Keys to the Kingdom (Week 5)

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“Dis­trac­tion is the curse of our age. The des­per­ate need today is not for a greater num­ber of effi­cient peo­ple, or busy peo­ple, but for present people.” —Nathan Foster (son of Richard Foster)Giving

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Sermon

Alright, let’s get back into our sermon series that we began last week, Keys to the Kingdom. The past few weeks, we have discussed what is the Kingdom of God/Heaven. Why did Jesus talk it about it more than any other NT author? We specifically looked at Matthew 16 at the revelation of who Jesus is as the foundation for His Kingdom and the cost of establishing His Kingdom.

We built upon the foundation of the revelation of who Jesus, His call to each one of us to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow HIm. Last week, we look at the hallmark of the movement: humility. We saw in the Scripture that in order to receive grace we must posture ourselves through humility to receive it (grace).

Yes, we are saved by grace through faith, but in some would even say that humility (utter and complete dependance upon God) must precede these.

Last week, we peered in on the topic of forgiveness. Christ taught a lifestyle of forgiveness, being peacemakers, and ministers of reconciliation (to God and between man).

Today, I want us to shift gears while still somewhat staying in the vein of Kingdom thinking. I want us to go back before the King arrived, before Jesus shows up on the scene (so to speak) and look at what it looks like and what it means to lead the way for His coming.

I want us to talk about being a Forerunner for the Kingdom, a Forerunner for the King.

Being a Forerunner for the Kingdom

QUESTION: When I talk about leading the way or being a forerunner for Jesus, who initially comes to mind?

John the Baptist.

DEFINITION: a person or thing that precedes the coming or development of someone or something else.

John the Baptist was our Lord’s ‘forerunner.’ The word is never applied to him in the NT, but he was the ‘messenger’ sent ‘before the face’ of the Lord ‘to prepare his way’ (Mt 11:10, Mk 1:2, Lk 7:27; cf. Mal 3:1), and to exhort others to ‘make his paths straight’ (Mk 1:2; cf. Is 40:3ff.).

INTRO: Jesus and John were relatives. . Elizabeth (John’s mother) and Mary (Jesus’ mother) were relatives, the Scripture tells us. The Bible doesn’t tell us explicitly their connection, but most scholars believe that they were cousins. This would make Jesus and John second cousins, at best. Either way, they were related in some way, and their families had relationship with one another.

John had a distinct call on his life, and there are some things from his story that we can glean to encourage ourselves.

OT Passages:

Isaiah 40:3–5 NIV

3 A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. 5 And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Malachi 3:1 NIV

1 “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty.

The prophecies that John would fulfill mark his life and ministry. Let’s look at some of the keys ways that he prepared the coming of the Lord.

PERSONALIZE: There have been some dreams, calls, destinies in this room but for one reason or another those have landed on the back-burner of life.

1. MIRACULOUS CONCEPTION:

Luke 1:6–7 NIV

6 Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. 7 But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.

Luke 1:13–17 NIV

13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. 16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

You may not relate to the righteousness of Zechariah and Elizabeth, but you can understand being in a season of barrenness.

vs. 13 “your prayer has been heard.” You are to name him John: Yahweh has been gracious

How many of you know that God’s sees, He hears the desires of our hearts? As His children, He recognizes the things inside of there, some of them He even put there, He created us with and for…and He is working all things out for our good. Just hold on to hope. Don’t let go of faith. The promise is sure.

vs. 14 “He will bring joy and delight to you.” Joy is often equated and related to God’s salvation. A new day is dawning; hope is rising. Joy and gladness will replace empty sadness.

John was to be consecrated. Some of you are waiting for the next instructions to open the doors to God’s great work in your life, and He is saying, “Consecrate yourself to me.”

John role in preparing a ways for Jesus would include bringing back the people of Israel to their God through His call to repentance. The spirit and power of Elijah would be on him to turn hearts back towards reconciliation in earthly and heavenly families.

The “people prepared for the Lord” ultimately includes not only these initial Jewish hearers but those who formerly were “not a people” (1 Peter 2:10), the Gentiles.

1 Peter 2:10 NIV

10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

2. DISCERNING CHRIST:

Luke 1:41 NIV

41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

The leap of John in the womb led to Elizabeth being filled with the Holy Spirit.

Mary’s Song. Birth of John.

They expected him to be named after his father, Zechariah. Zechariah had become mute until the birth of John. He wrote down that His name would be John. When he named his son, his mouth opened and began to speak. Everyone was amazed at the miracle surrounding the birth and naming of John. They recognized the Lord’s hand upon him.

Zechariah’s Song.

Others around you will be filled with the Spirit and begin to operate in the lane that God has called you. They will begin to prepare the way for the Lord along with you.

Luke 1:76–80 NIV

76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, 77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven 79 to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.” 80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.

Others recognized (through the Spirit) the gift and call upon John’s life. They recognized the role he played in preparing the way for the salvation of God.

You will declare where our help comes from. You will give to people the knowledge of salvation through a permanent atonement that we have through Christ.

Part of the call upon a forerunner was the fulfillment of God’s intentions for the nations and the lost.

God’s mercy was to be shown to all nations, all peoples. Israel had not operated in this call to the fullness that they were called. Instead, they kept the covenant to themselves, hoarding God’s promises. Rising of the sun was the hope of peace to come, that would even shine upon those living in darkness and in the shadow of death (those far from God).

I love the unique comment that Luke makes at the end of this passage. John grew and became strong in spirit. He lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel. There are some thoughts that John may have had contact and influence from some of the more extreme communities like the Essenes (Qumran).

3. HIS MESSAGE:

Matthew 3:1–12 NIV

1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’ ” 4 John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Capture the picture of John and his ministry. Here’s this man dressed in camel hair/leather belt, eating grasshoppers and wild honey.

This message of repentance was the preparation for the King. Through repentance he was lowering mountains, raising valleys, and making straight paths that were previously crooked.

People were confessing their sins and being baptized. The religious who came to see what John was all about were warned of the coming wrath for their hypocrisy. John declared to all that we have a change to make, whether sinner or supposed saint, it is time to repent of our wickedness.

Let your lifestyle match up with your oral repentance/confession. There is no getting in on some else’s repentance or relationship with God, no coat tails to ride into heaven.

PERSONAL: This was/is the message of revival.

Renewal. Revival. Revolution.

4. Point to the coming King and His Kingdom:

John 1:29–31 NIV

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”

The ministry of John and any forerunner for Christ will continually point to the Great One coming. John was constantly proclaiming that there was One who was coming after him whose sandals he wasn’t even worthy to stoop down and untie.

And upon seeing the Christ, just as the leap in the womb, he can identify the one who meant to come after him, Christ Jesus.

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

SIDEBAR: there is the occasion when in prison, awaiting his beheading that John questions if Jesus really was the Christ.

“he was before me” John’s Gospel focuses on the eternal existence of the Word. John the Baptist reinforces this framework of eternal nature.

vs. 31 It isn’t as if John didn’t actually know Jesus; they were relatives after-all. But to identify Him as the Messiah was a different story.

In our lives, we can invite and prepare for Divine moments by preparing the way for God’s presence. The same model applies for micro as well as macro occurrences of Christ coming in His glory.

PIANO

5. Marked by Decrease of Self/Increase of Christ:

John 3:30 NIV

30 He must become greater; I must become less.”

This entire passage has some unique meat to it.

John showed no jealousy whatever; on the contrary, he reaffirmed his subordinate position. He would not claim for himself final authority but avowed that he had been sent in preparation for the Messiah. As the bridegroom is more important than the best man, or “friend” of the bridegroom who acted as the bridegroom’s assistant, so he would be content to act as an assistant to Jesus.

In all areas and in all ways, the greatest role a forerunner plays is recognizing when their job is done and moving out of the way. What if John had continued to preach his message, but it no longer had relevance. The Greater One was on the scene. The way had been prepared.

Now it was time to get out of the way!

Point to Him and Him ONLY!

He must become greater; I must become less.

PRAY