John Baptist - Purpose of sonship

Luke chapter 1 and read at verse number 13. The angel said unto him, fear not Zacharias, thy prayer is heard and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son. Thou shalt call his name John.

Thou shalt have joy and gladness and many shall rejoice at his birth. Look down the chapter, verse 41. And it came to pass that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost and she spake out with a loud voice saying, blessed art thou among women, blessed is the fruit of thy womb and whence is this to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me.

For as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. Verse 57, and Elizabeth's full time came that she should be delivered and she brought forth a son. And her neighbors and her cousins heard how the Lord had showed great mercy upon her and they rejoiced with her.

That's a privilege even the Lord Jesus didn't have. John the Baptist was born and there were many loved ones around rejoicing. The Lord Jesus was born.

God had to commandeer shepherds to come for they were alone. Now look down the chapter, verse number 80. And the child grew and waxed strong in spirit and was in the deserts for the days of his showing unto Israel.

Chapter number 3 and verse number 15. And as the people were in expectation and all men mused in their hearts of John whether he were the Christ or not, John answered saying unto them, I indeed baptize you with water but one mightier than I cometh and so on. Now for the sake of time, John chapter 1, the gospel of John in chapter number 1, verse 19.

And this is the record or the testimony of John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, who art thou? And he confessed and denied not but confessed, I am not the Christ. They asked him, what then? Art thou Elias? And he said, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, no.

They said unto him, who art thou that we may give an answer to them that sent us? What art thou thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness and so on. And then they asked him why he's baptizing. Verse 26, I baptize with water, there standeth one among you whom you know not.

He it is who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoes latchet I am not worthy to unloose. Verse 29, the next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him and saith, behold, the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said after me cometh the man who is preferred before me, for he was before me.

And I knew him not, but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water, and so on. Verse 36, and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he said, behold, the Lamb of God. Chapter 3, just the end of verse number 29 of chapter 3, this my joy therefore is fulfilled.

He must increase, I must decrease. Chapter number 5, just for one verse, verse number 35, the Lord Jesus testifying here to John, he was a burning and a shining light. He were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.

Chapter 10, and we'll have to end our readings there. Verse 39, therefore they sought again to take him, that is the Lord Jesus here. John has been put to death long before this.

Therefore they sought again to take him, but he escaped out of their hand, and went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized, and there he abode. And many resorted unto him and said, John did no miracle. But all things that John speak of this man were true, and many believed on him there.

Now we know that God will add his blessing to the reading of his word. Among them that were born of women, not a greater has arisen than John the Baptist. So we are looking now at one of the greatest life.

Let me just say this ahead of time. I am happy if my brethren can help me with this. I'm not 100% sure of my accuracy on my time, but I do know this.

John spent 30 years in the desert for anywhere from three to six months of public service. Now if I'm wrong, at the most it was a year. 30 years of preparation for at the most a year of public service.

And yet the Lord Jesus said of him, not a greater has arisen, not a greater born of women has arisen than this man. So we want to look at his life, and in it is we will see the purpose of sonship. What is the purpose of being a son? It's got all to do with Christ, and we'll see that as we consider his life.

I want you to think of his progress and development first of all. Here was a life, here's a life that recognized the claims that were upon him. I think of the progress of his development.

He was in the desert. We read of that. He was in the desert until the time of his showing unto Israel.

Here was growth that was absolutely independent of the world. He was in a desert. There was nothing there to sustain.

In fact, if you think of it, he ate locusts and wild honey. Those are things that men cannot produce. Farmers don't produce locusts or wild honey.

It's something that is not made by men. His entire life was lived on a wholly different plane than drawing from earth and what it had to offer. It was growth that was seen as being independent from the world.

It's amazing the places from which God brings his servants. It's amazing the people he raises up. And they come from the least expected.

Imagine a man coming from the desert, not from the places of learning, not from the scribes, not from the Pharisees, not from the rabbinical schools, but suddenly God raises up a prophetic voice out of the wilderness to speak to his people. You could think, couldn't you, of Elijah suddenly bursting on the scene. If you know anything about Elijah before 1 Kings 17, please tell me.

But suddenly, he bursts upon the scene to confront Ahab, and God brings his messenger out of nowhere, seemingly, and presents him on the world stage to deal with issues. God's ability to bring men from what seems like the most obscure places. So, think something then of the progress in his development.

He was in the desert until God had a season for this man to move upon the stage and serve him. Growth which was in season, awaiting God's time, awaiting God's plan, awaiting God's purposes. You think of a Joseph being prepared in Potiphar's house and administration, in the dungeon administration.

And when God's time came, he brought him to the throne. Someone has said that even when God is late, he's on time. God has everything down exactly where he wants it to be.

And he was in the desert until the time of his showing. And we read that he grew and was strong in spirit. God works from the inside out.

We work from the outside and hope to make it in, but God works from the inside out, develops a man's character, and then displays it to others. There's a large section of psychology, for want of a better term, behavior modification, the idea that you just change behavior. Now, many times, that can be valuable if you can't do anything else.

But God is not in the business of behavior modification. He's in the business of character modification. And when he changes character, he changes behavior.

And here was a man, and his growth was internal, and then it was seen externally. He was strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the days of his showing unto Israel, his progress. But notice something of the priority of his life.

We get it in his expression, he must increase, I must decrease, the great priority of his life. You will be tested in the priorities of life, in the very commonplace things of life, the day-to-day, not the big crises, not the major, major catastrophes of life, but in the day-to-day, everyday round of life, in the home, in the assembly, in the workplace, priorities. What is the priority? And here was a man for whom Christ was the priority of his life.

Now, you may say, well, yeah, he was in the desert, he didn't have a wife, didn't have children, didn't have bills to pay, didn't have to go to work on Monday morning, and didn't have to worry about a career, you know. So, yeah. But no matter what your life is, as far as occupation, as far as circumstances, God will test every believer.

There is no believer who gets by with an untested life. God will test every believer somewhere along the way in the everyday events of life as to your priorities, Christ or self. The assembly, they'll test you there.

Why am I here? Sometimes it takes upheavals, it takes some deserting, and you begin to wonder, and you come to the conclusion, I'm here because of him, not because of others. And God will test. It is amazing the people who found God's ultimate purpose for their life in the everyday of life, just the everyday of life.

Think of a Rebecca going out to take care of a few sheep to get water. I mean, she was just doing the routines of life, just doing that. And that's where the servant found her and brings her into the line of Christ.

You get a similar idea, don't you, with Ruth the Moabitess. She didn't go out looking for a husband and thinking, now, who is the most eligible bachelor in Bethlehem? Who's got the dough? Who's got the money? And, you know, where can I get an easy life of it? Ha-ha, Boaz, he's the boy. How can I...no. She just went out because they had to eat.

And in the everyday of life, in just taking care of daily necessities, she was brought into the purposes of God for her life. I think one of the most telling is Philemon. Philemon was apparently a man wealthy enough to have slaves, servants.

You know the story, one of them ran away, a man named Onesimus. And Philemon was going about his everyday life. You know, he didn't get a text message, Onesimus is on the way, get ready.

No email, no text message, no phone, no cell phones, you know. Just one day, he's going about his normal routine of life, knock on the door, and there are two men. One of them is Tychicus, the other is Onesimus.

And maybe sheepishly, Onesimus hands him a letter. What Philemon would do with that letter in an everyday work experience was going to determine whether Philemon fulfilled the purpose for which God had saved him. I mean, that's pretty strong language.

He's in the Word of God. And he's in the Word of God because he took that letter, and I have no doubt that he received Onesimus back. And in receiving Onesimus back, do you know what Philemon became? Let your mind roam through the Old Testament for just a moment.

If I ask you to tell me of those who were pictures or types of Christ, you could begin naming any number, right? Beginning with Abel who was slain. Even Adam is, in a sense, as federal head, is a picture of Christ. But Abel who was slain, and Noah, and the ark, and the sacrifices, and Isaac on the altar, and Joseph in the... You know, you could start going endlessly through the Word of God for pictures and types of Christ.

If I ask you to tell me pictures and types of the Father, how many can you give me? Abraham offering Isaac, Hosea welcoming back a prodigal spouse, the Luke 15 parable of the father welcoming the son, and Philemon welcoming back a prodigal slave. In an average day of everyday business, Philemon became a picture, one of the few pictures in the Word of God of the father. Tremendous privilege, tremendous honor, just in the routine every day of life.

Every day for a believer is invested with tremendous potential and value. God has invested every moment of our lives. I don't, you know, not that we're living on edge like, you know, what should... You know, I got to make sure I do the right thing the next moment or else I've ruined my life.

I don't want to create that mentality, but you'll understand when I say God has invested every moment of our lives with value and meaning and potential. And in the everyday of life, there is the possibility of displaying the priorities which are important to us. In the crises of life, and we've already dealt within the choices of life, your priorities will be tested in the choices that you make in life, relative to a partner, relative to a pathway, relative to careers.

All of that will be part of what is involved in a life that recognizes the claims of God. But here was a life as well that represented, not just recognized, but represented the person of Christ. John pointed both sinners and saints to Christ.

Behold, the Lamb of God, the sin-bearer for the world. And then, behold, the Lamb of God and John's disciples follow the Lord Jesus. I don't know, you probably did not notice it, so let me just draw your attention to it and you can look at it as you have an opportunity.

John makes three responses about who he is. John makes three responses about who Christ is. In John's three responses about who is, if you look at it carefully, now, I'm looking at the authorized version I can give you and the original language as well.

He goes from five words to three words to one word. In other words, John has less and less to say about himself. His first answer is five words.

His next answer is just three words. And his final answer is just one word. So, as John goes on, he has less and less to say about self.

But then, as far as his three replies about the Lord Jesus Christ, in our authorized version, he begins at 22 words, then he goes to 33 words, and I think the third one is 54 words. So, as time goes on, he has more and more to say about Christ. So, you see the diverging lines, right? As time goes on, less to say about himself, more to say about Christ.

That's not true of many of us, is it? True of very few of us, that as time goes on, we have more to say about Christ and less to say about ourselves. That's what marked John here. All these messages about Christ got greater and greater.

And then there's finally one final message. You may say, well, he went from five to three to one and then to five again. But the final five, behold the Lamb of God, it meant that men stopped following him and started following Christ.

So, here was a man who was serving, conscious of the beauty of Christ. Just look at him, twice over. Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.

Behold the Lamb of God, a man who was thrilled with the beauty of Christ and serving, conscious of all that Christ is. We can get into habits of just coming and going to meeting, of just doing the right things. Wouldn't it be nice if we could leave conscious of the beauty of Christ, of what it means to be able to represent him and serve him and point men to him, whether believers occupy them with Christ or unsaved.

Whatever the case is, to just direct men to him and all of his loveliness. Serving then conscious of the beauty of Christ. Serving as well, conscious of the privilege or the blessing that had called him.

Here he was called to serve, laboring conscious of the brevity of time. He had a very brief window of time to serve. And at best, all of us have a very brief window in which to serve, in which to represent him in the world.

Even if you're young, even if you're in your teens, it is amazing. And I don't want to sound like some old codger up here, but it is amazing how quickly time goes and you look back. Someone as well said, life is what happens while you're making your plans.

You've got all these plans ahead of you, all the things you intend to do and accomplish, and before you know it, you're looking back in the rear view mirror at what was life, so don't put life on hold for Christ. And here was a man who represented the cause of the Lord Jesus Christ. But I want to talk about a man who reflected the character of Christ, a man who reflected the character of Christ.

I don't know what your concept of discipleship is. Discipleship really involves a number of different things, at least from Scripture. First of all, of course, it involves loyalty, doesn't it? You remember how the Jews said to the man who had been healed, we be Moses' disciples.

As for this man, we don't know who he is. We are loyal to Moses, not to some new teacher. So it involves loyalty.

It certainly, the very word itself, discipleship, means learning. It means a learner. So you're learning from someone when you are his disciple.

So being a disciple means that you are learning from another. Usually there was a bond of love between the disciple and his master, his teacher. So it involves loyalty, it involves learning, it involves love.

But four times over, we read either these words or similar words, it is enough for the disciple that he be as his master. Discipleship involves likeness, likeness to the teacher. So the concept then of discipleship, the challenge of discipleship is just this, that you and I can be as much like Christ as we want to.

John 15 teaches that. Let me just take you to John 15 for just a moment, and you'll see why when we come back to this here. The Lord Jesus says something in John 15 that many believers have difficulty understanding and putting into the context of their life.

The Lord Jesus in John 15 says, if you ask anything in my name, let me read it. I think I'm merging two verses together. In John 15, the Lord Jesus Christ says, if he abide in me and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you.

Herein is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, so shall ye be my disciples. And of course, what some believers have difficulty with is, if you ask anything in my name, and so forth, you ask what you will, it shall be done to you. And of course, we explain that by referring it to the fact that abiding in him, we'll know what the Father's will is, we'll ask according to his will.

And I think that's true, but I think there's something deeper here. I think the asking here has to do with the context of John 15. What's the context? The context is abiding in Christ and bearing fruit.

And the fruit that I am bearing in John 15 is not seeing people saved, assemblies planted, missionary work, the assembly built up. That's not the fruit. The fruit of John 15 is the life of the vine reproduced in the branch.

It is Christ living in me. Now, he says, if you abide in me and my words abide in you, you can ask. Ask for what? Ask to become more like me.

You know what happens if you abide in Christ and his words abide in you? You become painfully aware of how unlike him you are, painfully. You realize your motives are so impure. You realize your devotion is so superficial.

You realize just how far short you are of what he is. And he says, if you abide in me and my words abide in you and you become conscious of what you are lacking, if you ask, the Father will do it. Now, you might say, can I prove that that's what it means? Well, look at what it says right after that.

Herein does my Father glorify that ye bear much fruit, so shall ye become my disciples. So shall ye become more and more like me. This is all about becoming like Christ.

Now, the reason I have labored that is because I want you to come back to John. Not just the concept of discipleship, not just the challenge of discipleship, but I want you to think of the climax of discipleship. You know what it is? Men wondered in their hearts if John was Christ.

So godly, so Christ-like, if I can use that expression, so Christ-like was John that men wondered, could this be the Christ? Now, I don't want to sound irreverent, but no one has ever confused me with Christ. You know what I mean? And again, I'm not being irreverent. But John was actually confused with Christ.

People thought maybe he is the Christ. As they looked at his life, as they saw the spiritual character and the godly way he lived, they wondered, they were musing in their hearts if this was the Christ. What a testimony, the climax of discipleship, life that reflects the character of the son.

So there was a life that recognized the claims of God. There was a life that represented the cause of Christ. There was a life that reflected something of the character of the son.

But I want to speak about a life that receded before the glory of Christ. What was the supreme purpose of John's life? He must increase, I must decrease. John says, I'm not even worthy.

In fact, if you take the four Gospels together, it's a very interesting study of the differences. In one, he's not worthy to stoop, in another, he's not worthy to unloose, in another, he's not worthy to bear both shoes, in another, he's not worthy to bear one shoe. But John is saying, I'm not even worthy to be his servant.

That's how great he is, that I should even be allowed to be his servant. He must increase, I must decrease. The supreme purpose of his life.

Could I tell you something of the selfless passion of his life? He must increase. John was tested. Mention about being tested.

John was tested on this very thing. He must increase. And as time went on, we read it there in John 3, the disciples gradually were moving away from John, gradually following Christ, and the numbers were winnowing, and the following was getting smaller, and some of John's disciples were very jealous for their leader, and all men were following Christ.

They were baptizing. His disciples were baptizing more than John was baptizing, and John says, he must increase, I must decrease. But the ultimate test came.

John is imprisoned. John is imprisoned, and as far as you know, Christ never went to visit him. John is imprisoned, and humanly speaking, John is forgotten.

John thinks back over the scriptures that say concerning the coming Messiah that he will loose the bonds of the captives, and John begins to wonder, if this is the Messiah, why are my bonds not being loosed? John sends messengers to Christ, art thou he that should come, or look we for another, and the Lord Jesus graciously sends that coded, if I can call it, that coded message back to John. Blessed is he whosoever is not offended in me, and John would understand what the Lord Jesus was saying. And then he turns to the crowd and publicly gives testimony to who John is, but John is decreasing, and Christ is increasing.

John's passion was being tested to the truth he proclaimed. But remember what John said, this my joy. I didn't draw attention to it, but let me draw attention to it right now.

We read in Luke chapter 1 that when Elizabeth rose up, or rather, when Mary rose up and came to visit Elizabeth, Elizabeth says, as soon as your voice sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. So there was joy at the advent of Christ. There was joy at the ascendancy of Christ.

There was joy at the coming of Christ into the world in John's heart. There was even greater joy in John's heart when he went out of the world because of Christ. This my joy, therefore, is fulfilled.

I want him to have the highest place. That's the purpose of my discipleship. That's the purpose of my life.

That's the purpose for which I was born was to give him the preeminent place, and that fills my heart with joy. What was the secret principle of his life as he served the Lord Jesus? The Lord Jesus Christ said concerning John, he was a burning and a shining light. You were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.

Would it be a stretch to say that there is no shining without burning? You can't shine unless you burn. You know what the burn means? It means self-consumption. Now, I don't mean that you have to sacrifice your life as a missionary on a field in a foreign land to savages or anything of that nature, but it does mean sacrifice.

It does mean something of self has to go. Comfortable, non-sacrificial living was totally out of John's vocabulary. He was a burning, a man who consumed his life for God over the course of possibly six months to 12 months.

The Lord Jesus Christ said he was a burning and a shining light. If you want to shine, you have to burn. You have to sacrifice.

It is going to be costly to be Christ-like in the society in which we live. Can I talk to you in closing because I want to leave time for refreshments and then the last meeting. Not only are the supreme purpose of his life and the selfless passion of his life and the pinnacle of his life and the secret principle, but I just want to draw your attention to the spiritual prophet from his life.

We read some very, very vital words at the end of John 10. The Lord Jesus has been rejected again in Jerusalem and he goes again beyond Jordan where John at first baptized and many resort unto him and they say, John did no miracle. But all things that John spake of this man were true and many believed on him there.

And I hope what I say is encouraging because it's encouraging to me. The prophet from a Christ-like life. First of all, I want to talk to you about an unspectacular ministry.

John did no miracle. A man who was full of the Holy Ghost from his mother's womb, never spoke in tongues. He never healed anyone.

He never raised the dead. He never cast out demons. John did no miracle.

All John did was live Christ and preach Christ. It's not very spectacular. Our religious world, our so-called evangelical Christian world loves the spectacular.

The huge numbers. The wild activity. The so-called charismatic gifts.

John did no miracle. It gets pretty routine, coming and going to meeting, being prepared, coming ready for the Bible reading, coming ready for the worship meeting, coming ready for prayer meeting, back and forth, back and forth. Nothing very spectacular.

Nothing very spectacular about going to work every day, about living Christ before those at work, those at school, those in the office, those in the neighborhood. Nothing very spectacular. John did no miracle.

Unspectacular ministry. But you see, it was linked with an unimpeachable testimony. Everything that John said of this man was true.

We can't find a flaw. Everything that John said was absolutely true. He really bore witness to Christ.

Bore witness both by his life and by his lip. And as a result, the people, when they actually got to see Christ for themselves, they could look back on John's ministry and say, everything that John said of this man was true. And the result was that many believed on him there.

So you've got an unspectacular ministry that is linked with an unimpeachable testimony, and it led to what I have called unseen results. John was in heaven. John never saw, unless he was looking down from heaven, and you're allowed to do those things, I don't know.

But John never saw the results of his testimony on earth among men. But he had left it. He had so lived that even when he was gone, men remembered.

A testimony of a man that had lived in their midst. And when finally they were confronted with the Christ, they looked back to John's testimony and received the Savior. Your godly life, your Christ-like life, carries tremendous value and profit that you may not appreciate in this life.

You may never see the fruit, the result of your consistent testimony at work, of your consistent testimony at school, in the neighborhood, of your efforts in the assembly. And you may think all is in vain. Like the servant of Isaiah 49, I have labored in vain.

I have spent my strength for naught. That's the way you may think. But we learn from John that God is able to take a testimony that was lived for him, and even after the person is gone, to use it for his glory and for his honor.

Remember that the ultimate of life is not living for Christ. The ultimate of life is Christ living in me. And if Christ is living in me, then I will be living for Christ.

May God bless his work.