Voices in the Wilderness

John 1:15-23 

John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying: "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.'"

And of His fulness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"
He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ."
And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?"
He said, "I am not."
"Are you the Prophet?"
And he answered, "No."
Then they said to him, "Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?"
He said, "I am 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Make straight the way of The Lord,"' as the prophet Isaiah said."

John, the baptizer, was the man sent by God to make the way for Jesus. This is not the same John as the one who wrote the Book of John. John the Baptist was Jesus' cousin, so we are told in Luke 1. Did He know this man to whom he alerted people was the same man? I'm not positive.

John lived in the wilderness of Judea some distance from Jerusalem where Jesus lived. It is not recorded whether they might have seen each other during their childhood. What's important is that John was sent to be a prophet of God to preach Jesus' coming, repentance for their sins and the ultimate baptism of all who listened and received his word. But John was adamant that he was not the Christ, just the voice of one calling in the wilderness to announce His coming and what He stood for.

Jesus did the same thing, except He declared He was the Son of God. He promised newness of life in Him.

Aren't we all called to be voices in the wilderness? Aren't we all, while not all prophets, called to show people Christ? To preach that Jesus is the Way, Truth and Life. To preach that in Christ our sins are forgiven, to preach baptism when we come to this revelation. John did it, Jesus did it and so should we all be voices in the wilderness of this world that we live in. We wander in our own wilderness without Jesus. The wilderness becomes our promised land when we receive Christ.

Adam and Eve went from paradise to wilderness by their sin. God sent Jesus to reverse that, to bring new life. Heed the voices in the wilderness. Listen to the refreshing He will bring:

Isaiah 43:19-20 - Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The beast of the field will honor Me, the jackals and the ostriches, because I give waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My people, My chosen. 

Word Became Flesh

John 1:10-14 

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in his name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

My, as I begin to pick apart this Book of John, I am asking for fresh vision into this Man who died for my sins. More than I have. I'm taking this easy and soaking in more than before. I'm relying on His Spirit to open my eyes, heart and spirit more. More! Join me, please.

Jesus made all things, was here in the flesh, talking about who He was, what He came to do, saying and doing miraculous things, and not all noticed, or wanted to. His own people in His hometown did not believe He, Jesus, the carpenter's son, was actually the Son of God, the Messiah they had heard would come.

Things haven't changed much. Yet the story about Him hasn't died. It goes on, as He says it will (Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. Matthew 24:35). 
Amazing, isn't it? His words will not die.

Still some do not look at this Man as Creator-God at one end and the sacrificial Lamb who died for all of us at the other end. In life and death He is awesome. It's a lot to comprehend, yet so easy. But through His Spirit and His drawing, many have come to believe and understand the greatness of this, the love this Man has for all, the sacrifice He went through for each person, and which rejection He must continue to endure to this day. And yet, He has the right to judge and reject those who will not believe.

But as many as received Him, to THEM He gave the right to become children of God. What a privilege to be in that place. I was born in the flesh by the will of the flesh, but real life came through Christ and my receiving of Him. That is the important issue.

Contemplate such a thing. What is worth everything is spiritually born and grown, not physically. Nothing in this world compares to what Jesus offers us. Yet people, like in His day, choose the comforts of their earthly lives over Him and the gift He has to offer.

1John 2:15-17 - Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. 

A Radical Concept

John 3:3 - Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

This is a powerfully meaningful statement. It comes from Jesus Himself. They are words in red in my Bible and I have them highlighted...twice...in yellow and green! If Jesus said them, they not only are the truth, they should be listened to and more importantly adhered to.

We are doing a women's Bible study on the Book of John. I love this book. Chapter 3 is pretty much the chapter to read to determine one's salvation, to determine one's understanding of the term born again. If I sound like I'm repeating myself, I am!

To be born again means to be born from above. This is not a physical birth but a spiritual one. It comes from the power of the Holy Spirit in one's life upon receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior. It means a transformation has taken place in one's life. A change in views, for instance.

Before I knew Christ my mindset was different. I knew who Jesus was and I believed there was a God. But I totally misunderstood the words whoever believes on Him should not perish but have everlasting life. I thought that just believing as I did, with my head, not my heart,  made it a done deal. I believed that God would not let anyone perish for eternity because He was a good God. He'd have mercy on all people. 

So how does one believe? I said before a transformation takes place. But it’s not a change that we can make happen. It comes from God. The old lifestyle gets replaced. It's no longer all about me, but about Jesus.

Nicodemus from Chapter 3 went under the cover of night to visit and question Jesus. Why night? He was a religious leader of the Pharisees. Shouldn't he have had all the answers? Here's an interesting comment made from my Dake's Study Bible: Nicodemus misunderstood Jesus [the born again comment] and thought only in human terms. Millions today make the same mistake in comparing the new birth with the old birth. This is the very thing Jesus did not want men to do. The truth is a begetting and a coming into existence [physical] and the other is adoption [spiritual]. And later this comment was made: Jesus expected [Nicodemus] to know the scriptures enough to be saved, but he was like millions in churches today, even many ministers who do not know what the new birth is.

Harsh words? Gnawing at the craw? Jesus didn't preach easy words. He came for a purpose and that was for all to know Him...personally, intimately. If we want to know Him in our own way, we are lost. If we allow His Spirit to teach us, if we are open minded, come as little children, these words are not so hard because we have allowed ourselves to be transformed (and this does NOT mean brainwashed).

Remember, the truth sets us free. Jesus is the Truth. Jesus was radical in His teaching because it went against the “beliefs” of the religious leaders. The Pharisees and Sadduccees believed that if they kept the rules set out before them they were saved. They could not understand the things that Jesus preached and that's why they wanted Him killed. He was a threat. And...He's still a threat today to many.

We are not in relationship with Jesus just by going to church or reading the Bible. There is no one religion that is better than another because all are man made. It's not about religion but about a relationship...a personal relationship...with Jesus Christ. It's between each one of us and Jesus. It's a decision we each must make. I can't make this happen in anybody's life. It happens when something in your spirit catches and says, Pay heed to these words. Just like the fishermen, Jesus says, Follow me. And like the fishermen we are to arise and follow. If there’s a catching in your spirit, go for it! It’s God trying to get your attention.

I remember hearing someone say, and I’m very certain I had the same thought that no one is going to push this born again stuff on me. I thought I "knew" in my mind back then, like the millions in the world today, that this concept was "wrong." NOT! Back then no one could tell me what to do. I "knew" in human terms...but not spiritually. Here in John 3 Jesus Himself is telling us we must be born again, born of water and Spirit. God never changes...His words never change. 

If we don't want to hear the truth, we try to sweep it under the carpet. The world wants less talk about Jesus because the truth exposes lies and who wants to know they've believed a lie. John 3:19-20 - and this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. These are more of Jesus’ red-letter words. They are the truth. And He never changes.

A radical concept, this thing that we are not all basically good people! So, did I consider myself evil twelve years ago? No. I presume most people don't because they aren't murderers or thieves. In comparison to "those others" they are basically good. We are all born to this world in the same way, sinners. And we remain that way no matter how we argue about how good we are until we understand the meaning of being born again.

If a person does not remember a time in their life when they were touched by power of the Holy Spirit and dramatically heart changed, chances are they have not received the new birth that only comes from that relationship (not religion) with Jesus. Ask me about this! When it happened to me I knew nothing about the Holy Spirit, so how could I make up what occurred?

John 3:15 says that whoever believes on Him should not perish but have eternal life. It’s the word “believe” that trips us up, I think. Believe on means to receive by faith, not by works, with the heart...in vitality and depth in our innermost being. It is believing "on" Jesus Christ. He becomes our foundation. It is "in" Him we abide. Faith brings the transformation, not anything we think we can do.

John 3:21 adds to the understanding that it is not by our own efforts we can come into this relationship with the Lord. He WILL do His part in guiding people to receive Him...that nudging that so often gets pushed aside, those words that make us grumble time and time again or make us think who do they think they are saying this? Believe me, I know. I got snarly when I heard this too often! And one day as snarly as I was one second, the next, for no reason I could explain at the time, I was weeping because I wanted to hear God’s voice...and the next day I did, and I experienced the power of the Holy Spirit..and it was the beginning of the transformation I was talking about.

So, this radical concept...being born again. Not man’s plan! It’s in Jesus’ words! In red! If it were man’s plan, maybe it would be accepted. However, God’s plan of salvation doesn’t meet the criteria of the average person. (I can’t remember if I heard this or wrote it myself!) It is a radical concept. If this seems radical, it’s because He was radical...to the point where religious leaders wanted to kill Him because He criticized them for their attempts to keep the laws when they couldn’t...and radical today because there are so many who want any mention of God’s name removed. 

We cannot keep all the rules. When we grasp this and grasp that we all fit into the category of imperfect, we will see a need for a Savior. When we fear today or on our deathbed whether we’ve been good enough, whether we did enough, we might see a need for a Savior. Seek Him now and avoid the fear. 

It’s only by childlike faith and not by any work of our own, no amount of our own good deeds, the amount of time we spend in church, which church we attend or even how often we read the Bible, if we do (which we should anyway) but only through receiving Christ and having a personal, not religious, relationship with Him. Then we have entered into the light, received the truth and realized that NOW our deeds have been done in God (John 3:21). Jesus really does save! His free gift of salvation. These words are from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ:

John 3:21 - But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.