Hello dear friend,
Greetings to you in Jesus name. Hope you are doing well in the grace and mercies of God.
I pray, may God continue to protect you from every attack of the enemy, and he also provide you all your needs according to His riches in glory in Jesus Christ our Lord.
I guess you have heard about John the Baptist in the bible, if you already know everything about him – this post will be a reminder about him.
The birth of John the Baptist:
John the Baptist was the son of the Zachariah and Elizabeth, Both of them were righteous people, and were well advanced in age, but they did not have children.
Sometimes God delays you from experiencing certain blessings because He is preparing for the very best. Zachariah and Elizabeth did not have children for a very long time, but God gave them, they were blessed with the extremely blessed child.
Jesus said, I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist. Matthew 11:11a NLT. If God has delayed certain miracles, it doesn’t mean He has completely denied it. He is the prayer answering God, He answered Zechariah’s prayer – He will answer yours too.
John’s family background:
Zachariah and Elizabeth both come from the priestly background from the lineage of Aaron. John was born in a very well respected family, I think He must have been brought up with utmost love and care.
The angel Gabriel told Zechariah, you will have great joy and gladness and many will rejoice at his birth. Luke 1:14 NLT. John’s birth brought celebration and happiness to the house and everyone around him.
The blessings God is giving you, will be a great blessing and honor to you, and great celebration to the people around you.
John – the voice:
John was the fulfilment of the Old Testament prophecy, just as the prophet Isaiah had written: “Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way. Mark 1:2
One of the nature of the voice is, it is invisible. This also tells us about the humility of John the Baptist, everyone want to be known for their gifts and ministries, recognized for their achievements, and celebrated because of their success; but John was comfortable to decrease himself to make Jesus great.
It requires lot of grace to be what God has called you to be, John the Baptist was at ease to be known as the voice. One of the reason Jesus did not speak a word when Herod asked him questions because Herod had killed John – the voice. Luke 23:9.
When you honor God, God will honor you!
John’s lifestyle:
We have known that John is greater than everyone born of a woman, born in a very godly family, and he is also the voice that prepares the way for God; what could be his lifestyle? (What he ate? Where he lived?)
John could have easily become a successor of the priestly responsibility after his father, to wear the linen garments and perform all the rituals at the temple, and eat from the choicest food at the temple; but he was in the wilderness, he wore garment made of camels hair and leather belt, and ate locusts and wild honey. Mark 1:6
John lived a sacrificial life, he lived where God wanted him to live and did what God wanted him to do. The blessings of God is not only measured by where you are, what you wear, and what you eat; true blessing is, God looking at you with satisfaction and delight.
At the cost of you fulfilling your own dreams and desires, are you grieving God? Is God pleased with you?
John’s ministry:
John was a preacher. He preached the Kingdom of God, and baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Matthew 3:2, Mark 1:4.
And as a result of his preaching, at the invitation for water baptism; people from all Judea and Jerusalem went to him to confess their sins and to be baptized by him. Mark 1:5
What a great ministry! I am amazed how John was not moved by the needs of the people, we do not have a record of him healing or casting a demon out of anyone in the bible, and yet I believe there must have been sick people around.
There are too many attractions and distraction in the world and even in the church, but be anchored in who you are and what God has called you to do; when you do what God has told you to do, you will get the result God has intended for you to get.
John about Lord Jesus:
We know that John was Jesus’ forerunner, who came to prepare the way for the Lord.
When people saw John’s success and influence over people, they asked him who are you? He did not hesitate to confess that he is not the Messiah. John 1:19-20
And in the following verses he introduces Jesus to the crowd saying, He is so great that “I am not even worthy to be His slave and untie the straps of His sandal” John 1:28 NLT. John introduces Jesus as the Lamb of God. John 1:29, 36.
Our ministry here on earth is not to build our own kingdoms, and have our own followers, but to build the Kingdom of God and help people to follow Jesus – the way, the truth, and the life.
May God give us a heart and grace to make Jesus known to the world with every blessing God has blessed us with. It is not about us, it is all about Jesus! He should become great, we should become less!
With much love and blessings,
Ps. Jeevan & Ps. Leena Jeevan
+91 96203 88227
If you have any other insights about the life of John, please feel free to leave it in the comment section. And if you are blessed by this post, please share this with your loved ones. Thank you.
