LEARNING FROM THE FORE RUNNER

PROFILE

NAME – John son of Zechariah

OCCUPATION – Evangelist

DESCENDANTS – From the lineage of Levites. His father Zechariah was a serving priest from Abijah while Elizabeth descended from Aaron directly! Pure blood. So he is qualified to be a priest in the temple too!

CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING HIS BIRTH – Zechariah saw an angel while he was serving in the temple who told him about the birth of the child! Elizabeth has being many years without a child because she was barren and she bore this child in her old age (pass menopause)! He was truly a miracle child (Luke 1).

PLACE OF WORK – In  the desert! Around the Jordan river which was a place of great activity ; transportation, fishing etc.

AUDIENCE – Tax collectors, soldiers, fishermen, some Pharisees and others

MESSAGE – Repentance and forgiveness of sin

THOUGHTS :-

1.       What a simple life style for John the Baptist! If he wanted he could get a very comfortable life style in the temple but he choose otherwise wearing Carmel skin with a leather belt to hold it and his meal was locust and honey. Imagine all those sacrifices at the temple he was entitled to them but because of his calling he lived like a nobody for the sake of God’s plans and purposes! And I was asking myself the question; Am I living for self or for God’s plans and purposes? Do I see a simple, humble and sacrificial lifestyle has a curse from God or as a means to be used by God effectively?

2.       John was preaching in the desert and people where trooping to him to hear what he had to say and they were saved! He never got carried away so as to move his preaching station to the megacity; Jerusalem. He stayed out there! Desert is not a pleasant place to be oh with the aridness! But he stayed there.  The amazing thing is people went from the megacity and the regions around in search of him! That is what Total obedience to God can do. And i was asking myself this question; am I where God wants me to be or have I gone in search of greener pastures?

3.       John was not afraid to speak the truth but declared it boldly! Even when the so called teachers of the law (Pharisees and Sadducees) he told them the truth! When Herod the tetrarch the royalty at that time did something unheard of by marrying his brother’s wife and  he spoke out against it and all the other evil that he had done. That lead me to ask this questions; Do I garnish the gospel to suit my audience or do I speak the truth as it is from God’s word? Who my scared of, my audience or the one who sent me (the creator of all things)?

4.       He knew his purpose and mission as a forerunner, so he didn’t allow people’s expectations to distract him from what God expected of him! people knew he was special with regards to his lineage and the circumstances surrounding his birth and all they wanted was for him to proclaim himself the messiah since he confronted them with the truth but he did not allow that to happen instead in integrity and humility he told them who he was out of deep conviction and also pointed them to the messiah. This made me ask this questions; Do I get scared out of my wit when preaching and am questioned what church do you come from or a you a pastor (They say what you are asking us to do is only meant for pastors, are you one)? Do you really know who God has called you to be or do you still struggle with that identity that you can’t tell people clearly what you do? Are you convinced about it?

These questions are very thought provoking and I just sat down to think through all of it! I don’t have answers to all of them too but I am working them one by one. Finding answers to the questions helps you define what God expect of you and it also helps you find meaning and purpose in life.

John was a great man! Jesus confirmed that statement too.