Good morning. If you will, take your Bibles
and turn with me to the Gospel of Mark. This is the second of the four
Gospels. It's the shortest of the four
Gospels, having only 16 chapters. Now in our last study in the
Book of Mark, We were looking at the man, John the Baptist,
and the importance of his appearing. And I don't know, I can't remember
all the things that I told you, but I can tell you this. It was
important because God said he was coming. And if God arranges
something, it's important. It's important that john the
baptist come on the scene and it's important that everything
that happens in our lives happens in the order that god anything
was out of place you couldn't have any assurance you couldn't
have any peace you couldn't you couldn't be sure about anything
but and people rebel against god's absolute sovereignty but
it is sovereignty that gives us rest and peace and uh... And so it is with John the Baptist. So we looked at the importance
of his appearing. God said he would appear, and
God said he would appear before the Christ appeared. And then we talked about his
ministry, what he preached and how he preached it and to whom
he preached it. He didn't preach like the run-of-the-mill
Israelite. They were very formal, very proper. They'd have a reading and then
sometimes they would sit and sometimes they would stand and
they had all these ritualistic things that they went through.
John wasn't that way. He went out away from them completely
in the wilderness and preached and all Judea, all Jerusalem,
all these people all out around went out there to hear him. This week I want to concentrate
on the one he preached. And that's just it. John the
Baptist preached the person. He preached the person. He was
sent to make straight that person's ways. Why he was coming. What he intended to do. Why he
must come. The necessity of his coming.
What he would accomplish. John the Baptist preached those
things. And no doubt, because he only had the Old Testament,
John the Baptist preached types. He preached types to the people. So we know what he preached,
and we know how he preached it, and we know to whom he preached
it. And this week I want to concentrate on the one he preached, and what
this great man had to say about it. Look with me here in verse
7 of Mark chapter 1. And he preached. John the Baptist
was a prophet. He was the last of the Old Testament
prophets and the first of the new. Could be the only one in
the new. But he was a prophet, but here
he was a preacher. And John the Baptist preached,
saying, There cometh one mightier than I, after me the latchet
of whose shoes I'm not worthy to stoop down and unloose. Now I read that verse and I thought
about it and here's the first thing that came to mind. John
the Baptist was not a stooping kind of man. Those of you who were raised
in religion like I am, you know those men. One of them actually
told me on the phone, it's been a A few years back, I was talking
to him, lives up here in Hot Springs. Methodist preacher. And he told me, he said, I'm
what you might call a fence straddler. And that's what most of them
are. They're stoopers. But John the Baptist wasn't a
stooping kind of guy. He didn't stoop. He did not bend under the pressure
of Judaism. He wouldn't stoop to that. He
did not stoop to the rules and authority. He was not subject
to them whatsoever. No matter what they had to say
about him, no matter how they criticized him, he was not subject
to them. And he did not bend to their
certifications or acceptance or ratifications. He didn't have
on his wall a diploma saying, I graduated from Judaism. And
if you need a recommendation, you can call the Pharisees. They'll
recommend. No, he didn't stoop to that.
He didn't stoop to that. He wasn't a stooping kind of
man. He was willing to stoop to this
one he preached. And not only was he willing to
stoop, but he said, there cometh one mightier than I after me,
whose shoe latched, I'm not worthy to stoop. I'm not worthy to stoop
down and even unlatch his sandals from his feet. My friend, he's talking about
Jehovah's servant, the Son of God, the Son of Man. I don't
know if we realize or even think about it during the day. Our
day is taken up with this world and taken up with paying bills
and driving and stress and all of this stuff. It's just taken
up. So I don't know how much time we really spend thinking
about this, but they're just one mediator between God and
me and the man, Christ Jesus. That's who John's talking about. There cometh one after me, my
dear. This is Jehovah's servant, the
son of God, the son of man, the God-man. And what a word to use
concerning Jesus of Nazareth, one my dear, my dear. As were theirs our generations,
ignorant of Jesus Christ. They talk about him as if he
was a defeated reformer. He came and he wanted to reform
the world. He wanted to save the world.
He wanted to pull the world out of ignorance, but they wouldn't
let him and they wouldn't listen to him. He wanted to, but he
couldn't. And he wants men to follow him,
but they won't. They won't. Well, I'm going to
tell you something. If he wants you to follow him,
you follow him. Zacchaeus, come down. Did he
say no? No, he come down. Matthew, follow
me. John, I'll make you fishers of
men. I'm telling you what, if you
don't believe me, turn the TV on, listen to it. He wants to do the Father's will,
but men won't let him. He wants to save men and women,
but they won't allow it. He did all he can do, preachers
say, and now it's all up to you. That's not the Christ that John
preached. John said, there come with one
after me mightier, mightier than I. John said, I'm the voice of
one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the
what? The Lord. The Lord. That poor little Jesus boy. Lord. You know what the scripture says
about the Lord? Sometime get your concordance.
I mean, you can just go to the back of your Bible, that'll be
sufficient. Look up the word Lord, and look how it's used
throughout the Old Testament and throughout the New. It says, the Lord hath made all
things for himself, yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
You know anybody that believes that? That's the Lord. The Lord, he is God. He's the Lord alone, his prophet
Nehemiah said. He's the Lord alone. There's
nobody else Lord, he's Lord. All by himself, he's Lord. It says the Lord is most high. You don't get any higher than
him. He's the most high. The Lord is righteous. And the
Lord is the God of judgment. My sister, who's dead now, she
told me once, I just don't believe a good God would send a man to
hell. And I said, a good God wouldn't,
but a just God will. A righteous God will. And our
God is not just good, but He's righteous and He's just. It says the Lord is a God of
judgment. That's what Isaiah said about
it. We're talking about the Lord. Make straight the paths of the
Lord. John preached the Lord, the Lord's
coming. He's Lord of lords and King of
kings. Paul said in 1 Timothy 6, In Zechariah, he said there's
one Lord and his name is one. Whosoever shall call upon the
name of the, what? The Lord, shall be saved. And he told his disciples, you
call me master and Lord and you do well for so I am. And then he tells us in Acts
10 verse 26 that Jesus Christ, he is Lord of all. This man that would come down
that path and John the Baptist would see him and say, behold
the Lamb, that's the Lord. That's the Lord. All power, he
said, in heaven and earth is given unto me. Now you go preach. Why would anybody preach to a
fallen generation who has no ability, totally depraved, ignorant,
in darkness? What would be the point of preaching?
I'll tell you why, because all power is given unto him in heaven
and earth. Now go preach. Now go preach. Now there's hope. Now there's hope. The Bible said, by Him were all
things created that are in heaven, that are in earth, visible and
invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities
or powers. All things were created by Him
and for Him, and by Him all things have their continuance. All things
consist. He's the head of the body of
the church, the firstborn from the dead, that he might have all the preeminence. That's what we're talking about.
We're talking about the Lord. John preached the Lord. He orders the universe. He arranges
providence. He directs his preachers to his
elect. And he said to Moses, I'll have
mercy on whom I will have mercy. And I'll have compassion on whom
I will have compassion. Therefore, it's not of him that
willeth, and it's not of him that runneth. It's of the Lord,
isn't it? It's of God that shall with mercy. This is
the Lord. This is who he preached. And
I assure you that the only thing that even the demons in hell
are going to do, and every unbelieving rebel who's ever lived on this
earth is going to do, every fallen angel, Satan himself. Every tongue shall confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. All gonna
confess it. Won't that be a day? Seated with
him, overlooking the judgment of this world to see Satan himself. Bow his head and say he's Lord. He's Lord. He's Lord to the glory
of God the Father. John preached one mightier than
himself, greater in strength, greater in reputation, greater
in glory, greater in power, greater in wisdom. Oh, he said, I'm not even worthy
to stoop down and unloose his shoes. What a man this was, coming
after Him. There cometh one mightier than
I. And this, according to our Lord's
own testimony in Matthew 11, 11, is He who was the greatest
of all them born of woman. This is the greatest of all them
born of woman. And yet He could do nothing for
anyone except one greater than He. Follow Him up. And our Lord said he was the
greatest of them born of woman, but he said the least of them
in the kingdom of God is greater than he. Huh? You know why? Because there comes one after
us mightier than us. That's why. That's why. When he sent the 70 out to preach,
you know what he told them? He said, you go into all the
places whether he himself would go. And they, like John, were
kind of forerunners. They'd go into that town, they'd
preach the gospel. But I'm gonna tell you something.
Unless he comes, my words are gonna go out and fall on the
ground. They're just gonna fall on the ground. And I know you love me and appreciate
me and the ministry God's given me, but like John, I need that
mightier one to come. I need him to come. and do what
no one else could do. I just, I'm sorry if this offends
you, but I had no use for the Jesus of today's religion. I
got no use for him. What could he do? His hands are
tied, his will is constrained, his power is ineffectual, his
grace is conditioned, and his favor has to be won. If he was looking for a job,
not a single person would hire him. Now you think about it,
if he put all these things down on his resume, who would hire
him? If he was running for office, nobody would vote for him. If
he were looking for a wife, who would marry him? He can't keep
a promise. I'm talking about the Jesus that's
preaching to every pulpit in this land. He can't do anything. His word
means nothing. He can't keep his promises. Oh, John said, this one that
comes after me, he's mightier than I. He's mightier than I. And listen to this, Mark chapter
1, verse 8. He said, I baptize you with water
upon your profession of faith. And I see those fruits of repentance.
I baptize you in the water. I take you out and bury you in
the water. Confessing your faith before
this world and before God. But there comes one after me.
He'll baptize you with the Holy Ghost. Wow. He'll bury you in the Spirit
of God. and he'll raise you in the Spirit
of God to walk in newness of life. He'll baptize you with
the Holy Ghost. And this one who's coming was
being declared by John was the only one in all eternity fit
to do the job. He and he alone could save chosen
sinners. He and he alone was ordained
to the office of Savior. to the office of high priest.
And he can and shall save his people from their sins. He can
and did satisfy the justice of God and pay that awful price
for our redemption. He can and did ascend into glory. securing the salvation of his
elect and sending the Holy Spirit into our hearts, regenerating
and reconciling and enabling us to believe his gospel, making
us meet to be partakers with the saints in light. He shall
baptize you with the Holy Ghost. He didn't say he might, he said
he shall. Isn't that what John said? He shall. It didn't attach an if to it
or a maybe. He shall baptize you with the
Holy Ghost. What are you saying, preacher?
I'm saying it takes a sovereign, effectual redeemer to save a
chosen sinner. That's what I'm saying. Nothing
else will do. Nothing else will do. Now watch
this. Here's the second thing I want
you to see. Mark chapter 1, verse 9. It came to pass in those days
that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized of
John in Jordan. It came to pass because God ordained
it. That's why it came to pass. He said, I declare the end from
the beginning. And from ancient times, the things
that are not yet done, saying my counsel shall stand and I
will do all my pleasure. That's why it came to pass God
ordained it. It came to pass because he said
it would. Came to pass because the Father
of Lights cannot change. Christ was the unspeakable gift
of God. And the one who gives those gifts
is the Father of Lights with whom is no variableness, neither
shadow of turning. Came to pass because it was necessary
to manifest the glory of God. Everything God has purposed to
do, he'll do. He said this. He said, I'll call
a ravenous bird from the east. He did and fed his prophet in
a cave. Didn't he? Huh? Now watch this. The man that executeth my counsel
from a far country. He'll take that man that he's
called and set apart. Where was I before coming here?
I was up in the center of Kentucky, about 12 hours from here. How'd
I get here? God called me. Is that right? God called me. And that's what
he's saying. I'll call a man that'll execute
my counsel from a far country. Same way I called that bird,
and it'll do my will. Can you see how great this one
is of whom John testified of? He's the Lord. He's the Lord,
and it came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth
of Galilee. Why'd he come from Nazareth?
Because that's how the prophet said he'd come from. He'll be called a Nazarene. He's
from Nazareth. And he was baptized of John in
Jordan. He came to fulfill all that was
written of him, and therefore he's baptized of John in Jordan. Everything that God has purposed
will come to pass. It'll come to pass. Think of
all the things involved in this, the unfolding of God's providence. His providence is a marvelous
thing. It's a marvelous thing. Paul
began to write over in Romans 11 about the election of grace
and And God chose some and blinded the rest and he was talking about
that and he was talking about this nation and how in calling
the Gentiles, now you're gonna provoke the Jews and some of
them gonna be saved. And he's going back and forth
on this thing and he's talking about the providence of God in
both the Jews and Gentiles and blindness and reprobation and
all of these things. He's talking about these things,
and the whole time, it's just building inside of him. And all
of a sudden, he just stops talking about them. You can read it for
yourself. And he said, oh, the depth of
the riches, both of wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable
are his judgments and his ways past finding out, for who hath
known the mind of the Lord? Who's been his counselor? Who
counseled him? Who did he sit down with and
say, well, how you reckon I ought to do this? No, he didn't do
that. Or who hath given to him that
it should be recompensed unto him again? For of him and through
him and to him are all things, to whom be glory forever and
ever. Amen. John preached the coming
of Christ the Lord, Preparations, Solomon said, the preparations
of the heart in man and the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.
Everything John did that day, he could give God thanks for
it. When John opened his mouth and said, behold the lamb, preparations
in the heart of man and the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. The path he walked, the sandals
he wore, the prophet who saw him, and the wisdom to recognize
him, all of the Lord. And it came to pass in those
days, not some other days, in those days, because those were
the days that God ordained. Days ordained and arranged according
to the eternal counsel of God. And the same thing applies in
our days. You think God had his way at
Jordan? And he won't have his way today. Oh, my soul. You know what the scripture says
about today? Now tomorrow, you're gonna say
today, right? And if you still live 50 years
from now, and you wake up on a Monday, you're gonna call it
today. Here's what scripture said. This
is the day the Lord hath made. Rejoice in it. Rejoice in it. This day. God made us. You know what a privilege that
is? I'm not a beast that's gonna
be slain with no future. God made us. created us for His
glory, arranged His providence, allowed us the high privilege
of being partakers of it. And I'm telling you, we don't
need to ignore that or take it for granted. We need to think
about it. This is the day the Lord has made. You think John
the Baptist didn't think about that when he saw Him coming down
the path? Oh my, came to pass in those
days that Jesus came from Nazareth to Galilee and was baptized of
John in Jordan. So what's so significant about
that? Because he's the Christ. He's the promised redeemer, he's
the one mediator, he's the savior of sinners, the surety of the
everlasting covenant of God. Oh, Jesus of Nazareth is the
Word made flesh. And God's purpose and grace,
which was, it was given us in who? It was given us in Christ
Jesus. When that happened, before the
world began. But now it's made manifest by
the appearing of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus of Nazareth is God our
Savior, and we know that beyond all doubt because John bore witness
of Him exactly as Malachi said he would. This is the Christ. This is the Son of the living
God. He was made, Paul said, a little lower than angels and
crowned with glory and honor, and thou didst set Him above
all the works, over all the works of thy hands. He came as it was
written of him and he was baptized of John in Jordan. Now I want
to say something here and I want you to listen to me. If Jesus Christ, the blessed
and only potentate King of kings and Lord of lords submitted himself
to baptism because he said It's of us to fulfill all righteousness,
all these things that are written. We're going to do that. We're
chosen of God. And Christ said to John, you
have to do the things you have to do, and I have to do the things
I have to do. And baptism was one of them.
And if he submitted himself to baptism, and John told him, he
says, I have need to be baptized of you, and do you come to me
to be baptized? You suffer it so to be so for
now. It becometh us to fulfill all
righteousness. Now, if he submitted himself
to baptism, where's that leave me and you? Huh? Scratching our
head? No. No. If he submitted himself
to baptism, brethren, What an honor it ought to be for us to
submit ourselves. Huh? The same providence that marked
his appearance brought his servant John to perform it. And he performed
the act and fulfilled what God said he must do. May the Lord
be pleased to take my feeble attempts to teach this. Blessed for his name's honor
and glory. Thank you.