’m not here to talk about politics.

You may or may not like him, but you know his purpose/vision…

MAGA - Make America Great Again

It doesn’t matter what the issue or topic,

Trump’s vision is to make the decision that brings the most benefit to the USA.

This makes decision making much easier,

because Trump knows his vision…

He wants to make America the greatest country in the world,

so if it benefits them, it’s a good decision,

and if it doesn’t benefit them, it’s not a good decision.

You may/may not agree with it, but his vision is clear.

Sermon Title

What Is Your Vision For Your Life?

Do you have a vision for your life?

Do you have a purpose/goal that clear?

What gets you out of bed every morning?

The truth is, most of us don’t think that much about what our vision is for our life.

We just sort of get into a routine:

get out of bed…

spend time with God in His Word and prayer…

go to work/start on whatever tasks we have for the day…

make plans with family and friends…

juggle children’s activities/sports…

go to church on Sunday…

plan a vacation for a couple months down the road…

We don’t really have a vision/purpose for why we do what we do,

we just sort of… do it,

and a lot of times we don’t really know why.

This makes decision making harder at times,

because we don’t really have a reason for why we would or wouldn’t do something.

What we need is:

a vision…

a purpose…

a reason we exist and live the way we do!

Announce Scripture

This morning we are continuing our series through:

The Gospel According to John.

And today we are going to be in

John 1:19-34,

and we are going to take a closer at John the Baptist.

John the Baptist had an incredibly clear vision for his life as well.

He knew his purpose… and that was to:

POINT PEOPLE TO CHRIST!

John the Baptist knew he had been called by God,

to prepare people for the coming Messiah.

In everything he said and did,

his goal was to point people to Jesus.

Billboard

What we will learn from John the Baptist:

Use Your Identity to Point to Christ

Use Your Impact to Point to Christ

Use Your Insight to Point to Christ

Prayer for Illumination

Our Father in heaven, hallowed by Your name…

You alone are holy Lord

You alone are righteous and just

You alone are good

thank You for stirring our hearts in worship this morning.

May it be our joy praise You and make Your name great in all the earth.

We confess that oftentimes we are so distracted with the cares and worries of this life,

that we don’t spend time seeking Your will for our lives.

Strengthen us by the power of Your Spirit to seek first Your kingdom,

knowing that You will provide all the things that we need.

Make it our vision to make Your name great,

and point to Jesus.

We ask that You would open our eyes this morning,

so that we may see the glory of Christ,

and desire to make Him known.

In Jesus’ name we pray, amen!

Scripture

Introduce Scripture

Last week, Pastor Jonah began the first part of chapter 1,

and we learned that Jesus is God,

and amazingly, Jesus came to the world,

and showed us what God is like.

John himself, the disciple of Jesus,

is an eye witness testifying to these things.

And John mentions John the Baptist,

who also testified to the truth of Jesus, the Son of God,

coming into the world.

This morning we are going to pick up with the testimony of John…

Read Scripture

John 1:19–34 ESV

19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” 24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 25 They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” 28 These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing. 29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”

Transition

The first thing I want us to see from John’s example is that you should…

1. Use Your Identity to Point to Christ

John had been sent and called by God to bear witness to Jesus.

We know that he had a miraculous birth,

And that it was prophesied that he would point to Jesus.

And even when John became very popular and successful,

He remained true to his identity and purpose, pointing to Christ.

EXPLAIN

Transition

What we learn from John is…

a. Don’t let success change your identity

Here in John’s gospel, he doesn’t mention it,

But we learn from the other gospel writers that

John had become incredibly popular…

All of Jerusalem and Judea were going out to him,

confessing their sins and being baptized.

But look at how John handles this fame and success…

John 1:19–21 ESV

19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”

John could have used this popularity to gain a following for himself,

To make a name for himself,

But he doesn’t!

He remains true to his identity,

He doesn’t claim to be something he’s not,

He doesn’t think more highly of himself than he ought.

Transition

We also learn from John…

b. Don’t let success change your purpose

John could have let the success change his purpose,

His vision for how we would live.

He remains true to the calling God has placed on his life.

John 1:22–23 ESV

22 So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

John remains faithful to God’s calling on his life,

Even when he becomes successful.

He could use this as a platform to build his brand,

To make his name great,

But he recognizes that he has been called to point Christ,

The greatest name!

His purpose was to

‘Make straight the way of the Lord.”

This was in fulfilment of the prophecy Isaiah.

Luke quotes John the Baptist’s calling from Isaiah saying…

Luke 3:4–6 ESV

4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways, 6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’ ”

Summary

John wasn’t called to be confusing,

or to make it difficult to come to God,

but to make a straight path,

so that all flesh shall see God’s plan of salvation through Jesus Christ!

Even when John becomes successful from a worldly perspective,

he remains faithful to his identity and calling!

ILLUSTRATE — Ovechkin

This year in the NHL, something happened that most people thought would never happen…

somebody beat Wayne Gretzky’s record for career goals in the NHL.

Wayne Gretzky is the best hockey player to ever play the game,

and most people thought nobody could ever beat his record of:

894 goals in his career.

That is, until Alex Ovechkin beat it!

All season long fans of the NHL were counting down the number of goals needed to beat the record,

and finally, on April 6, he did it!

Alex Ovechkin is now the greatest goal scorer in NHL history.

Because it was such a big moment in hockey history,

they stopped the game and had a ceremony honouring Ovechkin’s achievement.

Wayne Gretzky was in attendance,

and was a part of the ceremony.

He graciously congratulated Ovechkin on his achievement.

Even though everyone thought Gretzky’s record would never be broken,

but now he had to humbly admit there is a greater goal scorer than him.

Because of Ovechkin’s success as a goal scorer,

he has now surpassed the Great One.

Summary/Point

This is the way we work as humans…

This is why we keep track of records, and stats…

because we’re always trying to be better/faster than others,

so that we can be great.

But even though John the Baptist was becoming great,

he didn’t change his identity or purpose.

but continued to point people to Jesus,

the true Great One!

APPLY

Brothers and sisters,

how often are we trying to make a name for ourselves?

It seems that no matter what it is,

we’re always trying to be better than others.

Striving to become better in and of itself is not wrong,

but we need to look deeper into our hearts,

to find out what is driving that motivation.

If our desire is to:

make a name for ourselves…

to build our own brand and gain a following for ourselves…

then we are in danger.

Like John the Baptist,

we need to find our identity and purpose in who are as God’s children.

We have been created by God, and in His image,

for the purpose of pointing to Him.

I read in Table Talk Magazine this week:

“As image bearers of the Lord, we have the duty to point all creation to its true Sovereign, God Almighty. When creation sees human beings, it is supposed to “see” God, as it were, and that happens as we imitate him.” — TableTalk Magazine

This is our identity:

image bearers of God,

and our purpose is to point people to Him,

so that He gets the glory.

When we succeed in life, we are tempted to point to ourselves,

and take the glory that God alone deserves.

Charles Spurgeon said…

Pride is a stab at Deity; it is an attack upon the undivided glory of God.

Charles Spurgeon

When we are prideful in ourselves,

we are trying to elevate ourselves in a way that,

diminishes the glory that God alone deserves.

God said in…

Isaiah 42:8 ESV

8 I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.

God is so great that no-one compares to Him!

He is not going to share the glory that He deserves with ANYONE!

Nobody is going to beat God’s record,

and He’s never going to have to hold a ceremony,

where He will have to humbly pass on His title to someone else.

Summary

God alone is “Great” and worthy of ALL praise!

Yet He has graciously called us His children.

Let’s rejoice in that truth in humility,

using our identity in Him to point to our great Saviour!

Transition

The next thing I want us to see from John’s example is that you should…

2. Use Your Impact to Point to Christ

John the Baptist had a vision to point people to the coming Christ.

He was being faithful to God’s call on His life,

and this had a big impact on others.

John the Baptist was obedient to live the way God commanded him,

which brought a lot of attention to him.

But rather than keeping that attention for himself,

he used it as an opportunity to direct people to Christ.

EXPLAIN

This is true of you as well.

When you live in obedience to God’s Word…

a. Your life will draw attention to yourself

John 1:25 ESV

25 They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

John was being faithful to follow God’s calling on his life:

wore camel’s hair…

ate locusts and wild honey…

preached message of repentance and baptized…

This drew attention to him.

He could have used this as an opportunity to gain a following for himself,

but he doesn’t!

He knows his identity/purpose, and he sticks to it,

by using his impact to point people to Christ.

Transition

If you live in obedience to God, like John,

your life will draw attention to yourself,

but…

b. Your life should direct attention to Christ

John 1:26–27 ESV

26 John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”

John never lets his head get big…

he keeps a humble attitude.

Not only does he not elevate himself,

but he goes the opposite direction and lowers himself!

John knows his place,

and does not try to take glory and honour that is reserved for Jesus.

Summary

John’s ministry was wildly successful from a human perspective…

He was having an impact, and drawing attention to himself…

But he uses that impact to direct attention to Jesus, the Son of God!

ILLUSTRATE - Nebuchadnezzar

Nebuchadnezzar had a dream.

Called the magicians, couldn’t interpret it.

Called Daniel. 

Dream

Tree that reached the heavens, shade and fruit blessed all people/animals. 

Chop down the tree, scatter its fruit, but leave a stump, let him be given the mind of a beast. 

Daniel’s interpretation

You are the tree, have become great. 

You will be driven from man, given the mind of a beast, till you know God reigns over all. 

Read Daniel 4:28–33

Daniel 4:28–33 ESV

28 All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30 and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?”

Daniel 4:28–33 ESV

31 While the words were still in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you, 32 and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field.

Daniel 4:28–33 ESV

And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.” 33 Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar.

Daniel 4:28–33 ESV

He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers, and his nails were like birds’ claws.

Summary

Nebuchadnezzar had been given a great kingdom by God,

and his kingdom had a great impact on many people.

Rather than directing that attention to God, giving Him the glory,

he took it for himself.

APPLY

Brothers and sisters…

When you live in faithful obedience to God and His Word,

your life is going to have an impact on others.

You are going to draw attention to yourself,

but you must not take the glory/credit for yourself…

rather, you must use that opportunity to direct attention to Christ!

Maybe you’re engaged,

and you are waiting until marriage to move in together…

People around may think that’s weird!

Use it as an opportunity to talk about what Christ has done for you,

and your desire to be faithful to follow Him!

Maybe you work for a company,

and you refuse to take extra long breaks,

or say that you worked an extra 15 minutes when you didn’t,

or take a few small things from the jobsite…

Your coworkers may think you’re ridiculous,

but your life is making an impact, and drawing attention to yourself…

Don’t use it as an opportunity to elevate yourself (honesty/integrity/good person).

use it as an opportunity to point to Christ!

Maybe you are going through a valley (sickness/job loss/overwhelmed with life),

and though you struggle at times, you have peace knowing God is in control.

People around are going to wonder why you don’t worry, or are not angry at God…

Use this as an opportunity to speak of the hope you have in Jesus!

Summary

As long as you’re striving to be faithful to God,

your life is going to have an impact on others…

you will draw attention to yourself…

Use that opportunity to direct attention to Jesus!

Transition

The next thing I want us to see from John’s example is that you should…

3. Use Your Insight to Point to Christ

John had been uniquely called by God,

to be a voice preparing the way of the Lord.

With that calling John had been given unique insight to the Messiah,

so that he could reveal Him to Israel.

And when the time comes,

John the Baptist is faithful to do so.

EXPLAIN

In this

As we look at John’s example of using his insight to point to Christ,

we are encouraged to…

Tell others of forgiveness through Jesus

John 1:29 ESV

29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

The day before,

John was telling people not to look to him,

but to look for someone who was to come after him,

who was so much greater than him,

that he was not worthy to untie his sandals.

The next day he sees Jesus coming toward him,

and points him out to everyone else!

“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”

The law came through Moses…

and what did the law reveal?

Our sinfulness!

But grace and truth came through Jesus Christ...

offering us a way to have our sins forgiven!

This is the message that John the Baptist is proclaiming,

and it was the message his father, Zechariah, prophesied…

Luke 1:76–79 ESV

76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins,

Luke 1:76–79 ESV

78 because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Summary

John faithfully shares his insight,

that Christ was coming into the world to offer forgiveness!

Transition

As we look at John’s example,

we are also encouraged to…

Tell others of the deity of Jesus

John 1:30 ESV

30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’

Jonah did an excellent job last week opening up the Gospel According to John,

where we learned that Jesus:

was with God in the beginning…

all things were made through Jesus… and

that Jesus was God!

John the Baptist emphasizes the deity of Jesus…

The reason Jesus ranks before John, even though he was born after him,

is that He has always existed…

Jesus is eternal…

Jesus is God!

Summary

John the Baptist is faithful to share this insight with others,

so they might believe in Jesus as well.

Transition

As we look at John’s example,

we are also encouraged to…

Tell others of God’s endorsement of Jesus

John 1:31–34 ESV

31 I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”

John did not know who the Messiah was going to be…

but God commanded him to call on people to repent and be baptized.

This is how God would reveal the Messiah to John:

the one on whom the Spirit descends and remains,

that is the Messiah.

John the disciple doesn’t describe that event here,

but we learn from the other gospel accounts that a voice from heaven said:

“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Summary

God confirmed that Jesus was the Son of God,

and John heard it!

John the Baptist did not keep this insight to himself,

but was faithful to tell others,

so that they might believe in Jesus and be forgiven!

ILLUSTRATE - Ezekiel

Ezekiel was a priest during the time of Israel’s exile in Babylon.

One day, as he was sitting among the exiles,

the heavens were opened and he saw visions of God:

Four living creatures; and

the throne and glory of God.

In the vision, God called Ezekiel to speak to Israel,

a sinful, rebellious nation who had rejected God.

God calls Ezekiel to proclaim His message,

even though the people are hard-hearted and will not listen.

Then God says to Ezekiel in…

Ezekiel 3:17–19 ESV

17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. 18 If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way,

Ezekiel 3:17–19 ESV

in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. 19 But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.

Summary

Ezekiel had been called by God to be a watchman…

He had been given insight from God,

messages of truth to give to Israel,

and he was called to be faithful to tell them the truth by warning them,

or else bear the guilt for their death.

APPLY

My story of failing to have the courage to speak up at Cole’s graduation photo.

If you have believed in Jesus,

your eyes have been opened…

you now have insight and knowledge that you didn’t before.

You didn’t always believe that through faith in Jesus,

you could have all your sins forgiven…

But now you do!

You didn’t always believe that Jesus is the Son of God,

fully God, eternal, and come down from heaven to rescue us…

But now you do!

You didn’t always believe God sent and endorsed Jesus,

as the only way to the Father…

But now you do!

Don’t keep that insight to yourself…

use it to point others to Christ so that they will believe in him as well!

It’s so easy for us to assume that everyone around us believes these things as well,

but when you start to have deeper conversations with those around you,

you realize that they don’t!

Brothers and sisters,

we need to warn them!

we need to use the insight we have,

to point them to their need for Jesus,

so that they can have their sins forgiven!

Summary

We have this insight, we have this knowledge,

and now we should use it to point others to Christ.

Conclusion

Why don’t we share the Good News of Jesus with others?

——————

I think one reason is:

Fear (worried what others will think/they won’t believe it anyway)

John the Baptist

Could have worried; was faithful to share what he had seen/heard.

Ezekiel

Could have feared; was commanded to be faithful.

It is not our job to worry about their response,

but we must be faithful to tell them so that they know.

———————

I think another reason we don’t share the Good News is:

It’s not a part of our Identity

We don’t see it as a part of who we are/our responsibility

But Peter says…

1 Peter 2:9 ESV

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Brothers and sisters,

We know the BAD NEWS…

that all people are sinners,

guilty before God, and

condemned to death…

But we also have the GOOD NEWS that all people can be

forgiven and saved from their sin…

given new life, and

have the hope of eternal life,

through faith in Jesus’ sacrifice!

This is the Good News that we rejoice in!

We’ve sung it this morning…

We rejoice in it every day…

Why wouldn’t we share it with those who don’t know?!?

———————

I think another reason we don’t share the Good News is:

We are not intentional/It’s not a part of our vision for our life

We don’t see it as our purpose.

We wake up and have a laundry list of things to do,

and being ready to share the Good News with others is not on the list.

Closing Illustration

Story #1

Last week, I took one of our boys to get a photo done.

Photographer does photography in her home.

As we were driving there, had a lot of things on my mind.

Wanted to get it done, and get back to the stuff on my list.

As I was waiting, had a conversation with the husband.

As we were talking, he mentioned they were Christians, but not really Christians (didn’t practice).

I was so surprised and caught off guard… I said nothing.

As we left I felt so guilty that I hadn’t been prepared to share the Good News.

Story #2

Another day this week, I had my day planned out, and then something messed it all up.

I was immediately frustrated.

But I prayed that God would give me a good attitude/use it for His glory.

The inconvenience put me about an hour behind,

but it led to a conversation with someone that would not have happened otherwise.

We had a great conversation, talked about spiritual things, where I was able to point to Jesus.

Summary

There are going to be times where we totally miss the boat,

and there are going to be times where we are intentional,

and God blesses us with fruitful conversations!

Ultimately we need to understand that we are not responsible for people’s salvation… God is!

Jesus has fulfilled the role as the perfect watchman…

Though He was God He came to earth to:

warn people of their sin before God and His coming wrath… and

to die as the sacrifice to pay for their sins… so that

all who believe in Him will be saved!

Since we have been saved from our sin through faith in Jesus,

and have such a wonderful message of Good News,

may it be our joy to use our lives to point people to Jesus!

Christ Connection

For those who are here this morning who have not put your faith…