Who Art Thou?

John 1:15-34  John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.  (16)  And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.  (17)  For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.  (18)  No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.  (19)  And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?  (20)  And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.  (21)  And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.  (22)  Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?  (23)  He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.  (24)  And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.  (25)  And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?  (26)  John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;  (27)  He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose.  (28)  These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.  (29)  The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.  (30)  This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.  (31)  And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.  (32)  And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.  (33)  And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.  (34)  And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.

INTRODUCTION:           Here within this text the Pharisees (v 24) are trying to determine whom John the Baptist really is. 

              They knew of Baptism, they used it to cleanse a Gentile was when they converted to Judaism.

              They expected Elijah and the other prophet Moses talked about.  It is Christ's claim of being the Messiah that sent them to question John

              John tells them he is not the Christ and that he is not Elijah.

They expected John to be the one who would bring them out from under the Roman yoke.  He was not that prophet. 

              So the question remains “Who Art Thou?”             (v 22)

I.            JOHN BARE WITNESS OF HIM.                                         (v 15)

(Luke 3:16)  John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:

A.            A Forerunner of Christ

(Isaiah 40:3)  The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

(Isaiah 40:5)  And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

                             1.           Make straight the way                                (v 23)

2.               A highway for our God

3.               The glory of the Lord

                                           i.            Shall be revealed

                             4.           All flesh shall see it

              B.           Whose Shoe Latchet                                                  (v 29)

                             1.           I am not worthy to unloose

                             2.           If John the Baptist was unworthy

                                           i.            What are we?

              C.           He Is Preferred Over Me.                                         (v 30)

                             1.           He was before me

                                           i.            First born law

II.           WHY BAPTIZE THEN, IF NOT THE CHRIST                 (v 25)

(Matthew 3:6)  And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.

(Mark 1:4)  John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

              A.           Confessing Their Sins      

(Matthew 3:6)  And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.

                             1.           Repent ye           

                                           i.            Walk away from your sin

                                           ii.           Turn to God,

                             2.           Bring forth (Signs) fruits meet

                                           (Acceptable) for repentance

              B.           John Said "I Saw The Spirit"

                             1.           Descend from heaven

                                           i.            Like a dove

              C.           I Knew Him Not 

                             1.           He Baptizes with the Holy Ghost

                                               

III.         BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD.

              A.           Christ Is The Lamb of God

                             1.           As the great sacrifice

                                           i.            An atonement for our sin

                       

              B.           Christ As The Lamb of God

                             1.           Removes the sin of the world

                                           i.            For the convert

              C.           Jesus Takes Away:

                             1.           The guilt of sin

                                           i.            By his death

                             2.           The power of sin

                                           i.            By His grace

                                           ii.           Sin shall not have dominion over us.            

(Romans 6:14)  For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

              D.           It IS Our Duty To Behold Him

                             1.           In faith see Him

                                           i.            Taking our sin away

                             2.           Do not hold fast to the sin of our past.

                                           i.            Get away from it.

                             3.           Christ will either:

                                           i.            Take our sins away or

                                           ii.           Take us away

CONCLUSION:  “Who Art Thou?”  The Pharisee’s question John the Baptist, asked “who are you?”

              My job is to ask you that same question.             Who are you? Are you a born again died     

in the wool, separated, hate sin, King James Bible believing Christian?                          Are you?

Which one of the items; do you not believe describes you? 

              Are you born again as Jesus requires in

John 3:7, …ye MUST be born again.

              Are you absolutely without any doubt saved? 

Can you go to your deathbed knowing that you are eternally secure.  John said in:

(Matthew 3:8)  Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:

Can you?                           Are you as separated as you can get? 

What about the TV, movies you watch?  What about the music you listen to?                What about that sin that you haven’t dealt with?

              Do you hate sin?  You should. 

Are you doing your best via Jesus in prayer to eliminate the sin in your life?

              You see we seem to segregate ourselves from church. 

The world today wants everything their way.  What I do in my home is my personal business and has nothing to do with the church. 

              That is true, until it becomes a shame on the Body of the Church.

              You see God knows what is going on there. 

He wants it corrected, so no shame comes onto bride.  

Do you know Him?           In John verse 3:16 Jesus uses the word "Believeth" and Paul uses the word "Believe" in Romans 10:9.

We need to understand that those words require something of us.  We MUST believe, and it MUST be a sincere belief.

We MUST also understand the there are two things we MUST believe.

              1.           We MUST believe Jesus is the Son of God.

              2.           We MUST believe we each are sinners.

Without this understanding salvation cannot happen.

              Once we have accepted Jesus and do understand that we are a sinner, then and only then can we look to God for acceptance.

(Romans 10:9)      (Romans 10:13) 

So what are you going to do?         Accept Him now, step boldly forward, come to the altar                     Ask Jesus to accept you just as you are.

Then thank Him for accepting you.              Then ask Him to forgive you of your sins. (And mean it)