Last week, we looked at a picture of the early years of Jesus. As He asked Mary and Joseph, "Didn't you know that I had to be in my Father's house?" we saw a key to His growth and eventual world changing ministry. At the same time, in the wilderness of Judea, Jesus' cousin, John the Baptist, was developing the same type of relationship with God the Father, which had very specific results. Today as we look at the beginning of John's service to the Lord, we will discover what a holy fire looks like in our lives and the practical means for keeping it burning hotter, brighter, stronger and longer.
Starting a Holy Fire
God wants to start a fire of salvation that will burn through you to the city in which you live.
Luke 3:1-6 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all people will see God’s salvation.’”
Governments, cultures and rulers change, but the Word of the Lord to people will always remain the same.
God wants to bring His salvation to all people. The Word of the Lord for family members, co-workers, neighbors and friends will come to you as you continue to walk with and honor Jesus.
You may think to yourself, "How can this be?"
In the wilderness, John was able to spend time seeking God just as you and I are.
Even in obscurity, you can walk with God, find His pleasure, and learn His ways. You can increase rather than decrease in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and men. John and Jesus learned to lead this way pleasing their Heavenly Father 30 years in obscurity prior to their public ministries.
“The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.”
― John Wooden
This is important because who you are in the private place will eventually make its way public.
Jeremiah 30:18-22 “This is what the Lord says: “‘I will restore the fortunes of Jacob’s tent and have compassion on his dwellings; the city will be rebuilt on her ruins, and the palace will stand in its proper place. From them will come songs of thanksgiving and the sound of rejoicing. I will add to their numbers, and they will not be decreased; I will bring them honor, and they will not be disdained. Their children will be as in days of old, and their community will be established before me; I will punish all who oppress them. Their leader will be one of their own; their ruler will arise from among them. I will bring him near and he will come close to me—for who is he who will devote himself to be close to me? ’declares the Lord. “‘So you will be my people, and I will be your God.’”
The key to true biblical leadership is devoting yourself to being close to the Lord.
The environment may be different, but God and His ability to meet with you is still the same.
In God's presence, you develop:
1) Heat for God's honor and mission
It is a clear sign that God wants to bring you out of the mundanity with which you live when you light up more about news regarding celebrities that you don't know or the events of your favorite sitcom series rather than your real life.
When you seek God, you will find Him. You will then see that His honor and purposes are worth far more in regard to your time, efforts and resources than anything else that you can give yourself to.
2) The ability to hear God's message.
As it was with John the Baptist, God will give you a message to deliver to the people.
"A baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins."
This word is summarized in the gospel that there is a Creator God who is perfectly good, loving, pure, eternal, omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent who made humanity by His power and for His pleasure. We have all as humanity been estranged from God by going our own way in our actions, thoughts and pursuits. This is what the Bible calls sin and is the destructive consequence that the world is now enduring in all types of hatred, greed, fear, oppression, addictions and the like as a result of separation from God. The gospel is the good news that in the historic period of Tiberias Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was ruler of Judea in Israel, God became flesh and would rescue humanity through Jesus' sinless life, miracles, death on the cross and resurrection from the dead. As we turn away from our sins choosing to trust and follow Jesus, we receive forgiveness of sins.
3) The heart of God for people and ministry.
God is so loving that He will raise up every person who trusts in Him out of the valleys in which they find themselves - both here and in eternity.
God is so holy that He will level every person full of themselves living in prideful rebellion. It is because these people are destroying their lives and others.
The goal of your meeting with God is not to merely cultivate a private spiritual life, but to go out into the world and make disciples of Jesus.
"Where passion for God is weak, zeal for missions will be weak."
-John Piper
Thus, we must find God's wisdom to keep the fire burning.
Burning Hotter, Brighter, Stronger and Longer
Once you start a fire, you've got to continually feed it for it to burn.
Mark 12:28-31 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
Once you find Jesus, you must keep your eyes on Him.
Walking with Jesus means that you are learning to love Him with all of your:
1) Heart You nurture this through worship and prayer, both private and corporate. This is how you burn hotter for Jesus. It is where the flames of passion are stoked. Guarding your heart with the words that come off of your mouth is a key to maintaining that heart of worship.
Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. A dream comes when there are many cares, and many words mark the speech of a fool. When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it. Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, “My vow was a mistake.” Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands? Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore fear God.
Practical Each day, set aside time to speak with and listen to God. Download songs that we worship with at church and sing them to God in your own private moments with Him. Write down what you feel like is impressed upon your heart during that time as a point of instruction and action. If you want to learn to pray for others, follow a daily guide like Stormie Omartian's, "The Power of a Praying..." book series.
2) Soul - Meditate on God's Word and practice obedience.
This is where you burn brighter for Jesus as a star while you hold out the word of life.
Jesus was a man of the word.
He studied it in community through the synagogues of the day (community groups), in the temple (church) and privately. All three are important and have different functions.
What you meditate on comes out of you.
Practical Begin a Bible reading plan from You Version. Read a passage from the Bible and write down what speaks to you. What is the Holy Spirit saying to you and how will you apply it?
3) Strength - You grow in this through service.
Service around kingdom purposes helps facilitate true biblical fellowship and is the essence of a shared life. A shared life is not just having a cup of coffee together, but building something tangible and of eternal significance together with your lives.
This is where you burn stronger for Jesus and that strength is felt by others.
Practical Where is your place of service within and through the church in this new year?
4) Mind - Read things inspired by Scripture.
“Tell me how you read and I'll tell you who you are.”
― Martin Heidegger
This is when you burn longer in God because you develop a depth in your faith established in your intellect and reasoning capacity rather than in mere emotion or momentary zeal.
Practical God's Not Dead: Evidence for God in an Age of Uncertainty by Rice Brooks: Read this book. This book will help provide real world answers as to why everyone should trust in, love and follow Jesus.
As the greatness of God is conceptualized you are able to understand why David Wilkerson would have this sentiment in reaching out to those who are not walking with Jesus:
“You win over people just like you win over a dog. You see a dog passing down the street with an old bone in his mouth. You don't grab the bone from him and tell him it's not good for him. He'll growl at you. It's the only thing he has. But you throw a big fat lamb chop in front of him, and he's going to drop that bone and pick up the lamb chop, his tail wagging to beat the band. And you've got a friend. Instead of going around grabbing bones from people... I'm going to throw them some lamb chops. Something with real meat and life in it. I'm going to tell them about New Beginnings.”
― David Wilkerson, The Cross and the Switchblade
"Each one reach one" has been a theme for us here. It essentially means, in every season of your life, to "be a disciple and help make disciples." Despite your trials, who are you praying for and making efforts to see come to Jesus this new year? As a professional who lives in the city? As a man or woman fighting to raise a godly family? As a student returning to school?
If you'd like to lead a community group around this material as an outreach to friends during or after the series, we have material for you. Talk to John. If you need to repent of sin and be baptized, we have our next baptism scheduled Jan. 31. Let's all commit to allowing God to light a fire that will burn within us in ever-increasing measure this new year!
New series: Everyone get their New Year's gift today!
Second City Church- An Unexpected Journey Sermon Series 2015