43: Preaching/Teaching: John 1:19-34

What’s your Story!

EOT-John made much of Jesus.

EOS-We must make much of Jesus

DDS-Share or work on your story so you can make much of Jesus.

FCF-This is the gospel verse because this verse tells us and reminds us that no matter what we think our needs our Christ is the greatest need.

John 1:29 “The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

What’s your story?

Henry Wasdin wrote him memoir in a book called: Seal Team Six-Memoirs of a elite navy seal sniper. The book is absolutely fascinating, One of the reasons he made it through seal team was because he was beat as a kid and he could literally block pain out. One of the funniest stories in the book is when they were in hell week and he had a swim buddy and they were literally on the brink of hypothermia and his buddy peed on him and he said he was fine with it because it warmed him up.

We love incredible stories.

The are connectable and inspiring we see peoples challenges, they are authentic.

Did you know if you are here today you have an incredible story to tell.

Did you know that not only do you have an incredible story to tell but that our story is connected to the greatest story of all time.

For many people the idea about sharing your faith is very intimidating, but the idea of sharing our story with a friend, not that is exciting or at least palatable.

How well can you share you story?

How well can you share God’s story?

Today I want us to leave more equipped in how to share our testimony about how the love of God changed your life.

We all have a testimony.

A testimony for a Christian is simply telling how the Love of God changed our life.

Today I want to help you share your story:

For some of you that will mean thinking through your testimony for the first time, the format and what it means.

For others of you it will be fine tuning your testimony

For others it will be just doing it.

Today I want to give you two thing our testimony must do:

Our Testimony must:

1. Embrace it’s Uniqueness (1:19-28).

John had a unique story.

You have a unique story.

John was a big deal.

John 1:19 NASB95

This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”

I want us to be reminded that John was a big deal, people were coming to him all the way from Jerusalem the capital.

Embracing our uniqueness knows who we are not!

Who John Wasn’t (19-21)

The Messiah

They asked him a question.

John 1:20–21 NASB95

And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”

Who John Wasn’t

The Prophet. John was a prophet but he was not the prophet.

There were a lot of prophets in the Old Testament. The job of these prophets was to point people to the coming Christ. To the future.

Deuteronomy 18:15 ““The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him.”

Look at Isaiah point to Jesus

Isaiah 9:6 “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”

John knew he was not the man. Jesus was the God man.

We live in a society where we are told to be the man: if we are successful at whatever it is we want to be successful it is because we are good and strong enough to be the man.

But when we really embrace the fact that God is God and we are not it frees us up to become who God wants us to be.

It freed John up to do the role God had for him.

Ken Freeman-You can hear a testimony of someone like this and be like my testimony is boring. Regardless if you have a Ken Freeman testimony or you grew up in Church testimony, it is uniquely yours.

If you heard a testimony like this you and you grew up in church and then you are thinking my biggest struggle was the one time I cheated you would think I have a weak testimony.

Psalm 139:14 “I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.”

Who John Was (22-28)

John 1:22–23 NASB95

Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” He said, “I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

A prophet, John was the last anchor of the Old Testament. The prophets of the OT wanted people to turn to God. They also pointed to the coming of the future messiah.

John was going to be the last prophet to point people to Jesus.

Malachi 4:5 ““Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.”

(23) I am a voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord.

This is who I am! John Embraced his role.

Have you embraced your role to point people to Jesus.

John 1:24–25 NASB95

Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

Why are you doing messiah like things if you are not the messiah?

Baptizing was a thing only someone with authority would do.

John 1:26–28 NASB95

John answered them saying, “I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. “It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Explain v. 27-

Illustration: Man who said Damn I’m good

We can use our life for others/ourself

John used his life and his testimony to point others to God.

The Bible tells us as a believer we are loved by God...

Application:

“Man never attains to a true self-knowledge until he has previously contemplated the face of God, and come down after such contemplation to look into himself.”-John Calvin

Who are you?

Do you know God?

Do you know who God has created you to be.

Can you share your story?

Write out your story: before and after

Our testimony must :

2. Magnify Jesus.

Israel was in a broken place as a nation. They were being over run, they were not ruling even their own nation they were looking for a messiah. But the reality is, this is how we are as a people. We are broken and in need of rescue. However they wanted a messiah that fit their minds. They wanted a political leader who would conquer their enemies. Many times instead of accepting the greatest rescue we want to rescue ourselves through fame, riches and popularity.

If we want to magnify Jesus we have to know who Jesus is:

But this is who Jesus is:

Jesus is the lamb of God

John 1:29 NASB95

The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

Israel wanted a messiah who fit their idea. a political leader who destroyed their enemies. They didn’t like the messiah who would need to forgive their sins.

Break down the lamb of God-God provided a lamb for Abraham

Then they sacrificed lambs yearly to forgive their sins.

29-34

Our ultimate need is our sins to be taken away.

John 1:29 “The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

John’s had a testimony of Jesus

A testimony is like a Hamburger, it sure tastes better with the Bun and the bun sure hurts the calorie count, but the main part of the burger is not the bun it is the burger.

Have you ever got full on the chips and dip and missed the main meal. That is what a testimony is like that misses magnifying Jesus.

Who is this Jesus we magnify?

Who is the meat to the burger?

Lamb of God 29

Preferred before me (30)

Because he came before me

Jesus Existed before God

John came to earth

He was to be revealed to Israel (31)

Let’s not forget John’s ministry was not only significant, it was big.

Jesus came to earth

Son of God (34)

John Reminds us to go after are ultimate need not our selfish need (29-40