BIDDULPH Pm Sunday, 21st May 2006
Place: Biddulph AOG. Date: Pm Sunday, 21st May 2006.
Text: John 1:29. Theme: Are you ready to meet with Jesus?
Introduction: Reading: John 1:19-34.
John 1:29
“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
There are three questions that should challenge our readiness for meeting with Jesus in our lives.
1. ARE YOU READY TO HEAR THE WORD?
2. ARE YOU READY TO CHANGE?
3. ARE YOU READY FOR THE LAMB OF GOD?
1ST QUESTION: ARE YOU READY TO HEAR THE WORD?
John 1:19-23
“Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”
… But … He said: “I am “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord,” as the prophet Isaiah said.”
First, in answer to the questions.
1. John tells us who he is not, the Christ.
2. John tells us the Christ is coming (Isaiah 40:3-5).
It was not who John was that was important, but what he was doing. John was building a highway. It was designed to be a path upon which God would come to people. This was not a highway for men to get to God, but for God to come to man. So John was doing what any modern road builder would do. He was preparing a way for man to meet with God.
A church was having trouble with its sound system and decided to upgrade with a more powerful experienced system and add a more speakers. The pastor asked for comments and as an elderly lady left the church, she tackled him with her usual harsh tone: “I do not like it! If I wanted to hear what you had to say, I would have moved closer to the front.” You maybe in that seat now because you do not want to hear the message of Christ.
3. John challenges us to hear the word of a prophet.
a. He was a prophet that did not mince words when people’s destiny was at stake.
b. They needed to hear the Word of God.
And so do we. We need to hear the same message he gave then.
And that is my next question.
2ND QUESTION: ARE YOU READY TO CHANGE?
John 1:24-28
“Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. And they asked him, saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” John answered them, saying, “I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know.
It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.” These things were done in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.”
1. We need to recognize that we pretend!
We pretend that everything is OK.
We pretend that we can handle whatever comes our way.
We pretend that we do not need God.
We think we are good enough the way we are.
But it is all pretend!
Everything is not OK.
We cannot handle everything that comes our way.
We do need God.
We are not good enough the way we are.
2. John calls on us to repent (Matthew 3:2).
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
Repentance is the determination of leaving the old way behind and going a new way. It is a decision to turn away from what is wrong and enjoy the newness that God wants to bring into our lives.
So John is telling men how to have a relationship with God. It begins with taking a true look at God and self and agreeing to the change that must come.
3. John challenges us to show our repentance in baptism.
People were coming to John from all over Palestine to be baptized. John was treating them as if they were lost sinners, in need of salvation. He knew that baptism was an outward act that dealt with the innermost soul.
It was an outward testimony to what God was already doing on the inside. These people knew the truth. They were lost. For it is impossible to understand baptism without getting wet.
So John asks another question.
3RD QUESTION: ARE YOU READY FOR THE LAMB OF GOD?
John 1:29
“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
John was pointing people to Christ. He clearly had no ambition to dwell on himself. Instead, he said,
1. “Look!”
2. “Look to the Lamb of God!”
3. “Look to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
1. Jesus is our sacrifice (Isaiah 53:7).
“He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth.”
I cannot help but remember Abraham’s words to Isaac when Isaac questioned him about the sacrifice they were to make on the mountain that would someday hold the area of Jerusalem. “God Himself will provide a lamb.”
And as Jesus arrives, the promise is once again fulfilled, but in a much more powerful way.
1. For this Lamb would take away the guilt of sin.
2. This Lamb was going to take away the power that sin has over us.
3. This Lamb was going to clean up the pollution that sin has on our daily living.
4. This Lamb, Jesus, was going to be our sacrifice, and thus satisfy our need of justice.
2. Jesus satisfies the need of justice (Hebrews 9:28).
“So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.”
Jesus satisfies the justice that God demands. Sin deserves death. So as the Lamb, Jesus became a curse for us. As Hebrews 9.28 testifies.
You see, this is the good news that John was announcing. Their sin was going to be taken away. Wherever there is sin, there the Lamb will triumph. Wherever your sin or my sin exists, there the Lamb, Jesus, triumphs.
CONCLUSION:
John, all the time, has been pointing us to Jesus. “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”