The prophesied preacher prepares people for Jesus. What about you? What lessons can you learn from John the Baptist about your role in God’s plans?
Let’s look at Mark 1:1-8
1. Mark begins his gospel account of Jesus by stating clearly who Jesus is the Son of God, verse 1. The gospel focuses on Jesus in the first verse, so that we who read it do not lose sight of the fact that Jesus is the focus.
Jesus should also be the focus of all that we do. As you look at your life, is Jesus the focus of all that you do?
2. Years before John even existed, God’s plan for the ministry of Jesus and the part John was to play in it, were already in place. We see how far reaching God’s plans are.
Just so God ‘chose us in Him before the creation of the world,’ Ephesians 1:4. How does that make you feel, to know even before He created the world God had a place and a role for you?
3. God’s promises and prophecies are always fulfilled in His time, verses 2-3.
As we wait for God’s promises to us to be fulfilled, we need to remember this fact: God’s time, not ours.
4. John came preaching the need for repentance. Repentance must always be the first step in preparation for Jesus. Baptism was a visible sign of that change of direction and repentance.
Like the people of John’s time we need to confess our sins and repent of them, verses 4-5.
5. John knew his role in God’s scheme of things.
Do we know what our role in God’s plans and our ministry is? John pointed people to Jesus. Is that your aim? Do you and I point others to Jesus as John did, focusing people’s attention not on themselves, but on Jesus?
Each of us as God’s people has a specific task to do, a specific ministry to fulfill. Are you and I obedient to the task and ministry God has for us?
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