7 Lessons to Learn from John the Baptist

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I like to preach in series. I feel like we can stay on a particular topic for several weeks. Last week we just finished a series on Prayer. Next week we will begin a series on Following Jesus. But, I also like to have a single sermon placed in amongst series so that I can give you a lesson that is not on one particular subject. It may be something that God is dealing with me on or it could be something that I believe will benefit your life during a particular season that we may all be going through. So, today, we are not in a series nor are we beginning a new series, but I want to bring a message to you that I believe will benefit you in your personal walk.
Today we are going to look at the life of a man that prepared the way for Jesus to come and minister on this earth. That man’s name is John the Baptist. I want to give you 7 quick lessons that we can learn from John the Baptist’s life.
If you have your Bibles go with me to the book of Matthew. I want to read from chapter 3 beginning at verse 1. This is my main text but there are other passages that we will look at.
Matthew 3:1–17 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.” 13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. 16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
From this passage of scripture, we learn many things about John the Baptist. We could say that he is a very unusual man for that time. Some people may have even thought he was a bit strange.
We know that he wore camels hair on his back with a leather belt around his waist. He ate wild honey and locusts. Does anyone here want to go on the John the Baptist diet? The honey no so bad but I don’t want to be eating any locusts any time soon.
We know that he wasn’t afraid of mixing words with the religious elite and he was the one that Jesus chose to baptize Him. But I believe that you and I can learn many things from the life of John the Baptist. This morning I’m going to give you 7 lessons that we can learn from the life of John the Baptist.

1. God Always has a Plan

I don’t know what some of you may be going through right now. Maybe you are struggling thinking that God isn’t listening to you when you pray or you are hurting from family issues or maybe you are struggling financially. Let me reassure you that God always has a plan. Never once has he ever failed you. He has a plan.
There was a prophesy that was foretold of John the Baptist over 600 years before he was born.
Isaiah 40:3 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.
In fulfilling this prophecy God did the impossible. Go with me to Luke chapter 1.
Luke 1:11–17 NIV
11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 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.”
Zechariah and Elizabeth thought they couldn’t have children. But God had a plan. God’s plan was to use them to fulfill a prophecy that was spoken during the time of Isaiah. God always has a plan. No matter what you are filling right now. No matter what you are going through. Even though you may not understand it. I want you to know that God has a plan and He always has a plan. Don’t give up. Don’t lose heart. Just trust in God.

2. To Repent

Matthew 3:1–2 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.”
The basic meaning of repentance is “to turn around” or to make a complete change. It is turning away from evil and turning toward God through faith in Christ.
John 14:6 NIV
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Acts 8:22 NIV
22 Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart.
1 Peter 2:25 NIV
25 For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
When you truly repent of your sins that repentance leads you to spiritual salvation and a personal relationship with God. You no longer make decisions on your own but you choose to follow the plan that God has laid out for you.
Repentance is an opportunity for all sinners to make the choice to turn from sin and turn to God. This is made possible by the grace of God. Something that none of us deserve. John told us to repent. Today I am telling you that if you have not confessed your sins to Jesus, then do so today. Repent of your sins and turn from your old way of doing things and start a new life in Christ today.

3. Be Willing to Preach the Word.

Matthew 3:5–7 NIV
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?
John was not afraid to preach the gospel. He preached God’s Word to anyone that would listen and he even called out the religious elites and let them know that they weren’t exempt from sin either. He let them know that they had to repent.
2 Timothy 4:2 NIV
2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.
As you grow in your faith you need to be prepared to preach the word. I don’t mean to stand behind a pulpit and preach but you need to know scripture so that when someone comes to you with questions you can lead them to the answers.
Don’t be shy when it comes to the Gospel message.

4. Always Give Christ First Place

There was a time in John’s ministry that some of John’s disciples started following Jesus instead. They were going to his teaching. Jesus was baptizing right along with John. Some of John’s followers came to him and said...
John 3:26 NIV
26 They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”
This was a time that John could have become jealous and told the people to stop going to Jesus. You guys are my disciples. I’m the one teaching you, but John didn’t say that because he knew that Jesus much greater and it was Jesus’ time to be honored. Look at what John said in John 3:29-30
John 3:29–30 NIV
29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30 He must become greater; I must become less.”
John knew what was important. He knew that Jesus must be exalted. John knew that he wasn’t worthy to even hold the sandals of Jesus. He said, “He must become greater; I must become less.”
That means for you and me that everything we do is about Jesus. It doesn’t matter what our opinion is. It doesn’t matter what our favorite song is or our favorite verse. It doesn’t matter what color we think the carpet should be. All that matters is that I decrease and Jesus increase. I must become less and He must be greater. Everything that we do should point people to Jesus. You and I don’t get our way. We only get God’s way.
This is one of the most important lessons that John’s life taught us. You and I must decrease and Jesus must increase. If you get nothing else that I teach you today, get that. I must decrease and Jesus must increase.
Can we say that together?

I MUST DECREASE AND JESUS MUST INCREASE.

5. Don’t Be Afraid to Stand for What is Right

When you read about the end of John’s life you find out that he was beheaded for his testimony. He became the first martyr for the Gospel’s sake. He sealed his testimony with his blood.
During his time King Herod was the ruler. King Herod decided that he wanted his brother’s wife for himself. It was John that called him out on this. John rebuked the king and told him that it was not lawful for him to live in adultery.
John was not ashamed to deliver God’s message just as it had been given to him. He stood his ground and told the people the truth that they didn’t always want to hear.
Look at verse 7 of our text.
Matthew 3:7 NIV
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?
John the Baptist was not afraid to stand for what was right.
Can I tell you that this is a lesson that I believe we need to take heart today. There are ways that we can stand for what is right. Bashing people on Facebook is not one of them. However, you can go to the polls and vote your convictions. You can help in your schools and community. You can be a Christian in front of anyone that you work with or for. We need to stand up for what is right. Don’t be a bully. But stand up for your rights.

6. Stay Humble

John’s ministry only lasted two years but he made sure that everyone knew that he wasn’t doing everything that he did for himself.
Look at verse 11 of our text.
Matthew 3:11 NIV
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.
John showed more unselfishness than any man that ever lived. He did not know what selfishness was.
Think about our lives that we live. Self is mixed up with almost everything we do. I truly believe that is the reason why we have so little power as Christians. We let our self get in the way. We need to let our self be moved and let Jesus be exalted.
John did not feel that he was even worthy of carrying the sandals of Jesus. During this time period slaves carried the sandals and John said that he was not even worthy of a slave.
We must learn to humble our self and get self out of the way. We must take on the saying of John the Baptist, “I must decrease and Jesus must increase.”
The only way that we can truly humble ourself is at the foot of the cross. Our human nature likes to be lifted up. It is only by the grace of God alone that we can humble ourself.

7. Be an Example to Others

John lived a life before others that was well respected. Even Jesus himself was sure to make mention of John in John 5:35
John 5:35 NIV
35 John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.
John the Baptist was an example for all of us to follow. He made sure that Jesus was exalted. He prepared the way. Even though his ministry only lasted 2 years, he did what he came to do and that was to exalt Jesus Christ. He made sure that all of us that read about his life would know the importance of us decreasing and Jesus increasing. John lived the example for all of us to follow.
As you take this word this morning, put John’s words into practice. Make sure that Jesus increases in all that you do and your life decreases. Make Jesus your number one priority. Make it a point to have Him number one in your life. Go about exalting Jesus in all you do.
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