Sermon Tone Analysis

Illustration:

There are some events in life, for which you prepare, like no other events.

In some cases, the event is so important that you set two alarms or three alarms in the morning.

Maybe you move the alarm to another place in your room, so it forces you to get up.

The LORD’s Wake Up Call

Here, the Lord has sent a tremendous wake up call to the people of Israel.

This wake up call had been announced in the Old Testament, and his name was John the Baptist.

is when the alarm set in the scriptures.

It is a promise that Elijah would come.

Jesus confirmed in that Elias had indeed come.

Who is Jesus speaking about?

confirms that Elijah/Elias is speaking about John the Baptist.

(i) A particular wake up call

In our passage, there are several descriptions that confirm that this is speaking of John the Baptist as Elijah (v.

6):

Elijah, in the OT, is identified with the wilderness () just as John is identified here as baptizing in the wilderness.

Elijah in the Old Testament () is described as wearing a garment of hair and a leather belt around his waist.

Elijah, in the OT, confronted Ahab (), as John the Baptist confronted Herod Antipas ()

(ii) A purposeful wake up call

As we all know, the alarm is not an ends in itself.

What is the alarm [John the Baptist] signaling?

To what end is this voice of one crying in the wilderness.

The voice is there to signal the great and dreadful day of the LORD.

The voice of John is there to tell people that the LORD is coming and to turn them back to the Lord - to make them ready.

(iii) The preaching of the wake up call (full immersion) ().

(a) a baptism for religious people

Baptism was not new to John the Baptist and his ministry.

It was a practice that had already existed, but typically it was done to a Gentile who wanted to turn away from his gods and follow the God of Israel.

The significance here is that, where as in the past it was for Gentiles, we now see John calling the Jewish people to this baptism.

You are not ready because you do good deeds.

(b) a baptism for the complete person

Secondly, the baptism was a full immersion into the water.

It meant that the whole person was submerged, and that they had completed committed to a new way.

When we speak of a complete commitment, we do not merely mean the whole person externally, but they had completely (internally & externally) yielded themselves to this new way.

Illustration:

It was the proverbial wedding ring that identified commitment to a covenant.

When we go to perfect north, we enter into contract with them, and they give us a token of the contract.

We pay the money, and they give us a lift tag that goes on our jacket.

We wear that openly as evidence.

Application:

And so it is that when someone today is baptized, they are fully immersed into the water.

It is a token that shows the individual to be completely in Christ.

This means that they are renouncing the pursuit of other idols, they are renouncing any other gods, they are plainly declaring that they have entered into covenant with Christ.

the original Roman recipients would have to decide whether their country was more important than the Lord Jesus Christ.

the Jewish recipients would have to decide whether their Jewish tradition was more important than the Lord Jesus Christ.

So today, there are many professing Christians who are in a love-affair with mistresses such as: political activism, personal pleasure, relationships....STOP CHEATING ON JESUS.

Jesus Christ is the faithful One, who saved us to be in relationship with us and not so we could be in relationship with other gods.

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Christian, do not take lightly your covenant to Christ.

Unbaptized Christian, you should not underestimate the importance of publicly identifying with Jesus Christ through baptism.

As you would not be ashamed of your covenant in marriage, you should not be ashamed of your covenant in relationship with Christ.

A true Christian will not be ashamed of Jesus Christ.

Transition: The Lord’s wake up call to his people was preaching a precise message of the immersion of the whole person, but why?

Why is there a need for this kind of covenant token or commitment?

Why the wedding ring?

Why the need for this full immersion?

Notice: baptism of repentance.

But what exactly is this baptism signaling?

Repentance means “to change ones mind” or to “change one’s understanding”:

(i) It is a willful, rational decision

Secondly, repentance includes the turning of one’s entire life.

(ii) It is a change of one’s behavior

Thus, repentance is the willful change of one’s heart that results in the evident change of one’s behavior.

You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig.

Illustration:

Many of you remember that Scooby-Doo show.

They came out with an animated movie of Scooby-Doo, and the team had actually broken up; but in the movie, each of the team had received individual invitations to come to a haunted island, where they were going to (unannounced to them) work together to solve a mystery.

During the trip, Shaggy and Scooby board a plane.

In order to get Scooby on the plane, they dress up Scooby as a Grandmother.

Of course, someone on the plane has a cat, so eventually Scooby (a dog) can’t help himself and he starts to chase the cat and bark like a dog.

What had happened is that they tried to cover up the fact that Scooby was a dog.

The beautiful truth of repentance is that it is not just an external make over.

Repentance is something that God grants in the heart of man.

This change is so real, that it results in a changed life.

See ,

This all further affirms the significance of the One who was coming.

He not only requires outward change, but He cares about the heart!

He is the Son of God, and this kind of preparation confirms this.

Illustration: What do you typically do when you are getting ready for a dentist visit?

How then would you think it meet to prepare when you are about the meet the dentist of the soul?

Thus, baptism is an outward evidence that the whole life has been changed.

The heart change has resulted in a life change.

Baptism does not make this change, but baptism confirms this change.

TRANSITION: The Lord’s wake up call is to repent; and baptism is to show this about face; but what are we repenting of?

Why the need for repentance?

What is baptism showing?

(a) Baptism is showing the remission of sins ()

The word remission here means a pardon or cancellation of sins.

What is meant by sins?

Sin is failure internally that results in failure externally.

Sin is error internally that results in error externally.

Sin is missing the mark internally that results in missing the mark externally.

Sin is rejection of God internally that results in rejection of God externally.

Sin is the cancer of the human soul that results in the death of the human body.

Sin is failing to meet God’s perfect standard internally that results in failing to meet God’s perfect standard externally.

Thus, what John the Baptist is preaching is that if the people will make a willful heart choice to turn to the Lord, they will have their sins pardoned/cancelled out, and they should show this by openly immersing their whole body and confessing (agreeing) publicly their sins.

This all further affirms the significance of the One who was coming.

He not only requires outward change, but He cares about the heart!

He is the Son of God, and this kind of preparation confirms this.

Illustration:

Going Public with Sin

Topics: Bondage; Confession; Culture; Depravity; Guilt; Human Condition; Regret; Shame; Sin; Vices