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Looking to John the Baptist

There were several denominations who emphasized the ministry and passion of John the Baptist this month. His account is detailed in the Book of Luke in Chapters One and Three. John is clearly a pivotal figure in the salvation history of God.

Although most of his formative years were lived in obscurity in the desert, his public ministry ended nearly four hundred years of prophetic silence. John was truly that voice “crying in the wilderness” preparing the way for the coming Messiah. 

John preached the Good News without compromising his convictions or calling. This means going beyond the gentle, non-offensive sermon topics, and addressing the truth of the Good News that teaches repentance, freedom, healing, and restoration through Jesus’ death and Resurrection.

John was truly a transitional Biblical figure, forming the connecting link between the Old and New Testaments. He spans the generations with one foot firmly planted in the Old Testament and the other squarely placed in the New.

Our ministry really shouldn’t be any different than that of John’s. He had his specific mission and we have our mission. He lived his life in a way that continually prepared him for living out his particular calling. We should live our life in ways that do the same.

We should desire to do our part in building God’s kingdom “on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). We should desire to see the lost come to Jesus through repentance and salvation. We should desire to live in a way that we preach and present the Good News (Gospel) in both our words and actions.

As an Army military veteran, I was always told, as a soldier, to not only “improve my fox hole,” but to always leave any place I am assigned better than how I found it. It is that way as a Christian. Through our ministry, we should desire to leave this earth better than we found it. Spiritual investments. Legacy. Bearing fruit.

The obvious fact in choosing to live this way is knowing that we cannot accomplish this monumental task by our human power. If, however, we will prepare ourselves and choose to willingly commit to proclaiming the Good News, empowered with the anointing of the Holy Spirit, the Lord will do the rest.

Nothing He calls us to do will be impossible with Him. This gives us the freedom to leave all the results to Him and spend all our time investing ourselves in the tasks at hand. If we will, like John the Baptist, commit to making the effort and sacrifices necessary to fulfill what we know God is calling us to do, He will make our efforts fruitful when we do it in the Spirit’s power and guidance.

John the Baptist, through his surrender to God’s will for him, fulfilled his mission to be the forerunner to the Savior, Jesus Christ. We, too, can commit to fulfilling our calling that God has on our life. So, beginning today, may we take the step of faith and let God work and speak through our efforts to live a sanctified, holy life pleasing to Him.

Let the power of the Holy Spirit transform us into avid and passionate builders of the Kingdom of God that leads others to repentance and salvation in Jesus Christ. Let us look to John the Baptist and commit to focusing on fulfilling what God has called us to do.

 

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