Sermon Tone Analysis

! Introduction:

*I would like to ask you a question…

 

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/**/What Is It That Makes A Person Great?/*

!!!! a)                   Money, fame, fortune?

!!!! b)                  Born into a influential family?

!!!! c)                   Degrees, athletic ability, artistic talent?

!!!! d)                  Based on that set of criteria, even Jesus Christ was not great.

!!!!! (1)                 He was born into a common family—His father was a simple carpenter.

!!!!! (2)                 When He was an adult, Jesus did not own a business, a herd of cattle or sheep, a house, or even a tent.

He said, /“The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” /(Matt.

8:20).

!!!!! (3)                 He had little, if any, formal education.

And He certainly didn’t seek political office or manifest any artistic accomplishments.

Jesus displayed very little of the marks that the world would consider great.

!!!! e)                   John the Baptist manifested even fewer of the world’s marks of greatness.

!!!!! (1)                 Like Jesus, he came from a simple, obscure family.

His father, Zacharias, was one of many priests who took turns ministering in the temple.

!!!!! (2)                 His mother, Elizabeth, was also from the priestly tribe of Levi and a descendant of Aaron (Luke 1:5).

But many were descendants of Aaron, and they had no special social status.

!!!!! (3)                 It is likely that when John reached his teen years he went to live in the wilderness of Judea, existing much like a hermit and giving up any social honor and economic status or comfort.

* *

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/**/John Was Destined For Greatness.

God Set Him Apart For Greatness Even Before His Birth.

/*

*John’s father and mother* “were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.”

But they had no children, and Elizabeth was beyond normal childbearing years (Luke 1:6–7).

*One day as Zacharias was ministering in the temple,* “an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense” (Luke 1:11)…  *The angel said,* “Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John.

And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.

For he will be great in the sight of the Lord” (vv.

13–15).

/  /

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/**/Jesus Said That John Was The Greatest Among Those Born Of A Woman (Matt.11:11).

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!!!! a)                   Jesus was saying that as far as mankind is concerned, no one who had yet lived was greater than John the Baptist.

!!!!! (1)                 That means John was greater than: Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, or Joseph.

He was greater than Moses, Elijah, David, or any of the Old Testament prophets.

He also was greater than any of the world’s kings, emperors, philosophers, or military leaders.

Thus John was the greatest man yet born besides Jesus Himself.

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/**/Jesus Made Sure, However That the People Did Not Misunderstand the Nature of John’s Greatness.

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!!!! a)                   “Yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he” (Matt.

11:11).

!!!!! (1)                 Although he was a spiritual giant, John’s greatness came from his role in human history.

!!!!! (2)                 In his spiritual inheritance John was equal to every other believer.

That’s why Jesus could say that the least in the kingdom of heaven (exaltation in the spiritual realm) “is greater than he” (exalted roles in the human realm), which included John.

!!!!! (3)                 What was it about John that led Jesus to speak of him in such radiant terms?

!!!!! (4)                 In Matthew 11:7–14 Jesus sets forth three specific marks that characterize John’s greatness.

\\ !! A.                 Strong, Individual Character of John – /three qualities/.

!!! 1.                  Quality #1 - Conquering Weakness & Difficult Circumstances (Matthew 11:2-3).

!!!! a)                  Many people have difficulty in rising above their difficulties and circumstances.

!!!!! (1)                 All of us have problems; overcoming them is what separates great people from indifferent people.

Great people don’t succumb to obstacles—they fight through them triumphantly.

That’s certainly what John the Baptist did when faced with doubts about Jesus’ identity as the Messiah:

*Matthew writes saying* “When John in prison heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples, and said to Him, ’Are you the Coming One, or shall we look for someone else?’” (Matt.

11:2–3).

!!!!! (2)                 John was filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb and had been set apart by God to announce the Messiah and to prepare Israel for His coming (Luke 1:15b).

!!!!! (3)                 He had seen the Holy Spirit descend on Jesus at His baptism and had heard God the Father declare Jesus to be His beloved Son.

!!!!! (4)                 From many sources, including some of his own disciples, he had heard of Jesus’ miraculous powers.

!!!!! (5)                 He was obedient to God’s Word.

!!!!! (6)                 He was /self-controlled/, drinking no “wine or liquor” (Luke 1:15a).

He was temperate in his food, dress, and lifestyle.

!!!!! (7)                 He was /humble/.

He had the right perspective in relation to Christ: “After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals” (Mark 1:7), and, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).

!!!!! (8)                 He courageously and faithfully proclaimed God’s Word.

!!!!! (9)                 Finally, he was /faithful in leading people to Christ/, in turning “back many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God” (Luke 1:16).

!!!! b)                  The fact that John sent his disciples to Jesus is a strong testimony to his faith.

!!!!! (1)                 In his heart he believed that Jesus truly was the Messiah and trusted Him as his Lord; but /the events or lack of them// /caused his mind or emotions to put a cloud of doubt over his assurance.

!!!!! (2)                 He was not asking for information but for confirmation.

He believed, but his faith had become weakened.

John came to Jesus through his disciples, saying, like the father of the boy Jesus cleansed of an evil spirit, /“I do believe; help my unbelief”/ (Mark 9:24).

!!!! c)                  Though God Understands Our Doubts, it Does Not Mean He is Pleased with our doubts.

!!!!! (1)                 Our Doubts reflect against the nature and character of our God.

!!!!!! (a)                 In Acts 10:19-20 The Holy Spirit tells Peter to go down and meet three men who are looking for you & go with them, doubting nothing.

!!!!!! (b)                James (1:6) warns believers that he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind

!!!!!! (c)                 It should be reassuring to us that even a man of John’s spiritual stature and gifts was subject to doubt.

!!!!!! (d)                When we are confused, we can take comfort in John’s perplexity.

!!!!!! (e)                 It is also encouraging to remember that it was to His true disciples, primarily the twelve, that Jesus repeatedly said such words as /“O you of little faith” and “How long will you doubt?”/

\\ !!! 2.                  Quality #2 - He Held Strong Convictions (Matt.11:7).

!!!! a)                  John Never Changed His Message or Compromised His Standards.

!!!!! (1)                 Many who loyally followed John recognized him as “a prophet” with a divine message

*Remember when Herod wanted to put John to death?  *"Although Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, (*which is not good)* because they regarded John as a prophet.”

(Matthew 14:5)

*Remember when “*the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Jesus while He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?”

*Jesus said to them* “I will also ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things.

“The baptism of John was from what source, from heaven or from men?”

And they began reasoning among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’

“But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the people; for they all regard John as a prophet."

(Matthew 21:24-26, NASB95)

!!!!! (2)                 Jesus asked them a question /“What did you go out into the wilderness to look at?

A reed shaken by the wind?”  /(Matt.

11:7).

!!!!!! (a)                 In other words, “Did your ever see John compromise his standards or his message?

!!!!!! (b)                *The Reeds—*the reeds that Jesus referred to were /light, flexible, & bent with every breeze/.

But John did not bend, he held on to his convictions, did not water down the message, but he continued to *bear witness to the truth (John 5:33).

*John stood up against the Sadducees, Scribes, Pharisees & to even Herod himself who had put him in prison for doing so (Mark 6:17 /cf.

/Matt.3:7-10).

!!!!!! (c)                 John believed that “right is right, even if everyone is against it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it.”

!!!!! (3)                 John had many opportunities to win the approval of the authorities.

!!!!!! (a)                 John could have won the support of the hypocritical Pharisees and Sadducees who came to him for baptism.

Instead, he confronted their sin and hypocrisy:

*Speaking to the Pharisees, John said *“You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

Therefore bring forth fruit in keeping with your repentance; and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you, that God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.

And the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Matt.

3:7–10).

!!! 3.                  Quality #3 - He Denied Self (Matt.11:8).

Many people will sacrifice many things in order to become what they desire to be.  /Athletes/ deny themselves many pleasures most of us take for granted.

/Great scholars /isolate themselves to study sacrificing their leisure time.

/Musicians /sacrifice their social life to practice and perfect their art.

/Pastors /sacrifice sleep in order to tend to prayer and the study of the Word of God.   

!!!! a)                  John Had Taken A Nazirite Vow (Luke 1:15).

!!!!! (1)                 The Purpose for the Vow of a Nazirite (Numbers 6:1-2).