Who Are You?

Who Are You? (John 1:19)

"He confessed" – He spoke openly.

"Denied not" – He did not avoid the question or give a misleading answer.

"But confessed" – He plainly stated the truth.

John was real about who he was (confessed) and didn’t refuse to answer the question (didn’t avoid) and told them who he was.

"The plain truth is that a painted fire is no fire, and a painted faith is no faith."

"Too many Christians are 'skin-deep saints' and cardboard disciples." - Vance Havner

2 Corinthians 13:5 “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?”

Examine - To inspect carefully, with a view to discover truth or the real state of a thing. To look into the state of a subject; to view in all its aspects; to weigh arguments and compare facts, with a view to form a correct opinion or judgment. To inquire into the improvements or qualifications of someone. (Job application) In general, to search; to scrutinize; to explore, with a view to discover truth

Haggai 1:5 “Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.”

Matthew 7:3–5 “And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.”

Psalm 139:23–24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart: Try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.”

Are You The Savior? (vs.20)(vs.21)

Are you the One who is the Creator? God in the flesh? The King of King and the Lord of Lords?

(vs.21) That prophet?

Deuteronomy 18:15 “The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;”

You are not on the same level as God.

Ezekiel 28:17–18 “Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

“Be humble, or you’ll stumble!” - D.L. Moody

Isaiah 14:12–15 “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart (NOT OUT LOUD), I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.”

PRIDE WILL ALWAYS PUT YOU IN A PIT!

1 Corinthians 10:12 “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.”

James 4:6 “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”

Resisteth - (present tense) to oppose, to set oneself against, or to stand in battle against.

Pride doesn't merely displease God—it puts a person in opposition against Him.

Are you one who submits to what God wants for your life? Jonah’s pride brought rebellion and put him in a whale’s belly.

Are you one who wants glory or God to get glory? Nebuchadnezzar's pride turned him into a wild animal.

Are you one who won’t obey God even though you know what to do? Pharoah knew what God wanted, but his unwillingness to obey drowned him.

John the Baptist said it best: John 3:30 “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Are You A Spectacle? (vs.21)

Elijah / John the Baptist

Prophet to apostate Israel / Prophet preparing Israel for Christ (Both sent as God’s messengers!)

Preached repentance (how long halt ye between two opinions?) / Preached repentance (bring forth fruits meet for repentance!) (Both preached that sinners need to turn to God)

hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins / Camel's hair and leather girdle (Both looked different from everyone else)

Rebuked Ahab / Rebuked Herod (Both confronted the sin of the nations leaders)

Opposed Jezebel / Opposed Herodias (Both had godless women wanting to kill them)

Bold and fearless (Mocked false gods) / Bold and fearless (didn’t hide back from telling Herod he was wrong)

Pointed people to God / Pointed people to Christ (Both men pointed people to go to God!)

Are you different from the world?

2 Corinthians 6:17 “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,”

Separation is not isolation. The believer's calling is to be distinct without being detached.

Romans 12:1–2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

James 4:4 “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”

Titus 2:11–12 “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;”

Daniel 1:8 “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.”

Are You A Sharer? (vs.23)

John is a witness! He’s a messenger! He’s got a voice!

Do you have a voice? or are you silent?

Do you spread the message of the gospel? or keep it to yourself?

Isaiah 58:1 “Cry aloud, spare not, Lift up thy voice like a trumpet, And shew my people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins.”

Don’t let people go to where the road has fallen off the mountain! Don’t let people just go on a train ready to derail. TELL THEM THERE’S DANGER AHEAD!

Are You Somethin’? (vs. 25-27)

Worthy - deserving of being treated or recognized in a particular way. Having worth or merit or value; being honorable or admirable.

In Jewish culture, untying another person's sandals was viewed as the work of the lowest servant.

Some Jewish traditions even indicate that a Jewish servant could be exempt from this task because it was considered so degrading that it was reserved for the lowest-ranking slave.

Whether or not every household followed that exact custom, John's point is unmistakable: he was placing himself at the very bottom in comparison to Christ.

When John said, "whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose," he was declaring that Jesus is so holy, so glorious, and so exalted that John did not consider himself worthy to perform even the humblest service for Him.

We think when we’re doing something right for the Lord that we deserve something from Him. We deserve a golden sticker, recognition, and award. We think when we have read our Bible, prayed, come to church, or witness to someone that God should take notice of it. In reality, we’re not worthy to be here. We’re not worthy to come to church. We’re not worthy to have a Bible. We’re not worthy to proclaim His name! I am not worthy to do anything for Jesus.

Read Revelation 5