God is working out his plan of salvation

Introduction

400 years of prophetic silence. Were the Jews tempted to think God had forgotten his promised salvation?

We might feel ourselves in a similar situation. It is true that although we see ones and twos being saved, for which we praise God, we have not seen a move of God in our nation for many years. We have experienced a decline in church attendance. We have seen many denominations turn liberal.

We might be tempted to ask, what is God doing?

We learn from the account of John the Baptist, that God is doing what he has always done. God is fulfilling his eternal plan of salvation.

At the time of our reading God hadn’t spoken for 400 years then all of a sudden John appears on the scene. Here was the forerunner for the Messiah.

The ministry of John the Baptist could be described as preparing the way for Jesus Christ.

His ministry was to point to Jesus.

Like a herald that would go before the king and shout in the street Make way for the king. John came.

We could describe the ministry of John as drawing all the attention to himself and then pointing all that attention on to Jesus.

We see an example of this in the gospels when John sees Jesus and shouts; Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. We read two of John’s disciples followed Jesus after that. Which would have delighted John.

We learn many things from the life and ministry of John. But one of the major lessons we learn is that God is working our his eternal plan of salvation.

This means we are reminded from this passage we can trust God is fulfilling his purposes even when we cannot see it.

In this passage we see this Truth demonstrated in three points.

John was called by God- God’s man.

John fulfilled prophecy- God’s mandate

John preached faithfully- God’s message

I. John was called by God- God’s man v.1-3

a) Called by God v.1-2

Luke begins his account of John’s ministry by listing the names of the leaders at the time.

No doubt, Luke is showing his skill as a historian. He is enabling the reader to know the exact date when these things took place.

In the time of these great leaders the Word of God came to a nobody who lived in the desert.

The Word of God coming to someone is common with OT prophets, showing John the Baptist was the last of this long line of Godly men.

400 years had passed since God last spoke through the mouth of a prophet. Yet God had his man.

b) Obedient to the call v.3

The Word of God came and he went preaching.

II. John fulfilled prophecy- God’s mandate v.4-6

a) God’s eternal plan

His task was defined before he was born. The same can be said for each person who serves the Lord.

b) Prepare the way

c) Every nation will benefit

III. John preached faithfully- God’s message v.7-9

a) John didn’t want to please men

b) John preached repentance

c) He did not want empty professions

Conclusion