Luke 1:14-17
This is the second section of a three part study on this
passage as we look at the type of people God uses. Yesterday we looked at how God prepared John
the Baptist’s parents to be used in the way that they were. Today we are going to look at how Gabriel
described how the ministry of John would be.
We must be careful not to confuse the things that God revealed about
John and just automatically assume that the same will be true of us. However, as we look at the characteristics of
the people whom God uses John’s example is certainly worth of our
consideration. This was a prophecy about
who John would be. It is not a promise
about how all of us will be. As we look
at these four descriptions of who John was promised to be; we can certainly
view them as goals for which to strive and requests for which to pray.
POWERFUL: When Gabriel broke the news of John’s coming
birth; he gave a description of who John would be. This too gives us more insight as to who God
uses and how God uses people. The first
word that I would use to describe John and his ministry is powerful. Gabriel said that he would be great in the
eyes of God and filled with the Spirit from the womb. Later on Jesus would testify to the
fulfillment of this statement by naming John the Baptist as the greatest of all
the prophets up until that time. John
was a great and powerful man because of the work of the Holy Spirit in His
life. All powerful people in the kingdom
of God were supernaturally empowered by the Holy Spirit. That is why all honor and glory for anything
that any of us do belongs to God. John
occupied a unique place in history and had a unique role to fulfill. However, it is valid to note that Jesus
concluded his statement about John by declaring that the least in the kingdom
of heaven would be greater than He. The
same Spirit that filled John the Baptist indwells every believer. His power is available to us and is the only
means by which any of us can be used effectively by Him. He longs to show Himself powerful in our
lives and will do so as we prepare ourselves to be used by Him and make
ourselves available to Him.
PURE: Second, we see that he was described as being pure. From his youth he was to keep himself
separated from sinfulness. The
commandment that he be kept from alcohol makes it seem that he was called to
follow the restrictions of the Nazarite vow.
Once again we see that God desires to use people who are obedient to Him
and submissive to His Word. Certainly,
one of the contributing factors to the greatness of John was the purity of his
life before God. We cannot pretend to be
desirous of being used by God if we are not being obedient to God. Parents and young people ought to learn from
this principle. As parents we must do
all in our power to preserve the purity of our children. Certainly Zacharias and Elizabeth played a
key role in instructing John and helping to keep him accountable in the area of
his purity. Perhaps the reason that
John’s role and birth was announced to his parents was so that they would be
able to realize the importance of investing in John’s spiritual
well-being. Young people must take their
own purity seriously. Too often children
and young people feel like they can dabble in sin with few consequences. This is a grave mistake that has disqualified
many from an opportunity to be used more effectively by God.
PRODUCTIVE: Third, we see that John was productive. He would turn the hearts of many to the
Lord. This is the task that God calls
all of His children to accomplish. God
is in the business of transforming lives.
The purpose of our lives is to seek to be used of God to turn the hearts
of men to God. God’s plan for this world
and His mission for the church is to reconcile man to Himself. There is no higher calling than to cooperate
with God in His mission. John had a
unique role to play in this plan of redemption.
None of us can fulfill the role of John the Baptist. However, God is still longing for the hearts
of men to turn to Him. We must honestly
and eagerly identify how we can best contribute to and cooperate with this
mission. Besides being productive at
restoring men to a right relationship with God; John was also used to restore
relationships between fathers and sons.
The family is an important instrument of God in His mission to transform
lives and reconcile men to Himself. This
is one of the reasons that Satan is constantly on the prowl looking for ways to
destroy the family. Families have been
under attack from the very beginning.
And important part of John’s ministry was to protect and being healing
to families. This example of John’s
ministry is certainly worth of our emulation.
It is impossible for us to have our hearts genuinely turned to God
without our hearts also being turned to our family. Our relationship with God will always impact
our relationships with others.
PROPHESIED: Fourth, we see that John was prophesied. John was not an afterthought. His birth and the timing of this message had
been planned carefully by God and been prophesied in the Old Testament. Gabriel quotes the prophet, Malachi so that
there can be no doubt in our minds that John was the fulfillment of the promise
of God. He came for the purpose of changing
lives and preparing the path for Messiah to come and fulfill His plan of redemption. Once again, we must be careful not to assume
that what is said of John will always be true about us. However, we can be assured that God is
personally involved in our lives and is sovereignly overseeing every aspect of
all that we do. God revealed John’s
specific task to his parents. I don’t
believe that this is a common experience.
In fact it is a miraculous occurrence.
Miracles are, by definition, rare.
We should not expect or wait around for Gabriel to reveal God’s plan for
our lives to us or our parents just because that is how God chose to work in
John’s life. That does not make our
relationship with God any less special or important for that matter. God has given us clear revelation of what he
expects us to do with our lives in the Scripture. He has given us a mission to make disciples
in all nations. Each of us is
responsible to obey God’s instructions in Scripture and to determine how we can
best be engaged in His mission.
APPLICATION: Recognize and depend
on the power of the Holy Spirit in all that we do. Be zealous in promoting and protecting our
purity. Use all of our gifts and
energies to help turn others to God and restore relationships within families. Thank God for choosing us to be a part of His
family and then seek to fulfill our part in His mission.
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