herald

The Ministry of the New Born Prophet

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“And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,
‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for He hath visited and redeemed His people, and hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David; as He spake by the mouth of His holy prophets, which have been since the world began: that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant; the oath which He sware to our father Abraham, that He would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our life. And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways; to give knowledge of salvation unto His people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the Dayspring from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.’
And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.”  Luke 1:67-80  (KJB)

The ministry of the prophet John was strong and in the Spirit of the Lord heralding the Lord Jesus as the Messiah of Israel; and preparing many in Israel to receive Him.

That is the ministry of the Biblical preacher and pastor in 2019; declaring the Lord Jesus, His life, His death on the cross, His burial, and His resurrection.  If we let ourselves stand in the way…  Well you finish the sentence.

Lift up the Dayspring.  He is Jesus.

Authentication

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Authentication Of The King

Matthew 3:13-17

INTRODUCTORY OUTLINE –

I. THE KING ARRIVES ON THE SCENE FOR THE PURPOSE OF FULFILLING ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS (v. 13).
II. THE KING IDENTIFIES JOHN AS HIS LEGITIMATE HERALD AND PROPHET (vv. 14-15).
III. THE KING IS VISIBLY IDENTIFIED AND ANOINTED BY HEAVEN (v. 16).
IV. THE KING IS AUDIBLY CONFIRMED BY HIS HEAVENLY FATHER (v. 17).

No kingship is genuine lest it be given and approved by God, the king maker.

I. THE ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE MESSENGER (vv. 13-14).

A. John announces Him as –

“The Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

B. By rejecting Jesus for baptism John was declaring His deity.
C. John rejected the baptism of hypocrites because they were unworthy, but rejects baptizing Jesus because He is without sin.

II. THE BAPTISM OF THE SON (v. 15).

A. John’s baptism was for the repentance of sin.

1. Jesus, the Son of God, had no sin.
2. In His baptism He is identifying Himself as being human, and the need of the human race, and that need was a sin bearer; which Jesus became on the cross.

B. Also, by being baptised Jesus is declaring John a prophet of God, and that his standard of righteousness is valid.

1. If Jesus accepted the teachings of John as valid, then, he was to be received by all.
2. They later rejected the messenger and the King.

C. By being baptised Jesus affirmed the message of baptism as the will of God to which all were to be subjected.

1. Remembering this was a baptism of repentance – a call to turn from sin, and follow the way of God.
2. Baptism in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit is the public profession of one’s faith in Jesus Christ and what He has done for you.

III. THE ANOINTING OF THE SPIRIT (v. 16).

A. Jesus, as a man, needed the empowering of the Holy Spirit for obedience –

“Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;” Hebrews 5:7-9 (KJV).

1. He needed the Holy Spirit when He was teaching.
2. He needed the Holy Spirit when He healed, and brought the dead to life.
3. He needed the Holy Spirit when He confronted evil hypocrites and demons.
4. He needed the Holy Spirit especially when it came to His calling and purpose for coming; His passion, His agony and the death of the cross.
5. We must conclude that He was never apart from the Spirit of God; with one exception; and that was those three hours of darkness on the cross.

B. The visible empowering of the Holy Spirit was a sign to all who were present, that this One is the Anointed One.

1. This is not to say that this is where He receives the Spirit; it is only for the purpose of notifying the populace of God’s approval.
2. The heavens were opened –

“And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.” Acts 7:56;

“Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.” Ezekiel 1:1 (KJV).

a. When God chooses to open the heavens it is a spectacular event.

3. The visible sign was in the form of a dove –

“And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.” Luke 3:22 (KJV).

a. The dove was, to the Jew, a sacrifice of the poor.
b. This dove is signifying, that God has lowered Himself to become man, and as man in need of God’s Spirit.

IV. THE CONFIRMATION OF THE FATHER (v. 17).

A. The only sacrifice pleasing to God.

1. Without spot or blemish.

a. No lamb, bullock or goat could take away sin –

“But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” Hebrews 9:11-14 (KJV).

“For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure” Hebrews 10:4-6

B. Even before the sacrifice is done God decrees His approval upon His Son as though it is finished.
C. Jesus the only sacrifice for sin in which God is “Well pleased”

“While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him” Matthew 17:5 (KJV).

“Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again” John 12:28 (KJV).

D. The death of Jesus Christ on the cross as the only accepted sacrifice for sin made the way for lost sinners to come to faith, relationship and fellowship with the Father.

SUMMARY –

I. Every time a preacher is preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ he is announcing Jesus as King and Lord and Savior of the world.
II. If Jesus, the Son of God saw the need for baptism for the fulfilling of righteousness, then, certainly we can subject ourselves to Him and testify of our faith through baptism by emersion.
III. Just as Jesus had the need for the work and power of the Spirit in His life, so do you and I; without the Spirit in us we do not belong to Him.
IV. The Father authenticated or approved the Son by His voice from Heaven; the only way for our approval from Him is through His Son.

-Tim A. Blankenship