My text this Lord's Day is taken from the Gospel of Mark. Mark 1. Verse 1. The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. This Lord's Day, dear ones, we will begin a new series, beginning to proceed through the gospel of Mark. Not sure how long it will take us to make our way through this gospel, but I believe that we will find great knowledge, help, love, mercy, communicated to us, whether we are new Christians or whether we are more mature Christians in the faith, through the things which we learn concerning the life and the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. Dear ones, our faith is built upon an infallible record of events revealed in Scripture concerning the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. All that is written in the Old Testament is in some way preparing the way for or pointing the way to the Lord Jesus Christ. All that is written in the New Testament is in some way explaining the person, work or cause of the Lord Jesus Christ who has now come. without the divinely inspired accounts of the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, we would have no firm foundation upon which to securely rest. This is why the enemy has always sought, by way of cunning skeptics, by way of false teachers, by way of cruel persecutors, to undermine, discredit, and destroy the inspiration, the infallibility, the sufficiency and the supreme authority of the Holy Scriptures. From the very beginning, you'll recall, the devil tempted Eve with these words, Yea, hath God said? And ever since, Satan has been misleading non-Christians and even tempting Christians with unbelief. and doubt concerning the faithfulness and the truthfulness of God's Word. Dear ones, the Lord in his loving kindness so wanted you to know the grace and righteousness of his Son, who came into the world to destroy the works of the devil and to redeem his people from all their sin, that he gave you not only one account of Christ's ministry, but rather four accounts. Four historical authentic accounts. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. These are not four contradictory accounts, but rather four complementary accounts of the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. And if you would grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ, dear ones, you must be familiar with the Gospels. The Gospels are indeed foundational to our faith. And for that reason, those who are young in the faith, I believe, will benefit greatly. They should be discipled continuously with the Gospels within the school of Christ. But even those who have more mature years in Christ will rejoice and, I believe, be much encouraged as their faith is renewed through a study of the gospels of Jesus Christ. Indeed, when the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ loses its affection, loses its appreciation, loses its power and wonder in our lives, when the gospel of Jesus Christ becomes dim in our lives, No matter how long we've been a Christian, it is an indication that we are drifting away from the Lord when it loses that glimmer. The spectacle of Christ's love and His mercy and His grace should always grasp us. We are controlled by the love of Christ. And we are compelled by that love to go forth and to tell others. Beloved, it ought not only to be the babes in Christ that have such an infectious faith in Jesus Christ, but rather those of us who have known the Lord Jesus Christ for many years. We ought to be setting the pace. We ought to be leading those who are young in the faith with our infectious faith. Our infectious and contagious love for Jesus Christ. We ought not to be looking for new blood to come into the church so we can get all excited. We ought to be setting the pace. That's what Christ has called us to. The longer that we know Christ, dear ones, the more we should love Him. The more we should enjoy His communion. The glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ, dear ones, must at all times ever humble us before Christ, ever send us to Christ to embrace him in faith and love, ever give us a thankful heart for the mercy and the grace which he has shown to us, and ever lead us to follow in his steps of holiness. This Lord's Day, we begin an exposition of the life of Christ as disclosed in the Gospel according to Mark. The main points of the sermon for this Lord's Day are as follows. First of all, I have some preliminary remarks to make. Second, moving beyond the preliminary remarks, we'll consider the prophecy concerning John. Thirdly, the preaching of John. Fourthly, the baptism of John. and then fifthly, the character of John. First of all, some preliminary remarks. And as is usually the case when making preliminary remarks about the introduction to a new study, we need to establish a few facts and background with regard to this particular gospel. The gospel of Mark was penned under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit by Mark, also called John or John Mark. He was not an apostle himself, but some have suggested that perhaps he was one of the 70 whom Jesus sent out to preach the gospel of salvation, as indicated in Luke 10. Mark was the nephew, however, we know of Barnabas, according to Colossians 4.10. And he was selected to accompany Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey. We find that in Acts 13, verse 5. However, for some unknown reason, he, that is John Mark, left Paul and Barnabas and returned to Jerusalem. without completing the missionary journey that he had set out upon with them. In Acts 13.13, he left them and returned to Jerusalem. Now, some have suggested that perhaps the fears of Mark, fearing persecution, fearing the rage of man, fearing the lack of necessities, had overcome Mark and that he returned to the safer confines of his own home in Jerusalem. Maybe the reality of what Paul and Barnabas were about to experience. Remember, Paul was stoned. Remember how many times they were driven from one city to the next. Perhaps these types of things overcame Mark, and he began to say, I was looking for the glory side of spreading the kingdom of Christ, but I wasn't altogether anticipating the suffering side. And perhaps he withdrew to some degree at that point. When Paul and Barnabas were ready for a second missionary journey, Barnabas, you'll recall, wanted John Mark to join them again. Paul did not think it was wise to take them along a second time inasmuch as he had left them the first time. A disagreement thereby ensued between Paul and Barnabas, and Barnabas ended up taking Mark with him and Paul. chose Silas to accompany him. You'll find that in Acts chapter 15, verses 36-41. Now, as you continue to look at the scriptures with regard to the life of Mark, over the years it would appear that Mark had obviously grown to become a very faithful minister of Jesus Christ, for in the very last words of the Apostle Paul, the very last words that he wrote in his last letter. He had obviously come to view Mark as a very faithful minister. He commends Mark with these words, that he is profitable to me for the ministry. Send Mark to me, for he is profitable to me for the ministry. 2 Timothy 4.11 Although Paul at one time did not consider Mark qualified to minister with him, God had so marvelously worked his life-changing grace in Mark's life that of all those Paul might have desired to come to him, he wanted Mark to join him. Oh, the hope, dear ones, that we have. in God's grace to subdue those stubborn, willful desires and fears of the flesh. Oh, the hope we have in God's grace to bring victory in our lives. If you are serious, dear ones, about overcoming some area of sin in your life, and you earnestly and regularly pray that the Lord might subdue it, And you take all precaution to flee that temptation. And you fill your mind with the truth of God's Word. Dear ones, you can rest upon God's promise that He will subdue the flesh. He will overcome those sins in your life. Not so that you become sinless, but so that you see amazing victory in those areas of your life. For the Scripture, God has certainly assured us in the Scripture, sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law as a covenant of works, but you are under the covenant of grace. There is all power in the covenant of grace to subdue the flesh, the desires of the flesh. There is no power in the law to do so. The law reveals sin. It does not give the power, though, to overcome sin. But because we're under God's covenant of grace, we are assured of victory. One other point that I'd make concerning Mark before we move on to the second main point is this, that Mark, it would seem, was very close to the Apostle Peter. For when the angel of the Lord miraculously released Peter from prison in Acts 12, it was to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, that Peter first went. Acts 12.12. Peter even refers to Mark as his son in 1 Peter 5.13. No doubt Mark had become like a son to the apostle Peter. In fact, certain strands of ancient church testimony in history view Peter as actually being Mark's human source for the eyewitness events recorded in his gospel. That Mark had Peter to relate the various instances, the various circumstances In various places in the gospel of Mark, there are things that Peter is thinking. Now, how would Mark know that? Well, of course, God, by way of revelation, could tell him so. But it makes a lot of sense, again, that we find certain indications that way, that perhaps Peter was the one whom God had called to give, through Mark, his gospel account. We have Matthew the Apostle. We have John the Apostle. And perhaps in the gospel of Mark, so it would seem, we have Peter giving his account of the gospel through Mark. Mark was inspired by the Holy Spirit as well to record exactly what God wanted to be recorded, even if that were the case. A second main point is this, the prophecy concerning John. That is John the Baptist. In verses 1 through 3, we read these words. The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord. Make his paths straight. Mark's introduction in chapter 1, verse 1, gives to us the main theme of this gospel. The gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. That's what this account is all about. The gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. This is not, dear ones, a collection of mere moral lessons or sayings of Jesus Christ, like Aesop's fables. Nor is this a mere biography with cute little stories about a great man who was cruelly mistreated and unjustly put to death. so as to encourage us to stand for what we believe to be right. That's not what this is about either. This is an infallible historical record of the good news, the gospel of Jesus Christ, the promised Savior, appointed and anointed by God, who being the eternal Son of God, became man. so as to redeem fallen man from Satan, sin, death and hell. Here before our very eyes, dear ones, is the unfolding of God's plan of redemption. The central event of all history is laid out before us here in the Gospel of Mark. that from which all eternity God had determined to occur, that event that would bring about the salvation of His people, is now about to come to pass in history. You see the importance, the gravity, the seriousness of this gospel. The word gospel itself is used at times in a narrow sense to refer to the doctrine of salvation. When we talk about do you believe the gospel, we may be referring at that point to the doctrine of salvation. For example, in Romans 1, verses 16 and 17, it says, for I'm not ashamed of the gospel. That is, I'm not ashamed of the doctrine of salvation, for it is the power of God unto all who believe. But at other times, the word gospel is used in a more broad, in a more general sense, to refer to the spirit-inspired account or narrative of Christ's sinless life, His mighty work, His authoritative teaching, His substitutionary death, His victorious resurrection, and His exalted ascension to His Father's right hand. And it is in that more broad sense, that more general sense, that Mark uses the term here in verse 1, the beginning of the gospel. The beginning of the narrative of good news of Jesus Christ. That's what we're going to be studying in weeks and months to come, God willing. Mark begins his gospel account, dear ones, not with the birth of Christ, like Matthew in his gospel does, but rather Mark begins with the ministry of the royal herald, John the Baptist. who went before Jesus announcing Christ's coming. You see, whereas Matthew in his gospel would demonstrate that Christ was born King of the Jews, so that Israel would acknowledge and embrace the One who was the Son of David, Mark in his gospel is more interested and getting immediately, as soon as possible, to the ministry of Christ. He just wants to jump in to talking about Christ once He began His ministry. And so, you'll find throughout the Gospel of Mark, many, many times, the word straightway, and we'll note those times, immediately, that word immediately, continuously occurs. That's because, again, The Lord, through Mark, is communicating to us the purpose of his writing. He wants to talk about the ministry of Christ. He can hardly wait to get to the next event in Christ's life. Straight away. Immediately. And whereas Matthew directs his gospel to the Jews, primarily, Mark has in view the Gentiles, who might read of the life of the Lord Jesus Christ and might embrace him as their only hope of eternal salvation. Thus, when Mark begins his gospel by describing briefly the ministry of John the Baptist, it is only with a view of putting the spotlight on him, that is, upon John, who was called to prepare the way for Christ. It's not in order to put the spotlight on John and to leave the spotlight on John, but it's for the purpose of putting it on John because of what John was saying. Christ is coming. He was like a messenger, a herald that goes before the king and prepares the way of the king who is to come. Thus, in order for Mark to get to the ministry of Christ, he must first begin with how Christ was announced by John the Baptist, and so that is why in this first section of Mark, we find so much mention concerning John the Baptist. Now, John was a prophet of the Lord, and in one sense held the highest honor of all God's prophets. For not only was he a cousin to Christ, according to Luke 1.36, not only did he behold with his eyes the Son of God, and speak with him, but he, out of all prophets, he was divinely appointed to announce publicly the immediate coming of Christ into his ministry, and to authorize and to baptize the Son of the living God. Quite an honor. Jesus said there's none been born greater, there's none been born who is greater than John the Baptist. Quite an honor. Mark cites two prophecies pointing to the ministry of John the Baptist from the Old Testament. The first prophecy is taken from Malachi 3.1, and it's quoted here for us in Mark 1.2. And one is taken from Isaiah 40.3, and it's quoted for us in Mark 1.3. In various ways, dear ones, the ministry of John the Baptist portrays for us many similarities to the ministry of any faithful preacher. Just as John was sent to prepare the hearts of people to receive the Lord Jesus at his first coming, so this is the calling of all who would be faithful shepherds and ministers. to prepare the hearts of people to receive the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ who is not a figment of the minister's imagination, but the Lord Jesus Christ who is detailed and recorded for us in the Scripture. Justice John here, in the prophecy, from Isaiah chapter 40, verse 3, is described as a voice of one calling in the wilderness. Prepare ye the way of the Lord. The voice of one calling. So every faithful minister must see his primary duty to be that of declaring with his voice the person and the work of Jesus Christ to all who will hear. Note, dear ones, with me, That attention here in Mark's gospel is not focused upon the personality of the preacher. It's not focused upon the gifts of the preacher. It's not focused upon the degrees that are behind the preacher's name. But it is simply focused upon the voice of the preacher. The faithfulness of that voice in pointing people to Jesus Christ and in declaring the gospel of Christ, whereby they might be delivered from their sin and enjoy communion with the Lord. That's what's emphasized. How faithful is that voice to the word of God? That's a faithful minister. And you know, this was Paul's emphasis as well. If you consider what Paul had to say, Listen to what he says concerning what is important in a faithful minister. 1 Corinthians 2, verse 1 and following. He says, And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." It's not a faithful minister who can sow preach a sermon so eloquently that people remember more the clichés, the flashy way in which it was communicated, but forget the truth that was communicated from God's Word. That's not evidence of a faithful minister. A faithful minister is one who, in all simplicity, seeks simply to point people to Jesus Christ as John the Baptist did. The third main point, dear ones, has to do with the preaching of John. The preaching of John we find, for example, in Mark chapter 1, verse 4. Here we find the substance of his preaching. John did baptize in the wilderness and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. The preaching of John was, dear ones, very confrontational, to say the least. He boldly exposed the sin and errors of those who came to hear him. If you care to, later on today, see how John the Baptist confronted the Pharisees and the Sadducees who came to hear him in Matthew chapter 3 verses 7 through 9. He's not swelling their head with flattery. He's bringing them down and humbling them and showing them how wicked they really were in their hearts and before God. John's message, dear ones, to Israel was one of repentance for the remission of sin, according to verse 4, Mark chapter 1. Now, to understand what John's message was, we need to understand a little bit as to what repentance is. Repentance, dear ones, is the gift of God granted to those who are effectually called by God. wherein he grieves and sorrows over his sin committed against the Lord and against his neighbor. And in view of the mercy that is offered to him in Jesus Christ, he purposes and strives to walk in new obedience to the Lord. Let me point out a couple of things with regard to repentance before we move on. Repentance, dear ones, is not rested in as if it is the ground or cause of our forgiveness. We ought not to rest in our repentance as if it is the ground, that is the basis for our forgiveness, or as if it is the cause for which God forgives us our sin. For the ground of our forgiveness, dear ones, is Christ and His righteousness. Alone. The ground, the basis for our forgiveness is the obedience of Christ and not the obedience of any man. For our obedience is never perfect. Absolutely without sin. We can never offer to God a perfectly sinless act on our parts. And the cause of our forgiveness is not our repentance, but rather, the cause of our forgiveness is the free grace of Jesus Christ. Why does God forgive us? Because He has chosen to show us His mercy and His grace, not because we have repented. But from all eternity, that grace and mercy was set upon us in Christ. Christ went to the cross to die for us as people and the Spirit was given to us and God effectually called us to Himself and granted us the grace of repentance. The second thing to note with regard to repentance is this. We ought not to be content with a general repentance for sin. But we ought to strive to repent for our individual sins in particular. When we go to the Lord in prayer, how do you seek God's forgiveness for your sin? Is it kind of an all-encompassing type of request? Lord, forgive me for all of my sins. I'm truly sorry for all of my sins. Amen. See, God doesn't want us to call out to Him with a mere, all-encompassing and general repentance. He wants us to come unto Him with a particular repentance for a particular sin that we have committed against Him, while our mind and our heart are still focused upon the sin, after the Spirit has convicted us of our sin, to grieve and to pray that God gives us a godly sorrow for our sin. and that we then strive by His grace to live in new obedience unto Him. Now, when John preached repentance, as we find here in Mark 1.4, we are not to understand that he preached repentance from sin instead of faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. We're not to understand that he was preaching a different message of salvation than was preached after the coming of Christ, after the death of Christ, after the resurrection of Christ. He's preaching the same message of salvation as was preached subsequent to the the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, John the Baptist in John's Gospel, chapter 1, verse 29, sees Christ coming and points to Christ and says, Behold, the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. This is the one who has come to die for the sins of all of those throughout the whole world who embrace him by faith. Although the grace of faith and the grace of repentance are given by the Spirit to God's people at once in respective time, this is a concept I think that is essential, that is so important. The grace, the gift which God grants of faith to believe in Christ and repentance are granted to God's people in respect of time at once. However, in respect to the order of nature, that is, as we consider the nature of faith, and as we consider the nature of repentance, faith must precede repentance. Why? First of all, for faith is the first Act on our part once we have come to Christ. It is the first response of the regenerate soul. Hebrews 11, verse 6 says, Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Faith is the first response to the Lord. Until we are in union with Jesus Christ by faith, we cannot do anything, including repent. You see, Jesus said in John 15, 2, without me, without being in union with me, and how is that union brought about? By faith. Without me, you can do not some things, you can do nothing. Absolutely nothing. And so we must realize that faith is the first response of the regenerate soul. And second, Faith in Christ leads to repentance. In Acts 11, verse 21, we find these words. Part of the sermon that was preached, it says, Well, actually, the conclusion of that, it says, "...and the hand of the Lord was with them..." It's with the apostles. "...and a great number believed and turned unto the Lord." The turning unto the Lord is the idea of repentance. Being turned from their sin unto the Lord. But they believed and were turned unto the Lord. If repentance, dear ones, is the godly sorrow one has concerning his sin, then it is faith in Christ that melts the hard heart that is within the sinner. And I would simply propose to you that the danger of reversing the order, of putting, by way of the order of nature, putting repentance prior to faith, is that it leads one to look to their repentance before looking to Christ, their only hope of eternal salvation. This leads us back to Rome, where the quality of one's repentance, or the amount of tears, or the amount of anguish over one's sins is that which qualifies the sinner to be forgiven. It is indeed true that no one will be pardoned of sin without a godly sorrow for sin. That is certainly true. But it is not repentance that unites us to Christ who pardons all our sins, but faith alone. That is the divine means. That is the divine means to bring us to Jesus Christ. This emphasis on repentance is also one of the evidences of faithful preaching as well. As it was a mark of faithful preaching in the ministry of John the Baptist, so it will be a mark of faithful preaching in any period in time of history. Faithful preaching, dear ones, should in fact shake you up. It should expose your unbelief, your pride, your hypocrisy, your lusts, your fears, your lukewarmness, your conspicuous sins, your inconspicuous and secret sins, and the errors which you have embraced. See, faithful preaching should Do exactly that. The faithful preacher is, dear ones, a spiritual physician who x-rays the soul by the word and the spirit, and exposes the cancer of sin that corrupts, misleads, and destroys the lives of people. Yes, faithful preaching is painful at times, as our sin is unmasked in all of its ugliness. as we bow and humble ourselves before God in brokenness and contriteness. Have mercy upon me, sinner, O Lord. However, dear ones, faithful preaching does not leave a person to anguish in his sin, but also directs him to his only hope of justification, his only hope of sanctification, and his only hope of glorification, namely the Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful preaching should stretch us and shake us from our comfort zones, but it should always comfort us, encourage us, and answer our doubts and send us to Christ to be healed. The fourth point is this, the baptism of John. Mark 1.5 And there went out unto him all the land of Judea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins. I cannot spend much time on this point today except to indicate that the sacrament of baptism began with John. This apparently is why he is called John the Baptist, or John the Baptizer, because he was divinely appointed by the Lord to initiate the sign and seal of their faith and repentance in baptism. Although the Lord gives to his ministers in Matthew 28, verse 19, the formula that is to be used in baptism, Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." The baptism of John, however, marks the point when baptism as a sacrament was inaugurated. You also see that the baptism of John, John though being beheaded, as we will see as we work our way through the gospel of Mark being beheaded by Herod. Nevertheless, baptism continues long before Jesus gives the formula that we find in Matthew chapter 28. In John chapter 4 we find these words in verses 1 and 2. John 4 verses 1 and 2. When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, though Jesus himself baptized not but his disciples. Here we find that Jesus, through his disciples, was baptizing those who turned to the Lord as well. But Jesus is following upon the tale of John the Baptist. In fact, Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist and continues that baptism in his ministry as well. What baptism outwardly signified and sealed subsequent to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, it also signified and sealed prior to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in the ministry of John the Baptist and in the ministry of Christ. This was also a great honor bestowed upon John by the Lord as he moved God's people from the covenant sign of circumcision to the covenant sign of baptism under the new covenant. I will briefly consider next Lord's Day the question that arises with regard to the mode of baptism used by John in baptizing Christ and all those who came to him at the Jordan River, whether by immersion pouring or sprinkling. We'll not look at that particular issue today, but next Lord's Day we will consider that. So I pass on from that to the last main point, and that is the character of John, in chapter 1 of Mark, verses 6 through 8. I first note for you that John had a prophetic character. which we have already noted in the prophecies that were made concerning him from Malachi 3.1 and Isaiah 40.3. It was predicted of John that he would come and prepare the way of the Lord. He had a prophetic ministry. But now we see something very notable concerning the clothing of John in Mark 1.6. And John, it says, was clothed with camel's hair and with a girdle of sheep's loins, and he did eat locusts and wild honey. This was similar to what is said concerning Elijah in 2 Kings 1, verse 8, as far as the clothing. In fact, John came, according to the Lord Jesus, he came in the spirit and in the power of Elijah. Luke 1.17. And Jesus says that John was the fulfillment of the prophecy that was made in Malachi chapter 4, verses 5 and 6, where Malachi predicts that Elijah would come before that great and notable day of the Lord. And Jesus says in Matthew chapter 11 concerning John the Baptist and his association with Elijah, the prophet, Matthew 11 verses 13 and 14, for all the prophets and the law prophesied until John, and if ye will receive it, this is Elijah, which was for to come. John came in the spirit and the power of Elijah. He came with a prophetic spirit, preparing the way of the Lord. Ministers are not called, dear ones, to be a clone of other ministers, whether in their appearance, their clothing, their personalities, their gifts, or their style of preaching. Diversity in these matters is indeed good and healthy, whereas diversity in doctrine, worship, and church government is not healthy to the life of the church. You have such differences as you look throughout history in the personalities and the gifts which God has given to various ministers. Some are so confrontational and have such a power, it seems, not afraid in any wise to stand before the monarchs, the kings, the queens of the world, and declare, thus saith the Lord, whereas others are given a ministry which has more of a gracious type of spirit to it. When you compare Cameron the warrior and Rennick the peacemaker, as it were, as you see the different personalities that God uses in ministers, You find even here in John, very confrontational, one who had, in essence, pulled himself out of society, out of the city. He wasn't going into the city. The city was coming out to him. Whereas Jesus, on the other hand, was going into the city. Some said about Jesus that he was He was a drunkard and a glutton because he ate and drank with sinners. And others said about John, we don't like Christ because he eats and drinks with sinners. Well, we don't like John because he won't do those things. And so, whichever way the minister portrays himself, people are going to find fault. He's not exactly the way, the personality and gifts, the way he comes across, that everyone will like. But dear ones, we need to get used to the fact that God uses men who are different, but they all proclaim the same message. The second thing we note concerning the character of John, is that he was a humble character. In Mark 1, verse 7, And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the lachet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. You see, his boldness in confronting the Pharisees and the Sadducees, or his boldness in confronting even King Herod, in Luke chapter 3 verse 19 with marrying the wife of his brother did not evidence in John's life a lack of humility. Sometimes indeed it would appear to many people as they evaluate, sometimes it would appear boldness and certainty of the truth are identified and mistakenly identified with pride. Because someone is bold or because one is convinced of the truth Someone will interpret that and say, what a proud person, what an arrogant person. In fact, it may actually be to the contrary that the quiet and subdued person might be the one who is indeed filled with pride and vainglory. John was both bold. and certain and confident of the truth, but he was a humble man. He recognized his place before God. That's the first step with regard to humility. Lowering ourselves in the eyes of God. Recognizing our desperate need of the Lord Jesus Christ. Seeing ourselves as desperate sinners who deserve not the slightest mercy from the Lord. It is a sign of true faithfulness and humility when the spotlight of glory is turned from self to Christ. When in our lives we turn the spotlight when it's shined upon us, but turn it to Christ, to give Christ the glory, there is a sign of humility, an indication of humility. When we see ourselves to the contrary, dear ones, in competition with one another for men's applause. When we are continuously comparing our family to someone else's family, we do this, but they don't do that. When we are minimizing our sin, because it's not as bad, but that person's sin is very, very bad. When we're comparing our looks where we're comparing our knowledge, where we're comparing ourselves in all these various ways with others. That is a sign, not of humility, but a sign of pride. It's a sign of self-righteousness. Let us learn that true humility begins with recognizing our place before the living God and seeing every morsel of grace bestowed upon us, as if the Lord had given us a thousand worlds. Every day that we receive the grace of God, let us rejoice and be thankful, for we know we don't deserve the least blessing, we deserve death and hell. John had a Christ-centered character. Chapter 1, verse 8. He says, I indeed have baptized you with water, but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost. He was not only taking the spotlight off of himself, but he was putting the spotlight on Jesus Christ. You see, it's one thing to be demurring and to say, oh, no, no, no, but not point to Jesus Christ when somebody would put the spotlight on us, just simply to say something, to try to turn it some other direction or whatever. But it's very important we realize a humble character is one who is Christ-centered. He places credit and glory upon the Lord. A minister not filled with the Christ of the Bible, that is, the Christ who is explained and taught to us in the Bible, and is not filled with the teachings of the Christ of the Bible, may have a large following, but he will not be a faithful minister of Christ if he is not pointing people to Christ. A faithful minister is filled, dear ones, with the truth of Christ. He's filled with the love of Christ. He's filled with the power of Christ. He's filled with the peace of Christ and with the holiness of Christ. It doesn't mean he's sinless. He's striving, he's endeavoring like everyone else. But you see in his words, his actions, his heart, his attitude, that Jesus Christ is the center and the focus of his life. That Jesus Christ is the reason for his living. Jesus Christ is his life. And that he considers that to lose his life here upon the earth is simply to gain Christ in heaven. John's baptism, dear ones, was merely with water, John says, but Christ would baptize with the Holy Spirit That's what the water represents. The outward baptism represents the inward baptism of the Holy Spirit. So that people would not merely be brought through an outward ritual of baptism by water, but that their stony hearts would be broken by the Spirit of God and made tender and sensitive as flesh. That's the baptism of the Holy Spirit. That's what the baptism of the Holy Spirit accomplishes. in the life of his people. It breaks their hearts. It's not a mere outward ritual, going through the motions. The baptism of the Holy Spirit, dear ones, brings about sincerity of the heart. It deals with hypocrisy in our hearts so that we don't merely go through mere outward motions, but that our heart is brought nigh unto God. It purges away all outward formalism and gives us holy desires to seek his face. And I close by simply noting that there is certainly a sense in which the desire and purpose of every Christian, not simply ministers, but every Christian ought to be to glorify God by pointing our children, our husband or wife, our parents, our neighbors, our co-workers, our extended family, pointing all that we know to Jesus Christ as did John the Baptist. Not only does our obedience, dear ones, to Christ prepare the hearts of others to receive Christ, but even our sin, and I would have you listen closely, even our sin and our weaknesses, may be used by the Holy Spirit to prepare others to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as they witness the sure refuge that we have in Christ, that when we have failed, when we have sinned, when we have totally blown it and fallen flat on our face, that we have a refuge to which we can flee, one to whom we can come to confess our sin, to renew our faith, to turn from our sin with godly sorrow. They see that, and they know that God is one who pardons all our iniquities. Our children see it. And even in those circumstances, we can point people to Jesus Christ, if we have a heart to do so, by letting our lives shine in this way. Dear ones, if you do not see your goal throughout the day, and every day. If you do not see it as your goal when you get up in the morning and when you close your eyes at night to point others to Jesus Christ and to prepare others to receive Jesus Christ, you have become sinfully preoccupied with your own kingdom to the exclusion of Christ's kingdom. May God help us. Like John, to be those who point people to Jesus Christ. Please stand with me in prayer. Our gracious Father, we do thank Thee that again this day we have had an opportunity by thy blessing, by thy mercy and grace, to hear the Word of God proclaimed. And, O Father, we would be those in whom the Spirit of God is alive and working, not simply those who outwardly have received the water of baptism, but, O Lord, those who have by the Spirit of God been baptized, whose hearts have been changed, whose lives have been devoted in all of our thoughts and words and deeds to Christ. O Lord, we pray that Thou would help us in the midst of all of our afflictions, in the midst of all of our tribulation, In the midst of all the trials that come our way, even those in which, Lord, we are receiving the just chastening of the Lord for our sin, help us to see that in all things we can yet point people to Jesus Christ. We pray, our Father, that like John, we would declare to all around us, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Give to us, O Father, a burden for those who do not know Thee. Those family members, O Lord, who are without Christ. Cause us, O Lord, to come before Thee and to incessantly plead with Thee to rescue them from sin, death, and hell. Give to us, O Father, a desire to speak the truth to all around us. and the love of Christ. We pray, Father, that Thou would use the principles, the truths that have been proclaimed today to drive us, O Lord, to our Savior, to find all that we need. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. 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And remember that John Kelvin in defending the Reformation's regulative principle of worship, or what is sometimes called the scriptural law of worship, commenting on the words of God, which I commanded them not, neither came into my heart. From his commentary on Jeremiah 731, writes, God here cuts off from men every occasion for making evasions, since he condemns by this one phrase, I have not commanded them, whatever the Jews devise. There is then no other argument needed to condemn superstitions than that they are not commanded by God. For when men allow themselves to worship God according to their own fancies, and attend not to His commands, they pervert true religion. And if this principle was adopted by the Papists, all those fictitious modes of worship in which they absurdly exercise themselves would fall to the ground. It is indeed a horrible thing for the Papists to seek to discharge their duties towards God, by performing their own superstitions. There is an immense number of them, as it is well known, and as it manifestly appears. Were they to admit this principle, that we cannot rightly worship God except by obeying His word, they would be delivered from their deep abyss of error. The Prophet's words, then, are very important, when he says that God had commanded no such thing, and that it never came to his mind. As though he had said, that men assume too much wisdom when they devise what he never required, nay, what he never knew.