Thank you for tuning in to the Covenant Podcast, a podcast dedicated to the teaching and preaching of God's Word. The Covenant Podcast is a ministry of Covenant Baptist Church located in Indianapolis, Indiana. And now, here is today's speaker. We've heard that before. And to believe Him, to believe John's claim that Jesus was the Son of God. First of all, it would be difficult to believe just because of the incredulity of it, the unlikeliness of it, because for 400 years no one had heard from God. And although John the Baptist was the voice of the one crying in the wilderness, he breaks that silence. But in the eyes or the ears and the minds of many, no doubt the idea was too incredible to be believed. And not only that, it was dangerous to believe it. It was dangerous to believe what John the Baptist was claiming. Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. It was dangerous to believe that. Let us never forget. Let us never forget it was dangerous for them to believe that. The track record of false messiahs was well known. Those who followed false claims of being the messiah, we know what the ends of those people were. Yet again, it is dangerous to believe John's claim here and trust in Jesus as well, even though it was true. Look, I think this is something that in our modern day Christianity, and I know it's very easy to build a straw man and for a preacher to attack that straw man that doesn't actually exist, but I believe this is true today. In our modern understanding of Christianity, we have lost something of the reality that to be a follower of Jesus Christ is dangerous. It's not easy or simple or without impact. Jesus said it Himself later in this book of John, in John 15, 19, if you were of the world." Listen to what He's saying to you and me who know Him. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore, the world hates you. Look, to walk in this life as a child of God is dangerous. in the sense that it's going to be costly. It's going to require you to place your life at odds with the world in which you find yourself living. And we've lost something of that. We want to come alongside and we want to make peace where there is no peace. We want to be living lives of ease and comfort. We want the Christianity that feels good. We want the Christianity that makes my relationships healthy, and my bank account in a good place, and my image before others to be something that they appreciate. But I'm telling you today for the people who are standing there when John the Baptist says, behold the Lamb of God, it was a dangerous thing. It was a dangerous thing for Andrew and this unnamed disciple to begin to walk after this one. We wondered, why would no one, why wouldn't anyone, why would anyone fail to follow Christ? Why would anyone not come to Him? He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He is the One who bled and died for their sin and gave Himself so that they might be saved. Why would anyone not come? One of the reasons is it's dangerous. There's great danger. It's going to divide. It's going to place a calling on your life that is going to bring you to places where you are going to have to sacrifice. But I'll tell you this as well. When you're where you ought to be and you remember who it is that you're following, when your eyes settle upon the Son of God who we just sang about a moment ago, who is the dearest friend, the closest friend that any of us will ever have, When you get to the place in your life where there is no one that can see to your need but Him, and He does, you will realize that whatever sacrifice you have to make is small and insignificant next to the gain of the fellowship of this dear friend, Jesus. But it's dangerous. And beyond danger, many unwilling probably to even let themselves believe it. The danger is one thing, but set that aside for a minute. You try to put yourself in the minds of those that would have heard John the Baptist, Behold the Lamb of God. I think maybe, perhaps there were some that day that just wouldn't let themselves believe. They wanted to. They wanted to believe that the Messiah had come. They just wouldn't let themselves because they just refused to believe. And I think today, like then, people become jaded. and skeptical, and they don't believe the preaching of the Word of God, they don't believe God Himself because of that skepticism that what we read about in this book could actually be true, that God can give you peace, that God can bring you to a place of fellowship with the Maker of heaven and earth, that you can live a life in communion and fellowship with God Himself. Sometimes we don't allow ourselves to believe it because it almost sounds like it's too good to be true. Many of you, perhaps, some of you, maybe you've written this off. Maybe you've said, this is simply not true. This can't be true. I'm not going to let myself believe it. I'm going to wallow in this misery. I'm going to remain in this doubt because I refuse to put myself in the vulnerable position of trusting in this Lamb of God. I'm not going to go there. I'm not going to allow myself. I'm not going to place my trust in Him. But may I say to you, there is a Savior. There is a Lamb who has bled and died, and He does want to give you peace. He does want to give you purpose and meaning in life that goes far beyond anything that we can set our eyes on here, any activity we can set our hands to here. He is the Lamb of God. He has taken away the sin of the world. And we said last week, or the week before, He's going to do it in one way or the other. Through the blood of Christ on the cross, He's going to cover your sin, and in His righteousness, your sin was imputed to Him, and He paid the penalty, and so He took the sin away, or He's going to take it away in your eternal punishment. One of the two. But Jesus is going to take away the sin of the world. So may I say to you again here, there is a Savior. You must come to Him. And it's as though, by the way, as we think of John the Baptist, he's standing here, he says it again, Behold the Lamb of God. Can you almost hear in his voice, looking around to those who are still standing near to him, what are you doing here? There is the Lamb of God. There He is. It's as though John the Baptist is saying, why are you standing with me? When you could be walking with the Lamb of God. And I think sometimes this is the rut that people get in in their religious life. They stand among the religious rather than walking with the Lamb. And there's an imagery here in this language. Did you see it? When he says, John was standing And Christ was walking. Christ was moving. John was stationary. It is again, though, here is John looking and saying, why are you standing here when you could be walking with the Lamb? There he goes. That's the One. He is Him. I know it. I believe it, as he said last time. Without any doubt, that is the Lamb of God. He is the One we've been waiting for. There comes a point. there comes a point after hearing the Gospel and hearing the witness and being pointed to Christ that a decision must be made. Do not be satisfied with simply being near the witness when the witness points to Christ and says, Behold the Lamb of God. It's not the same thing as you following and walking with Him. It's not the same. Before I was saved as an 11-year-old boy, I'd done a lot of sitting near witnesses. I'd been told and kind of convinced in my own mind and my own heart that I was one of those witnesses, but I had never been born again. I was standing near the witness. I was not walking with the Lamb. And sometimes I think people remain there. They believe the message in some respects. There is something about this message. There is something about the way this man, John the Baptist, is proclaiming it. I believe him. He is as sincere as he can possibly be. He believes what he is saying. But there comes a point when you have to walk away from the witness and walk toward the Lamb. There comes a point when you must choose to follow. The Christian life is a life that is moving. It's moving. Ever and always moving. It's not stationary. It's not to just remain. John's the one, as the witness, who has pointed out Christ, and he remains standing. Jesus is moving. In the beginning, it starts that way. When God convicted me and I turned to my friend on my right hand, as I've shared this many times, I remember this as though it were yesterday. I remember feeling the conviction of God in my heart and my soul, though I'd been told I was saved, I knew I was not. I turned to my friend and I said, I am not saved. And I then, by the help and the mercy and the grace of God, began to seek Him. I moved. I walked toward Him. And that did not save me. No deed that I ever done and no decision that you ever make could save you either. But a decision must be made. Begin to walk toward Him. It begins this way in Acts 17.27. We get a scriptural backing of this truth that they should seek God, Paul says, and perhaps feel their way toward Him and find Him. Yet, He is actually not far from each one of us. it is this moving toward God. And the Christian life continues as a moving forward, ever moving forward. Psalm 105 verse 4, Seek the Lord in His strength. Seek His presence continually. Have you ever found yourself in life, if you're a child of God and you feel, Lord, I don't feel Your presence like I maybe have in the past. Lord, I desire Your strength. I desire Your presence. and sometimes we just simply have to stop and ask ourselves, are we truly seeking it? Are we moving toward God? Or are we yet standing among the witnesses rather than walking with the Lamb? If you find that you are in much the same place spiritually today as you were a year ago, a month ago, perhaps even a day ago, if you find yourself spiritually in the same place No new discoveries about God. No new revelations. And I'm not talking about new revelation given to you outside of the Word of God or some silly thing like that. I'm talking about new awareness in your mind and in your heart of who God is. If you're in the same place spiritually today as you were yesterday, then it's time to consider what that means for your life and for your eternity. I add my voice today to John's, and we've got to move along quickly here, very quickly. Today, though, I add my voice to John's. Behold the Lamb of God who is Jesus Christ. Look to Him for salvation and begin following Him today. And like John's voice, mine can merely point you to Him. My voice can only point you to Him. You have to begin to follow. You have to begin walking. You have to get up and leave what's comfortable. You have to begin to walk after this One that in your heart you know there's danger to this life, but promise an eternity and joy in the next. Verse 38, the two disciples heard Him say this in verse 37, and they followed Jesus. the right decision. And Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, What are you seeking? And they said to him, Rabbi, which means teacher, where are you staying? As these disciples of John's began following Christ, the Lord hears their footsteps, turns around and confronts them. What are you seeking? What do you want? What are you here for? God the Son begins to inquire of their motives. If there is something that troubles me about Christianity today, it is that people believe they can have a relationship with ideas about Christ separate from a relationship with Christ. We hope you have enjoyed listening to today's program. Please visit us at www.covenantmbc.com to access our podcast archive and learn more about the ministry of Covenant Baptist Church. Visit us on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com slash Covenant in Indie.