May it please Almighty God to
bless us together as we meditate in his holy word. Let us turn
to the Gospel of Mark, chapter 1, and we'll read verses 6, 7,
and 8. The Gospel according to Mark,
chapter 1, reading verses 6, 7, and 8. And John was clothed with camel's
hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins. And he did eat
locusts and wild honey, and preached, saying, There cometh one mightier
than I after me, the lachered of whose shoes I am not worthy
to stoop down and unloose. I indeed have baptized you with
water, But he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost. We have a picture here in these
verses of John the Baptist, and we see what he was described
as, as a man who was clothed with camel's hair and with a
girdle, that means a belt, of a skin about his loins, a leather
belt, and he did eat locusts and wild honey. So we see an
example here that the Lord Jesus, Almighty God, chose those who
were relatively poor in the things of this world. And yet, without
any doubt, the Lord was with John the Baptist. He was the
one ordained to set forth the coming of the Saviour and the
privileged one to actually baptise the Lord Jesus himself. we don't
read very much about John the Baptist and we know that he didn't
live very long because Herod had him beheaded but we're thankful
to know and to believe that God's grace was upon him, upon him
in a very wonderful and a very special way and although he was
described as this, not a wealthy man, a man dressed in those humble
garments and not eating what we might term very exciting food,
yet he existed on locusts and wild honey. But the great blessing
was he was called to preach the gospel. And that is a wonderful
favour and a wonderful blessing. And we know that he declared
the gospel very plainly and very simply and very gloriously. And as we read these words, we're
told what he said. There cometh one mightier than
I after me, the latched of whose shoes I am not worthy. to stoop
down and unloose. So two things really here. We
see that he had a very glorious view of the Savior, that he was
mightier, mightier than John the Baptist. What a blessing
that was to realize he was a mighty one. And also then he realized
his utter unworthiness, He was not even worthy, he says, to
stoop down and unloose the buckles, obviously, on his sandals. He had a right view of himself. He had a humble view of himself.
And whether we're preachers or not, it's good if the Lord God
gives us that humble view of ourselves and to realise that
we're not worthy of any great favor and any great blessing. Indeed, we were just sung together
in that second hymn, hymn 191, which starts off, oh, why did
Jesus show to me? See, obviously the hymn writer
recognized he wasn't worthy really. And truly that's true of every
true believer. We come and we stand amazed that Jesus should show to us,
as the hymn writer says, the beauties of his face. And why to my soul did he convey
the blessings of his grace? It's good for us to just ponder
such a truth as that, and I'm sure this is not something which
just belongs to a few. I'm sure it belongs to every
true believer. As they are called by the grace
of God, and as they consider themselves and wonder why they
should be called, why God, should show them the beauty of his face,
and they should enjoy the blessings of his grace. Well, surely that
was the position of John the Baptist. He was in that position. And he's able to tell the people,
there cometh one mightier than I, a mighty savior. And it's good, again, if we have
some understanding of the might and glory and wonder of the Saviour. To think that He was the second
person in the Trinity, but condescended to come right down and to be
a servant. And we have a wonderful description
of the Lord Jesus in the prophecy of Isaiah, where the prophet
tells us of the greatness of this wonderful savior. What a blessing it is, you know,
to have an understanding of it and to realize what a favor it
is. And so we read in the ninth chapter
of Isaiah, A very simple description, but a very wonderful description.
In the sixth verse, we're told, for unto us, a child is born. And this is true for all the
Church of God. Every member are enrolled in
this statement, us. For unto us. What a mercy to
think that it applies to you and me. less than the least of
all saints, or as we just refer to that hymn. And so Isaiah says,
for unto us a child is born unto us. A son is given and the government
shall be upon his shoulders and his name shall be called Wonderful
Counselor, the mighty God, the mighty God. What a wonderful
truth it is. And what a mercy it is if you
and I view the Lord Jesus Christ as the mighty God. We realise he is the ever-living
and true God. Jesus is God without any doubt. Some people speak against it
and don't believe it. Matters not what they think or
what they believe. The truth is such that one day
everyone will bow before the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
on that judgment day, and none will be able to argue against
it. They will realize that He is the King of kings and the
Lord of lords. that one perhaps who they despised,
turned against, ignored, didn't believe. And yet you see the
word of God tells us so very plainly, thy word is truth. And here we have this great statement
by Isaiah, his name shall be called the mighty God. Well, I wonder whether today
you and I appreciate the Lord Jesus Christ as the mighty God,
that one who holds our life in his hands, that one who controls
all that we do and say, that one who has ordained what will
occur in our life, that one who gloriously, if we are his people,
has died upon that cross at Calvary. This is the mighty God. Yes, he humbled himself, humbled
himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of
the cross, the mighty God. Oh, my friends today, what a
blessing if the Holy Spirit convinces us that we do have to deal with
the mighty God. And therefore to be thankful
indeed that as Mark was able to recall, record about John
the Baptist, who says, there cometh one mightier than I after
me. Yes. And the Lord Jesus Christ
did of course come after John the Baptist. He was born after
John the Baptist. John the Baptist was three months
older than the Lord Jesus Christ. And we know that because Mary
came to John the Baptist's mother when they were both pregnant
and we knew the age. And so we have this evidence.
And yet you see, John the Baptist was shown by the Holy Spirit
greatness of the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, to think that
he was able to say, the cometh one mightier than I, mightier
than I. Well, it's good, you know, if
you and I have a right view and the right consideration of the
Lord Jesus Christ mightier than I. Well, quite clearly, Isaiah
had that view when he said, yes, his name shall be called Wonderful
Counselor, the mighty God. The everlasting father, the prince
of peace. of the increase of his government
and peace, there shall be no end. Upon the throne of David
and upon his kingdom to order it and to establish it with judgment
and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the
Lord of hosts will perform this. What a mercy it is for us today
if we do have a view of the Lord Jesus as the mighty God. Because we will realise he is
the mighty God, either in this life or when we stand before
that judgment seat, everyone will believe that Jesus is the
mighty God. Those who spoke against him,
those who said they didn't believe in him, my friends, that day
will come when everyone will Bow down before the Lord Jesus
Christ as the almighty judge of mankind. No one then will
be able to say, well, I don't believe. I don't believe in the
Lord Jesus Christ. Everyone will believe. Everyone. For some, it will be too late. For some, they will be cast into
hell. Hear those terrible words. Depart
from me. I never knew you. My friends,
we don't want to be found in that position, do we? May we
have a right view of the Lord Jesus Christ as the mighty God. And if we have a right view of
the mighty God, we will bow down on this earth and we will acknowledge
him as our Lord. We will acknowledge him as our
master. we will acknowledge Him as our
Saviour, as our great and glorious Redeemer. He will indeed be the
most precious one to our souls, the only one that could deliver
us from eternal punishment, this great and blessed, mighty Saviour. Oh, I hope today that you and
I have right view then of this great God as the Apostle was able to say one
mightier than I so much mightier indeed so so much mightier you
know we we read it's very much very many prophecies and glorious
words about the Lord Jesus Christ and the prophecy of Isaiah, it
would be good for you younger people to pick up the book of
Isaiah and read it through and mark where you can see the Lord
Jesus Christ, where it is obvious the word is speaking about the
Lord Jesus Christ. And we have of course that wonderful
chapter, the 53rd of Isaiah, which speaks so very gloriously
about the Lord Jesus Christ, and starts off with that great
question, who hath believed our report? So many people do not
believe the report contained in Holy Scripture, in the Word
of God, with regard to the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. And it
goes on, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed. That means
who has the Lord revealed himself to as that great and glorious
one who has delivered them from the wrath to come, who saved
their soul, to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed. What a
blessing for us today. If you and I have been given
grace to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and to believe the
great and glorious scripture which speaks of the coming of
the Lord and speaks about his life and about what he will suffer
and what he would endure. And this 53rd chapter of Isaiah
in great detail describes to us what the Savior was to endure
and what he would pass through. And what a wonderful truth then
to have the evidence that this describes what the Lord did for
us, that we can come and stand side by side and say, yes, this
describes me. All we like sheep have gone astray. We wandered away. God knows whether you wandered
away from God. God knows whether You've gone
astray. All we sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his
own way. Well, is that what you and I
have done? We've all turned to our own way. What we've said
really is, I'm not going to believe. I'm not going to have this man
to reign over me. Well, bless God when the Holy
Spirit conquers us. and brings us into that state
of conformity to the great truths of the Gospel so that by His
grace we do believe and therefore we are able to say one thing
I know that whereas I was blind the devil had blinded me but
now by the grace of God I see the wonderful truth and I see
the mighty Saviour the mighty Saviour, that one who condescended
to come into this sinful world, to die on that cross of Calvary
in order to redeem my soul. You know, this mighty God then,
this mighty Saviour, will then mean something to us. He won't
just be somebody of no consequence. it will be to us the mighty God,
the mighty God. Oh, what a blessing if that is
true with us. And then in the 63rd of Isaiah,
the prophet says, Who is this that cometh from Edom with dyed
garments and bosra? This that is glorious in apparel,
traveling in the greatness of his strength, I that speak. in righteousness, mighty to save. Well, that's a wonderful statement,
a wonderful clause to realise that we have such a saviour who
is mighty to save. And if we look into our own hearts
and realise how by nature we are deep dying sinners, by nature
far off from God, by nature, following the way of evil. And yet the Lord, in His love
to our souls, has saved us. Therefore, that statement is
wonderfully true. He is mighty to save. What a blessing for us today,
if we can come and say, yes, this mighty Saviour, who is much
mightier than anyone else, has looked upon me, has called me
by His grace, has delivered me from going down into the pit.
What a blessing! Then to have the evidence of
God's work, of His grace in our heart, so that we know There's
been a wonderful change. Wonderful change. And we have
been blessed with spiritual sight. Now then, if that is so, surely
you and I will rejoice in the work of Jesus Christ. Because
without His work, without this finished work, there would be
no hope for us. But He is a mighty Saviour. And
how wonderful it is that Mark's able to record this about John
the Baptist, what he preached, what he preached. Faithful man,
there cometh one mightier than I after me. Yes, the blessed
savior. But he recognized again his position. He was unworthy to even stoop
down and undo the buckles on his sandals. Yes, you see, he'd
been shown the might and the power and the glory of God, and
he'd seen himself utterly unworthy. Utterly unworthy. What a mercy
if God brings us to that position. And he does. He deals with his
children. in love to their souls, so they
are, in their own estimation, just like the Apostle Paul when
he said, less than the least of all saints. He didn't say
he was like the least of all saints, he said he was less than
the least. And that's good, isn't it? If
you and I can stand side by side with the apostle Paul and recognize that
I understand Paul what you said because I feel just like that
and surely that was the same position that here Mark describes
what John the Baptist was also saying he wasn't worthy I'm not
worthy to actually stoop down and unloose the buckles on his
sandals. You see, you might say, well,
that's a very lowest thing. It's good we have, in the Word
of God, these extremes to bring us to realize the greatness of
God and how unworthy we are of any notice. Well, it's a wonderful
blessing then to have a situation which directs us to these great
and glorious truths. And the Apostle Paul, when he
wrote to the Ephesians, again speaks to us of the wonderful
truth of God, the wonderful blessing of God. And he describes it in
the first chapter of his letter to the Ephesian church. And he
says this, start from verse 18. the eyes of your understanding
being enlightened. That's a spiritual understanding. The eyes of your understanding
being enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of his
calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance
in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power
to us ward who believe according to the working of his mighty
power which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead
and set him in his own right hand and in heavenly places far
above all principality and power and might and dominion and every
name that is named not only in this world, but also in that
which is to come and has put all things under his feet and
gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which
is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all. You see, it's one long sentence. It seems the apostle couldn't
really stop describing the greatness of the Savior. And it's good
when the Holy Spirit comes and touches our heart so that we
want to desire to magnify the Lord. And as the word of God
tells us, come and let us exalt his name together in the greatness
of it. We have a great Savior. We have
a glorious Savior. And what a mercy then, if, as
we read here, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father
of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation
in the knowledge of Him. It is heavenly wisdom. It is glorious knowledge, knowledge
which is given by the Spirit of God. not something that we
produce ourselves. It is the gift of God. What a mercy, my friends, today
if we have a right view of this mighty Savior and can recognize
that we only have this view because God has given us the gift to
see spiritually something of the greatness of this God. And so to think of this and what
is the exceeding greatness of his power to us forward. Exceeding
greatness. Greatness is a strong word by
itself, isn't it? And here, this is another adjective,
exceeding greatness. Well, my friends, may you and
I always desire to have great views of the great Savior and
never have small views and never despise the Lord Jesus Christ
as somebody of little consequence. But remember, the Lord Jesus
Christ is co-equal with the Father and with the Holy Spirit. It's
a wonderful truth. It's a glorious doctrine, my
friends. Meditate upon it. And as I said
to you young people, go through the prophecy of Isaiah and mark
where there is the prophecy of the Lord Jesus Christ. You may
be surprised. You will need spiritual eyes
to understand when you read it where it occurs. but it'll be
a blessing when you do observe it. And you may say, well, I
never thought that. I never realised that. And what
does that do? Surely it makes the Saviour great
and mightier, mightier. Well, what a favour then for
us today to be able to rejoice in this great and wonderful work
of the Saviour. And preached saying, there cometh
one mightier than I after me, the latching of whose shoes I
am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. And then the apostle
goes on to say, or John the Baptist goes on to say rather, I indeed
have baptized you with water, but he shall baptize you with
the Holy Ghost. Now yesterday we had, did we
not, a baptizing service. And it was a picture, a picture. of the blessed and glorious work
of the Holy Ghost, of the Holy Spirit, in the lives of a true
believer. And we're thankful that God,
in his wonderful mercy and favour, has given us such a simple illustration
for us to observe, and for us to follow, and for us to walk
in that way Luke, when he wrote the Acts of the Apostles. It
gives us really a wonderful picture of it. Sorry, not the Apostle,
the Romans. The Apostle, when he wrote to
the Romans, gave a wonderful picture of it in the sixth chapter. And we can read, he says, he
starts off, he says, what shall we say then? Shall we continue
in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we that
are dead to sin live any longer therein? And then he says, know
ye not that so many of us as were baptised into Jesus Christ
were baptised into his death? That means united with the Lord
Jesus Christ in his death. Know ye not question that so
many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into
his death. And then he says, therefore,
we are buried with him by baptism into death. But like as Christ
was raised up from the dead by the glory of the father, even
so we also should walk in newness of life. And so just in a few
words, we have here the physical position that is set before us
of those who desire to set forth a true follower of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And it is a great blessing to
be numbered with the Lord Jesus Christ and to have this example
And I'm sure it is true that every true believer never regrets
following the Lord Jesus Christ naturally. And it is because
of the great spiritual blessing that is applied to our souls. That's why we read here, I indeed
baptise you with water. We've seen that. We know what
it means. but He shall baptise you, the
Blessed Saviour shall baptise you with the Holy Ghost. And that means that there will
be an application of these great truths to our soul, to our new
nature, to that which is spiritually alive. And that's the great value
of this. It sets before us a spiritual
blessing in a physical way, that you and I can understand. And what a mercy it is then if
we look ahead to see that, yes, the Lord Jesus has baptised me
with his Holy Spirit, that I am, by the grace of God,
united to the Lord Jesus Christ, united in his death, united in
his resurrection. To think that one day I shall
be raised incorruptible and undefiled. What a glorious prospect it is.
You know, it is, people seem to lose sight of this, it is
a great privilege and a wonderful favour to put on the Lord Jesus
Christ, in an open profession, that we are a true follower of
the Lord Jesus Christ. This is no good just carrying
on and pretending. Cornelia said, didn't she, and
Joshua had thought the same, they could be silent Christians.
Well, silent Christians don't bring honour and glory to God. And what a blessing if we have an understanding of
the spiritual application which shows to us that we are united
to the Lord Jesus Christ in his death, and in his resurrection. And my friends, these are not
just mere written statements. They are real experiences. And that's why we have a statement
like this. I indeed have baptized you with water, but he shall
baptize you with the Holy Ghost, with the spiritual evidence in
our souls that we are united to Christ. It's not just a mere
statement. It's a living reality. And it's a personal experience.
My friends, what a blessing it is for you and me if we have
this personal experience that we are born again of the Spirit
of God. And we haven't been left, we
haven't been passed by, but the Lord has come to us where we
are. He's found us. He's come to us. He's made us
spiritually alive, just like the apostle when he wrote to
the Ephesians. And you hath he quickened, that
means made spiritually alive, who were dead in trespasses and
in sins. Well, it's a great mercy if you
and I today can understand that great truth. Whereas I was dead,
whereas I was blind, now I see, I possess the great and glorious
gift of eternal life. I indeed have baptized you with
water, but he shall baptise you with the Holy Ghost. And let
us be clear here, every true believer is spiritually baptised. Spiritually baptised. And surely
if that is so, you and I should desire to physically put on Christ,
as it were, to stand side by side as a disciple and to acknowledge
that he is that great and glorious one who has died upon Calvary's
cross to take away all my sins, every
sin. As I've so often said, there's
no sin in heaven. My friends, we need to be cleansed
from all our sin. We need to be washed in the precious
blood of the Savior. You see, water signifies washing. Water in itself cannot do anything. But my friends, the precious
blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin. That's the glorious truth of
the Gospel. I indeed baptise you with water,
but he shall baptise you with the Holy Ghost. Well how very
humbling it is, again as we've sung in that hymn 191, to think
that Jesus, the almighty God, the mighty God, has looked upon
us and redeemed us. and called us by his grace, so
that one day, because of his immutability, because of his
wondrous love, we shall be with him in glory forever, no change,
perfect union. Well, meditate on these things. And here we have this testimony
Mark speaks about John, there he was, a humble man, clothed
as he was, and yet you see, preach the gospel, the glorious gospel.
There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latching of whose
shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. I indeed have
baptized you with water, but he shall baptise you with the
Holy Ghost. Well, may we have, all of us,
the wonderful evidence that we are baptised with the Holy Ghost,
that we have that new life. With that new life, and therefore,
to have that true desire to take up our cross and follow a despised
and crucified man. Amen.