John: Chapter 1:1-5

Below is but a small measure of revelation that my father had received from the Lord. I hope this will be a blessing to you. All that is written below are the words of my father.

June 15, 2020

In loving memory of my father
Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett
July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023

Many verses in the Bible speak of the works of God. John 21:25 says, 

"And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen." 

However there are five "Christology" Chapters in the Bible. That means that five specific Chapters in the Bible, perhaps more so than any others, emphasize the Person and nature of the Lord Jesus Christ. They are John, Chapter 1; Ephesians, Chapter 1; Philippians, Chapter 2; Colossians, Chapter 1; and Hebrews, Chapter 1. Those five chapters also speak of God our Father and the Holy Ghost.

We have previously shared with you five messages on Ephesians, Chapter 1. Paul, the apostle to the gentiles, was the supreme theologian who wrote the epistles of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Hebrews, and many more. Now we want to look at the Gospel of John, Chapter 1.

In later messages we will look at Philippians, Chapter 2, Colossians, Chapter 1, and Hebrews, Chapter 1.

The Apostle John was the supreme mystic. A mystic is a person who seeks by contemplation and self-surrender to obtain unity with God and who believes in the spiritual apprehension of truths that are beyond the intellect or natural mind. John has sometimes been called the great eagle of the Bible because the eagle is the only creature that can look straight into the sun and not be blinded. Such was John, who perhaps more than any other man, could gaze into the eternal mysteries and truths and into the very heart and mind of God. In the Book of Acts there is no verse where John said a word. After my maternal grandmother went to be with the Lord I found many words of wisdom which she had written in one of her Bibles. One such word of wisdom was: "Some people never seem to realize why God gave us two ears but only one mouth." The focus of John's unique ministry was on "being" or becoming that for which the Lord created him, namely Christ in you the hope of glory. What glory? and whose glory? surely not for our glory but for the glory of God. In the Gospel according to John, which of course is really the Gospel according to the Holy Spirit through John, the miracles of Jesus are not so much deeds of compassion for men but rather deeds which demonstrate the glory of God. After the miracle at Cana of Galilee when Jesus turned water into wine, we read in 

John 2:11, "This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth His glory; and His disciples believed on Him." 

The raising of Lazarus from the dead was 

"... for the glory of God, that the Son might be glorified thereby" (John11:4). 

The blind man's blindness existed to allow a demonstration of the glory of the works of God (John 9:3).

To John, the miracles done by Jesus were not simply single events in time; they were examples or illustrations of what God is always doing and what Jesus always is. The feeding of the five thousand, in John 6, is only an illustration that Jesus forever is the real Bread of Life. The raising of Lazarus from the dead is followed by a discourse that Jesus is forever and for all men the resurrection and the life. The healing of the blind man is a supreme example that Jesus is the Light of the world. 

The Apostle Paul likewise knew and understood these same truths. Paul said, in 

Colossians 3:16-17, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him."

What did Paul mean when he said, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom?" Did he mean that we should memorize as much Scripture as possible? Well I am certainly not opposed to memorizing Scripture, but we can do that and have only a head full of facts. First, the word "Let" means that we must cooperate with the Holy Spirit; that is our choice or decision to make. Christ IS the Word of life. Let Him dwell in us richly or abundantly.

The Church today is still focused primarily on the theological or doctrinal stage, with all of our many arguments over meanings of Scripture. And of course there is an ever-increasing multitude of believers who can tell us what the Church needs to "do" in this hour. But talk is cheap. Action is not cheap. Action costs us our self-life. Faith without works is dead. We live today in the hour of Matthew 24:24 when "if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect," where the "very elect" does not speak of all professing Christians. This has re-produced the Church at Ephesus, which after receiving the best teaching possible through Paul, left their first love. We now live in the Church age of Laodicea, which was and is characterized by apathy, an attitude of being lukewarm, and great deception, with the same results as recorded in Revelation 3. If you would like proof of all of that, just look at all of the division, turmoil, anger, etc. in the natural world today. The earth and its inhabitants has always been a mirror reflection of the spiritual state of God's chosen people. Therefore, Paul's word to Timothy is applicable to each one of us today. 

2 Timothy 1:6, "Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands." 

Peter, in 2 Peter, Chapter 3, also exhorts us to stir up our pure minds. Many years ago a prophecy came forth in a gathering of local believers as follows: "The kingdom of heaven is like unto a concrete mixer truck and the people are like the concrete itself. They must constantly be stirred up or they get hard and set in their ways."

John was the disciple who leaned on the breast of Jesus at what men call "The Last Supper." He was the only early apostle who did not meet a violent death. His Gospel is the last of the four Gospels. His three epistles and the Book of Revelation are the last books in the New Testament.

He out-lived the other early apostles on earth by more than 25 years. Although John was primarily a mystic, he was also a good theologian. He never lacked for knowledge and understanding of the true Gospel. Likewise, Paul, although primarily a theologian, was also a mystic. Both attributes are necessary.

Although no one knows for certain, most scholars believe that John probably wrote his gospel from Ephesus sometime in the 80's A.D. If that is true, then John had gone to Ephesus some 20 years after Paul's ministry there, but before he wrote his three epistles or the Book of Revelation. Apparently the Church at Ephesus had started to leave its first love after the departure of Paul. John, in all of his compassion for his fellow men, wanted to help to restore them ... another example of the great love and grace of God for His chosen people.

The Gospel according to John is quite different from the three synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Perhaps that is true because the Apostle John was, and still is, different from every other writer in the New Testament. I say that John still is because God is not the God of the dead but the God of the living (Matthew 22:32). In the Gospel according to John, we find no parable, nothing of the birth or baptism of Jesus, nothing of His temptations, the Last Supper, Gethsemane, or His ascension. In John the main scene of Jesus' ministry is in Jerusalem and Judaea; the other three gospels mostly record Jesus' ministry in Galilee. The Gospel according to John contains the first acts of Jesus whereas the other gospels focus on the latter part of His life. No other gospel emphasizes the real manhood and humanity of Jesus. On the other hand, no other gospel sets forth such a clear view of the deity of Jesus. Jesus said, in 

John 8:58, "... before Abraham was, I am." 

Two major goals of John's Gospel were to present the Christian faith in such a way that it would be acceptable to the Greek world to which Christianity had just gone out, and to refute the heresies and mistaken ideas which had already arisen within the Church; particularly the heresy of Gnosticism. Gnostics believe that creation is evil, that the world was created by a lesser divinity, not God, that salvation is based upon hidden knowledge or gnosis, and that Jesus either was not in any real sense divine or else that Jesus was not in any sense human.

However, I must believe that John, Himself, states the major reason why he wrote his Gospel: namely, as recorded in John 20:30-31, 

"And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name."

Another somewhat astonishing fact about this fourth gospel is that it never mentions the name of the Apostle John, although the disciple whom Jesus loved is mentioned six times (John 13:23-25; John 19:25-27; John 19:34-35; John 20:2; John 21:20; and John 21:24). In this Gospel the name John always refers to John the Baptist. That illustrates a divine principle. We should never call attention to our self and what we have done; instead we should always focus on who God is and what He has done.

Now please turn to the Gospel of John, Chapter 1. In this message we will look at the first five verses.

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 The same was in the beginning with God.

3 All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made.

4 In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.

5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

The first thing we want to note about those 5 verses is that the words Him, Word, God, and light occur 10 times. We previously saw the same pattern of emphasis on God in Ephesians, Chapter 1. That is why they are called Christology Chapters. Now let us look at each of those first 5 verses in John, Chapter 1.

Verse 1: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Hebrews 4:12, "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

The Greek word translated as "Word" is logos. Greeks used the word logos not only of the spoken word but also of the unspoken word, the word still in the mind. That is confirmed by what Jesus said in 

Matthew 5:27-28, "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart."

Just as the spoken word reveals the invisible thought, so the Living Word reveals the invisible God. Jesus came to earth in the form of a man in order to reveal to man who the Father is. Jesus said, in John 14:7-9,

"If ye had known Me, ye should have known My Father also: and from henceforth ye know Him, and have seen Him. Philip saith unto Him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?"

When the Greeks applied logos to the universe, they meant the principle that governs all things. In contrast, Jews used logos as a way to refer to God. So John used a word that was meaningful to both Jew and Gentile.

In this first verse, John says three things about the Word, which is Jesus. First, the Word was already pre-existent before the very beginning of all things. The Word is part of eternity and was there with the Father before time and before the world began. John goes on to say that the Word was with God. That clearly implies that the Word was (and still is) distinct from the Father.

Deuteronomy 6:4 says, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:"

This verse in Judaism is called the Shema, which is the central prayer in the Jewish prayer book and forms the basis for the Judaic monotheistic religion, with its rejection of Jesus as their Messiah. Some Christians have adopted this theological doctrine that the members of the triune God are not three distinct persons but rather three modes or forms of activity (the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) under which God manifests himself at different times. This is in contrast to the Christian Trinitarian view of three distinct persons within the Godhead. It is certainly very true that the word "trinity" does not appear in the Bible. However, the words "sovereign" and "sovereignty" also do not appear in the Bible, but make no mistake, God is sovereign.

A multitude of verses in the New Testament affirm the distinctiveness of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Consider Matthew 3:16-17:

"And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased."

Throughout the history of the Church, starting from the Day of Pentecost, men have tried to incorporate parts of Judaism into Christianity. We can read about that in Acts 15. But there is no such thing as Judeo-Christianity ... a mixture. Deuteronomy 6:4 speaks of the unity of mind, heart, character, and nature of our Triune God.

There has always been the most intimate relationship between the Word and God the Father. Only Jesus can tell us what the Father is like, what God's will for us is, and what God's love and heart and mind are like. Jesus used the phrase "I am" seven times in John, claiming the personal name of God as His own.

Finally, John 1:1 says that the Word was (and is) God. John did not say that the Word was identical with God. John means that Jesus is so perfectly the same as God in mind, heart, and being that in Jesus we see perfectly what God is like.

Continuing in John 1:1 ... In the beginning. The beginning of what? We might recall that there is a somewhat similar verse in Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." The Hebrew word translated as Genesis means "beginnings." Science speaks of space, matter, time, motion, and force. "In the beginning" speaks of time, which is the medium in which things change; God is the supreme force; created speaks of motion; the heavens speak of space; and the earth speaks of matter. We find a multitude of sets of three in the Bible. Time consists of past, present, and future. In space we have length, width, and height. Matter has solid, liquid, and gas. Paul speaks of being caught up to the third heaven. The Hebrew word for God in Genesis 1:1 is Elohim, which is plural, and points to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit ... the three Who are one in mind and one in purpose. However, the verb "created" is singular. 

Genesis 1:26, 

"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." 

The "us," of course, is the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

However, God transcends time, space, and matter. Our God is self-existent. He pre-existed before the beginning of anything. Although everything else had a beginning, God has always been. In order to create anything, the Creator must be outside of that which is created.

Psalm 90:2, "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever Thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God."

But the beginning in John 1:1 is not the same as the beginning in Genesis 1:1. Actually, what is expressed in John 1:1 occurs before what is recorded in Genesis 1:1. Genesis 1:1 says "in the beginning." John 1:1 speaks of before the beginning.

2 Thessalonians 2:13-14, "But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto He called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."

1 John 1:1-4

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)

3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.

4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

Verse 2: The same was in the beginning with God.

The phrase "the same" still speaks of the Word, Jesus. This verse simply reinforces part of John 1:1. Again, the phrase "with God" implies distinctiveness. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established (2 Corinthians 13:1).

Verse 3: All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made.

Jesus is the Agent of creation. When the Word speaks, things must come to pass.

Isaiah 55:11, "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."

Paul writes the same truth in Colossians 1:15-18:

"Who [Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him:

And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.

And He is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence." 

Verse 4: In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.

This fourth Gospel begins and ends with life. Earlier we shared what we believe is the major purpose of John's Gospel, from 

John 20:30-31... "that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name." 

Verse 4 expresses one of the greatest concepts of this Gospel. The Greek word for "life" here is "zoe," which is found 36 times in the Gospel of John. No other book in the New Testament uses it more than 17 times.

Eternal life is knowing God and Jesus Christ, whom the Father sent (John 17:3). Knowing and believing are significant terms for John. Both words occur more than 85 times in this Gospel. Once more, knowing God and believing Jesus must be expressed in action. Life is Christ's gift (John 10:28), and He in reality is life (John 14:6). Six times in the Gospel of John we find the phrase "eternal life." What does that mean? Well it speaks of both an unending duration AND a superior quality of life. It is the life of God Himself!

John's Gospel also links light with Christ, from whom comes all spiritual illumination. He is the light of the world, Who holds out wonderful hope for man (John 8:2). David, in 

Psalm 36:9, said, "For with thee is the fountain of life: in Thy light shall we see light."

Verse 5: And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

The stark contrast between light and darkness is a striking theme in this Gospel; for example, 

John 12:35-36, "Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.

While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide Himself from them."

John 9:4, "I must work the works of Him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work."

The word "darkness" speaks of destruction, death, sorrow, wickedness, misery, and ignorance; in other words the forces of evil. Satan's kingdom, the cosmos, is a kingdom of darkness. The enemy tries to pull us into his kingdom one baby step at a time. Just as God has His voice, speaking to us about the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God, in like manner there is a voice of darkness, which tempts us to partake of the lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Eve succumbed to the voice of darkness because she had no discernment; and we can only have spiritual discernment if we are partaking of the tree of life, which Adam and Eve never did.

Proverbs 4:14-19, 

"Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.

Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.

For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.

For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.

But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble."

God has allowed darkness to cover the entire earth twice. The first time is recorded in Genesis, Chapter 1, as a response to the rebellion of Lucifer.

2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. Genesis 1:2-5

The second time when darkness covered the entire earth is recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. God brought that darkness about because He could not bear to see His Son, Jesus, die on the cross, even though both the Father and Son knew that what happened at Calvary must occur.

33 And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.

34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?

38 And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.

Mark 15:33-34, 38

However we are fast approaching the time when darkness will cover the entire earth for the third and last time. (Yes, there was a time when darkness covered all of the Egyptians during the time of Moses, but the Israelites had light; so darkness was not over the entire earth at that time.) The prophets Joel and Zephaniah both prophesied of the soon-coming darkness. It is called the day of the Lord, the great and terrible day of the Lord ... the day when the Lord Jesus Christ comes out of the Holy of Holies for the second time and returns to earth once more.

1 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand;

2 A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. Joel 2:1-2

 

14 The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.

15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, Zephaniah 1:14-15

However, we Christians have been delivered from the power of darkness.

Colossians 1:12-13, "Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:

Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son:"

Yes, we have been delivered from the power of darkness, but that does not mean that the voice of darkness has stopped whispering his lies to our mind. One of the clearest and most practical exhortations to combat the lies of the enemy is contained in Ephesians 5:1-21,

1 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;

2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour.

3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;

4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.

5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them.

8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)

10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.

13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.

14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.

15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,

16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

In John 8:12, "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."

Another, exhortation is given in Galatians 5:16, 

"This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh."

If we walk day by day in the Spirit, then

Isaiah 60:1-2, "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee." 

Amen!

John 1:6

Below is but a small measure of revelation that my father had received from the Lord. I hope this will be a blessing to you. All that is written below are the words of my father.

June 22, 2020

In loving memory of my father
Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett
July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023

In our previous message we shared some thoughts about the first five verses in John, Chapter 1. Now we will continue with Verse 6 in the first Chapter of the Gospel of John. An alternative title for this message could be, "What's in a name?" Before we read any scripture or before we listen to any message from any minister, we should always ask the Lord to quicken to us what He wants us to hear. Several times in my life I have heard a word from the Lord that had nothing to do with what the minister was saying. 

In our previous message we mentioned that in the Gospel of John, every reference to the name "John" refers to John the Baptist. The Apostle John never mentions his own name in his Gospel ... not even once! He does refer several times to "the disciple that Jesus loved." That is because of the deep humility worked within the Apostle John. Verse 6 therefore speaks of John the Baptist, who was sent from God for a very unique purpose. In like manner, every Christian is sent by God for a very unique purpose. Not every member of the body of Christ is a prophet or an apostle or a pastor or a teacher, but every member of the body is important.

I am sure that most of you are familiar with the birth, life, and ministry of John the Baptist. That may be just one example of a rather serious problem within the Church today. Most folks have heard the saying that familiarity breeds contempt, which means that extensive knowledge of, or close association with, someone or something leads to a loss of respect for them or it. That is because no man is perfect; we all have our flaws. When a visiting minister comes to our church fellowship, we do not see his flaws, so we ooh and aah at his message.

John 4:44, "For Jesus Himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country." 

Jesus expressed that same truth in Matthew 13:54-58.

If someone in our local church shares a scriptural message, we tend to yawn and pay little attention. But if a man comes from out of town and preaches the identical message, we tend to get all excited. Way back in the early 1970's, when visiting teachers such as Derek Prince and Bob Mumford came to our assemblies, I sensed an increase in the level of apparent spiritual fervor among the people, as if we wanted to impress the visiting teacher. All of that is called human nature. What is the remedy for that tendency of man?

2 Corinthians 5:16-17, "Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we Him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

Another reason that familiarity breeds contempt is because of the mystery and adventure of the hunt. The lure of forbidden fruit is a powerful temptation which pulls us in. That is what happened with Eve back in the Garden of Eden. That is certainly one reason for adulterous affairs. We humans tend to think that the grass is always greener on another side or in another field. That is why the tenth commandment says, "Thou shall not covet anything belonging to thy neighbor." Another similar saying is familiarity breeds complacency. That seems to apply to us Christians today.

I once heard that Ralph Waldo Emerson, in one of his essays, said, in essence: "What if the stars came out only once in a thousand years? Everyone would carefully check the date and time of such a momentous event and be sure to be outside in a place that would be most conducive to witnessing that rare event." We humans would have the same attitude to a full eclipse of the sun or moon. Conversely, because the stars are out every night, we have a ho-hum attitude to watching the stars. Likewise, any common-place event, any event that occurs regularly or on a daily basis, tends to be overlooked. We Christians have heard essentially the same messages over and over again. That breeds familiarity with a resulting complacency, even boredom. After listening to a message from some minister, who among us has not said in our mind, "I know that"?

Isaiah 6:9-13, "And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.

Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.

Then said I, Lord, how long? And He answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,

And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.

But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof."

That last verse, verse 13, speaks of the remnant. To what degree do we see but not see? To what degree do we hear but not hear? We need to always be on the lookout for an attitude of religious boredom ... for a dull, sleepy response to the word of God.

Another common idiom is "history repeats itself." Someone I know recently sent me a link to commonsenseevaluation.com which contains the following truth: "History is not there for you to like or dislike. It is there for you to learn from it. And if it offends you, even better. Because then you are less likely to repeat it." I might add to that saying. If any word or any Christian brother offends you, then you need to be offended. In the New Testament, only the Pharisees and the heathen were offended. In Matthew 24:10 concerning the last days, Jesus said, 

"And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another." 

Who are the "many" who will be offended? professing Christians.

I believe that was what Jesus talked about when He said, in 

Matthew 5:29, "And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell." 

I do not believe that Jesus meant we should literally pluck out our right eye for ANY reason. Note that Jesus did NOT say, "If thy LEFT eye offend thee ..." That is because the word "right" refers to our spiritual senses; the "left" refers to our soulish or carnal senses. Moreover, who among us has perfect understanding of all spiritual things? not me and not you. Is it possible that my doctrine might not be perfect? of course! Is it possible that your doctrine might not be perfect? of course!

Many years ago a brother in our fellowship asked me whether or not I believed every word that two visiting men had prophesied over me. My response was, when I eat a grape I swallow the pulp and spit out the seed.

Another quote I read on that commonsenseevaluation site says: "We can't move forward if people want to continue living in the past." That has a multitude of different applications. The Lord, through the Apostle Paul, in Philippians 3:12-14, has the remedy for that:

"Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." 

Keeping all of those aforementioned principles in mind, let us try to see and hear what the Spirit is saying about John the Baptist.

John 1, Verse 6: There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

As we said earlier, that verse speaks of John the Baptist. Let us think for a few minutes about names.

1 Corinthians 1:12, "Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ."

First Corinthians, of course, is primarily a letter of correction that Paul wrote, concerning a variety of errors (at least seven) that had crept into that church. It is worth reflecting that this situation (members of The Church at Corinth calling themselves by different names) is the FIRST error addressed by Paul. He addresses this problem even before the (rampant) fornication, which he first mentions in Chapter 5. Why the order? Perhaps because "he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body" (Chapter 6:18), but the naming process from 1 Corinthians 1:12, had affected EVERY believer. Compare that with the many denominations, non-denominations, and house churches today.

BEFORE the fall of Adam and Eve (the timing is significant), 

"the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof" (Genesis 2:19). 

Adam also gave his wife her name (Genesis 2:23). Then AFTER the fall, in 

Genesis 9:1, "And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth." 

After the fall, man no longer had the charge to "subdue the earth: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." As a result of losing his God-given dominion, man also lost his authority to give out names.

Of course, man has continued to exercise the function of giving names, even though he no longer has that authority. This is an external outworking of the rebellion of man. For example, in 

Genesis 4:16-17, "And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, ... and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch." 

Another example is recorded in Daniel 1:7, where the Babylonian prince of the eunuchs gave (different) Babylonian names to Daniel (renamed Belteshazzar) and three other chosen men of God. Everyone remembers the Babylonian names of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Who remembers their REAL names? (Hananiah, which means the Lord is gracious; Mishael, which means who is what God is; and Azariah, which means the Lord is our Keeper)

There seems to be at least four categories of giving of names:

1. Man (in his rebellious state) still exercises the lost charge to give names or to make a name for himself/herself. That is called P R I D E ... pride, which thing the Lord hates.

Some of us name businesses, houses, lands, streets, cities, boats, cars, and children after our self. This is usually motivated by a proud desire to perpetuate our own name. Such was certainly the case for my wife's father, who built his own empire and was characterized by the following verses. 

10 For He seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.

11 Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names.

12 Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.

13 This their way is their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah.

Psalm 49:10-13

2. Man (in his rebellious state) still exercises the lost charge to give names, but this is later overturned by the sovereignty of God. For example, God changed the name of Abram to Abraham, Sarai to Sarah, Jacob to Israel, and Saul to Paul.

3. Man, in a right relationship with the Lord, seeks the will of God for the name of an offspring, and gives the God-desired name.

4. God sovereignly provides the name, without man asking. Two prominent cases in this category are

 

John the Baptist (Luke 1:13): "and thou shalt call his name John"; and

 

Jesus (Luke 1:31): "And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS."

So the dominion (and the right to "name") originally given to Adam, but lost in the fall, now belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ as a result of the redemption purchased at the cross of Calvary.

And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. Isaiah 62:2

Any believer walks in a very precarious position when he begins to make a "name" for himself. It is a very easy thing to make a name for our self, but it requires some compromises along the way. Anyone who has an apparent gift that appeals to the senses (such as healing or miracles) or a reasonable message of "truth" (or even a word that sounds pleasant to the ears) can relatively quickly establish audiences in numerous places. Before long, you can become a speaker at the large conferences and make your self nationally known. There are currently, in the United States, dozens, perhaps hundreds, of such "names" that will one day be humbled by God in the sight of man. Some already have been. Many of these "names" will surprise you. I remember one such man who years ago had developed a nationally-known "name." Then he was humbled (because of his own deeds) in the sight of other believers. Apparently in a state of repentance, the man received a word from the Lord that, "the Lord has allowed this thing to overtake you such that you will be less known to man, but more known of God." Unfortunately, after a season of repentance, it appears that man has fallen into another snare, which also is related to making a name for yourself. How do I know? because the Lord sent me one Sunday morning to "his" church to see for myself. Why did the Lord want me to see the snare that brother is in now? to pray for him. I am quite sure he is not aware of his present entrapment. Only a sovereign touch from the Lord will set him free.

Even if man begins to acquire a "name," but not through his own efforts, there is still potential peril, albeit of a different variety. Such a person is subjected to significant attacks by the enemy. There is no better example than Jesus Himself. Not only did Jesus not make a name for Himself, He MADE Himself of NO reputation (Philippians 2:7). Perhaps a better translation of that verse is that "He emptied Himself." In Mark 1:34-38, after Jesus had healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils, Simon and those with him came to Jesus and said unto him, All men seek for Thee. And He said unto them, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth." Jesus never sought the applause of men.

The "best" name for any believer may be summed up by Revelation 2:17 and Revelation 3:12.

To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. Revelation 2:17

In Revelation 2:17, the OVERCOMER (not just anyone who has accepted the saving grace of our Lord) is promised a new name ... the believer's new name. No one else except the overcomer himself knows that name. Therefore, no other person can prophesy to you your new name.

Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. Revelation 3:12

In Revelation 3:12, the OVERCOMER is also promised a new name, but this new name is the Lord's name. In both verses, the word "new" is the Greek "kainos," which means new as to quality, not "neos," which means new as to time.

But even better than that is the name of Jesus ... name above ALL names! the name to which every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord! Why is the name of Jesus even better than the new names promised to the overcomer in Revelation 2:17 and 3:12? One of the best answers to that question can be found in Philippians 2. Because Jesus:


6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

7 But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

8 And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name:

10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:6-11

I am sure we are all familiar with the circumstances surrounding the birth of John the Baptist.

Luke 1:5-17

A priest named Zacharias and his wife, Elisabeth, were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 

And they had no child, because Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years. 

While he executed the priest's office before God, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. 

And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 

But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. 

For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.

And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

And he shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

Here we see another miracle birth, just like Isaac, because Elisabeth and Zecharias were past the child-bearing age. But nothing is impossible with God. We note that an angel of the Lord told Zacharias that his son's name was to be John.

We are all familiar with the ministry of John the Baptist.

Matthew 3:1- 12: 

1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,

2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

4 And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.

5 Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,

6 And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:

9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

12 Whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the garner; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

We also are all familiar with what Jesus said about John the Baptist.

Luke 7:24-30:

"And when the messengers of John were departed, He began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind?

But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings' courts.

But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.

This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send My messenger before Thy face, which shall prepare Thy way before Thee.

For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

And all the people that heard Him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John.

But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him."

However, let us think about the character of John the Baptist. What a powerful, life-changing message is in his life for Christians at all levels! A name is meant to describe the nature of that person. The name, John, means "the Lord is gracious." Both John the Baptist and the Apostle John had the same name. The Apostle John lived about 105 years; John the Baptist lived about 35 years, but the Lord was gracious to both Johns. We read of the character of John the Baptist:

(1) His self-denial (Matthew 3:4); (2) His courage (Matthew 3:7 and 14:4); (3) his powerful preaching (Mark 1:5); (4) his humility (Mark 1:7); and (5) his holiness (Mark 6:20); his burning zeal (John 5:35). Those same qualities also were made flesh within the Apostle John. Of course those qualities of character were and are personified by Jesus.

Jesus said, in Matthew 11:28-30, 

"Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light."

Matthew 5:3, 5, 

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

The qualities of brokenness and humility must be made flesh within us. The way up is down. We must be immersed in a sense of unworthiness apart from Jesus Christ. For the true saint, the path of brokenness leads straight to the throne of grace. There is no shortcut to holiness and usefulness in the work of God. The one and only way to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ is daily and hourly fellowship or communion (koinonia) with the Father and the Son. There is too much time taken up with active work for the Kingdom. Surely if God's servants are to speak and preach in the power of the Holy Ghost they must be daily broken of self and give themselves regularly to prayer.

Psalm 34:18, "The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit."

Psalm 51:17, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise."

2 Chronicles 7:14, "If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

Samuel Rutherford wrote: "A bed watered with tears, a throat dry with praying, eyes a fountain of tears for the sins of the land are rarely to be found among us."

Leonard Ravenhill, a highly respected English 20th century evangelist and teacher once said, "Wet-eyed preachers never produce dry sermons."

Anyone who is intimately acquainted with Jesus Christ will see what Jesus saw and therefore care, weep and pray like Jesus. Such a man was Stephen, Peter, and Paul. Such a man was the Apostle John. But our supreme example was (and is) the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter, in the book of 2 Peter, four times speaks of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. No verse speaks of the reverse order of our Savior and Lord. Why? because if He is not our Lord, then He is not our Savior, not in the fullest sense of the meaning of salvation.

Now for an example of the opposite of brokenness. Uzziah was king of Judah for 52 years. As long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper. 

2 Chronicles 26:16, "But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense." 

Then Uzziah compounded his sin of pride by becoming angry at Azariah the priest, who warned him to leave the temple. Azariah told the king that it was not his place to burn incense. As a result, the Lord smote Uzziah with leprosy. So Uzziah, which means "strength of the Lord," changed his "name" to mean the "strength of man." God is no respecter of persons. History repeats itself.

Are you aware of any modern-day ruler who has consistently tried to usurp functions of government that are not his to command? and who gets angry at those who oppose him? Did you know that the name "Donald" means "world leader"? The only world leader I know is the Lord Jesus Christ. That is why Paul told Timothy and us, in 

1 Timothy 2:1-4, "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;

For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;

Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth." 

Now the important question is, What did you receive from the Lord during this message? What did I receive? If all we receive is a history lesson, then we need to clean out our ears. Some of us have become blinded by the temporal till we can no longer see the eternal reality of the holiness of heaven and the horrors of hell. Lord, draw us back to the prayer closet where blind eyes see and hardened hearts are broken. Lord, have mercy and bring us to brokenness. Work within us that which you worked within John.

Finally, as we stated earlier, history repeats itself. The Lord is in the process of preparing a final Elijah company ... those overcomers who will, like John the Baptist, prepare the way for the second coming of the Lord. That Elijah Company will have the same quality of character that was made flesh within John the Baptist and the Apostle John. Come quickly, Lord Jesus.

John 1:7-8

Below is but a small measure of revelation that my father had received from the Lord. I hope this will be a blessing to you. All that is written below are the words of my father.

January 15, 2020

In loving memory of my father
Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett
July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023

In a previous message, we shared from John, Chapter 1, Verse 6, about names and the meaning of names. Now we want to look at John, Chapter 1, Verses 7 and 8. But before we look at Verses 7 and 8, we need to share a little more about John 1:6.

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

The Apostle John says that John the Baptist was a man sent from God. Have you ever thought about the great honor and privilege and blessing it is to be sent from God? In today's world, we give great honor and respect to kings, to presidents, to statesmen, to ambassadors, to sports stars who excel, to Hollywood actors and actresses, to inventors, to recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor, to Nobel Prize winners, to authors, medical experts, to missionaries, to those ministers who have big megachurches, and even to the typical pastor. All of those sent by other men or sent from a church or sent by themselves occupy our full attention. I believe the greatest ambition any man could ever have is to be called "a man sent from God," and have written on his tombstone, "He was a man sent from God." Such a man gets no applause from men. On the contrary, such a man is looked at by the world as being a "loser" or a "nobody." But in today's world, we Christians degrade our ambition and settle for lesser goals. Why? because we do not want to appear "different," not simply different from those in the world but different even from those in the Church. A crowd sends themselves. The obedient are sent by man. But to be a man sent from God is a privilege greater than any other.

Zadok, which means "righteous," was a priest who remained faithful to David. Zadok had one son ... Ahimaaz. The name "Ahimaaz" means "brother of anger" or "brother of closed eyes." Ahimaaz was one of two young men appointed by David to bring him news of Absalom after Absalom had usurped the kingdom from David. David said to Hushai:

Behold, they [Zadok and Abiathar] have there with them their two sons, Ahimaaz Zadok's son, and Jonathan Abiathar's son; and by them ye shall send unto me every thing that ye can hear. 2 Samuel 15:36

After Joab killed Absalom (2 Samuel 18:14), Joab told Cushi to go tell David what he had seen (the death of Absalom). Cushi had NOT been one of the two young men appointed by David to be a messenger. After Joab had thrust three darts through the heart of Absalom. Ahimaaz asked Joab THREE times to let him run also to bear tidings to king David. After all, Ahimaaz. must have thought, that is my calling and function. 

19 Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok, Let me now run, and bear the king tidings, how that the Lord hath avenged him of his enemies.

20 And Joab said unto him, Thou shalt not bear tidings this day, but thou shalt bear tidings another day: but this day thou shalt bear no tidings, because the king's son is dead.

21 Then said Joab to Cushi, Go tell the king what thou hast seen. And Cushi bowed himself unto Joab, and ran. 

22 Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok yet again to Joab, But howsoever, let me I pray thee, also run after Cushi. And Joab said, Wherefore wilt thou run, my son, seeing that thou hast no tidings ready?

23 But howsoever, said he, let me run. And he said unto him, Run. Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain, and overran Cushi.

27 And the watchman said, Me thinketh the running of the foremost is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok. And the king said, He is a good man, and cometh with good tidings.

28 And Ahimaaz called, and said unto the king, All is well.

2 Samuel 18:19-23, 27-28

Ahimaaz had not seen anything ... he had not experienced anything. Ahimaz was in a hurry to run even though he was not prepared; he ran before the Lord's timing in his life. Note also that Joab twice told Ahimaaz that he was not to run, but Ahimaaz insisted a third time; so Joab finally said, "All right, go ahead and run!" The Lord will let us have our way if we insist long enough. He had nothing to say, except, "All is well." But all was NOT well! Likewise, things in the Church today are certainly NOT well.

Note that Cushi, who was appointed by Joab to run (verse 21) and tell David what he had seen, first bowed himself to Joab. In so doing, Cushi showed both humility and respect for authority. Ahimaaz showed no such respect; he just ran. There are MANY so-called prophets today who have no respect for authority and have little humility. Please note that having respect for authority does NOT necessarily mean that you are a "card-carrying member" of some named Christian church. You can have your name on the roll and still be quite rebellious.

Note also that Ahimaaz overran Cushi; Ahimaaz brought his tidings to the king first. There is much scriptural evidence that the false emerges before the true ... Cain before Abel, Ishmael before Isaac, Esau before Jacob, the first Adam before the last Adam. Christians have been far too eager to accept that which comes first to tickle their ears. There is a great object lesson with Ahimaaz. Even though Ahimaaz had a calling and a function, he had SEEN nothing. So it was not yet his time to run. It is rather interesting that the Bible never speaks of Ahimaaz again.

A precious brother in the Lord and a personal friend of ours went to be with the Lord a number of years ago. He was two weeks short of being 102 years old. His real ministry did not begin until he was 70 years old. The ministry of Moses did not begin until he was 80 years old. We must minister out of what we have seen and heard. That was the message of the Apostle John.

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

. . . 

3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. 1 John 1:1, 3

There is another truth to be gleaned from Ahimaaz. From scripture, Zadok had only ONE son ... Ahimaaz; but Ezekiel 44:15 speaks of the sons (plural) of Zadok. Verse 23 of Ezekiel 44 says THEY (plural, the sons of Zadok) shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the profane and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. In 574 B.C., during the time of Ezekiel, there was ONE son; in these last days, the Lord is raising up a COMPANY of sons to fulfill that prophecy. It is the same with Elijah, who is yet to come. I make no distinction between the Elijah Company and the sons of Zadok.

Obadiah 1:21, "And saviours [or deliverers] shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD'S."

The important point is NOT who is going to be a part of the company of deliverers (Obadiah 21) that the Lord is raising up. The ONLY thing that matters is that the will of the Lord be done ... that He might be glorified.

In Luke 1:26 we read that the angel Gabriel was sent from God to announce to Mary of the soon coming of the birth of Jesus. Jesus was a man sent from God (John 3:17, John 4:34 and others). I do not doubt that there have been many men and women, such as Peter, Paul, Stephen, and many others, who have been sent from God, but to the best of my knowledge no other verses in the Bible record that statement.

As we mentioned in our previous message from John, Chapter 1 and Verse 6, Jesus said, concerning John the Baptist, in Luke 7:28, 

"For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he."

That is a rather amazing statement but we know it is true because Jesus Himself said it. Let us consider the greatness of some of the Old Testament prophets.

Jesus said, concerning Abraham, the father of many nations, in John 8:56, 

"Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day: and he saw it, and was glad."

Abraham saw the Lord's day afar off, but John the Baptist lived in the Lord's day.

David sang many songs about the Lord's day and Isaiah prophesied many truths of the Lord's day, but John the Baptist saw the Lord in person, touched Jesus, and baptized Jesus in water. Whose privilege was greater?

Malachi, reportedly the last of the Old Testament prophets, recorded a prophecy of the Lord in Malachi 3:1,

"Behold, I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, He shall come, saith the LORD of hosts." 

But John the Baptist was that messenger who prepared the way of the Lord.

Then think about some of the other great prophets in the Old Testament: Elijah, Samuel (of whom it was said that the Lord did not let any of his words drop to the ground), Moses, who led God's chosen people out of Egypt, and Joshua, who led God's chosen people into the Promised Land.

But Jesus called John the Baptist a greater prophet than any of them. Why? Why did Jesus attribute greater honor to John the Baptist than to any of those other great prophets? Scripture provides us with the answer to those questions. We do well to pay heed to the qualities worked within John because of their applicability to us. There are a number of qualities that mark a man who is sent from God.

John the Baptist was a man of self-denial. His only motivation in life was to point to Jesus.

John 1:19-23, "And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias."

Jesus said, "If any man will come after Me let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me." (Matthew 16:24). 

What does it mean to deny our self? It means not my will but Thy will be done. The foundation of self-denial is humility. John the Baptist said, 

"He, that is Jesus, must increase but I must decrease." (John 3:30) 

John allowed Christ to displace him completely. He did not talk about himself; neither should we. He did not brag about himself; neither should we. He asked no glory for himself; neither should we.

Isaiah 57:15, "For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." 

Then we have the very well-known verse in 2 Chronicles 7:14, where the Lord says, 

"If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

Has our land in these United States been healed today from all of the pandemic, protests, law suits, racism, and everything else? Just the opposite! Then the conclusion must be that God's chosen people have not fulfilled our part of 2 Chronicles 7:14. Humility is our first step.

Next, John the Baptist was a very plain, simple man. He wore simple, plain clothes and ate simple, plain food. His raiment was camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:4). In other words he lived off the land. Scripture does not tell us whether he ever had a change of garments. In Old Testament times a change of garments was highly desirable. The locusts that he ate were not the large edible pods from a locust tree. As a little boy I remember eating that type of locust, which is very sweet to the taste.

The locusts that John the Baptist ate were the insects similar to large grasshoppers. From Leviticus 11:22 those locusts were clean and could be eaten. Today, if all we ate were locusts and wild honey, our doctors and nutrition experts would tell us that we did not have a balanced diet and our body would soon suffer. If we only wore the simple clothes that John the Baptist wore, we would be considered a bum or homeless person. We would never be voted the world's best dressed man. But there is a simplicity in Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3). Little children are generally very simple in their desires for food and clothing. Jesus said, in Matthew 18:3,

"Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." 

Little children are almost totally dependent upon their parents. Likewise, we Christians are totally dependent upon our heavenly Father, whether or not we know it.

Another characteristic about John the Baptist's lifestyle was that he lived in solitude in the desert, in the wilderness.

Matthew 3:1, "In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea," 

Note that John did not preach in the big cities, where the money was. How many pastors today would relish preaching in the wilderness, where no collection of offerings were available? Too many pastors today like the big crowds with all the glitter that goes with it. John would not fit in too well in today's churches. Also the wilderness, the desert, is a very quiet, lonely place. We humans do not like silence. We like to be around people who talk a lot. You could say that we are social noise makers. Sometimes I think the Quakers have a good idea of waiting on God in silence. But if we have two minutes of silence in our Christian gatherings, we get very uneasy. 

Arthur Schopenhauer, a German philosopher, was probably an agnostic, certainly not a born-again Christian. Most of his quotations are like those in Lamentations ... all is vanity. However a few of his quotations make some sense for a Christian.

"He who does not enjoy solitude will not love freedom."

"Great men are like eagles, and build their nest on some lofty solitude."

"The more you have inside you, the less you need people around you."

*       *       *

Psalm 46:10, "Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth."

Job 4:15-16, "Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up: It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an image was before mine eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying,"

If we want to hear the voice of the Lord, we first have to be silent.

There is a hymn whose words are, or at least should be, very descriptive of our walk with the Lord. The title of that hymn is "Shut in With God." Only the Lord knows who wrote that song, but it seems to have been written during the great Welsh revival of 1904-1905, when God used Evan Roberts in a mighty way to bring in about 150 thousand souls to Himself. Evan Roberts apparently was not an apostle, not a prophet, not a pastor or teacher. But history records that Roberts for 120 consecutive days talked with God for about four hours a day ... face to face, as a man talks with his friend. Many have called the Welsh Revival the greatest revival in the history of mankind. The words of that hymn are:

"The disciples were praying for the power to fall; 

ten days they did tarry, on God they did call.

And God sent His Spirit to baptize them all; 

for they had been shut in with God.

Shut in with God in a secret place. 

There in the Spirit beholding His face, 

gaining new power to run in this race. 

Oh I love to be shut in with God.

Of all pleasant places on land or on sea; 

there's no place on earth that is sweeter to me.

Than to kneel at the feet of my Master and Lord, 

for there I'll be shut in with God." 

The best rendition of that hymn I have found on the internet is by Donna Carline. It will stir your emotions. There is certainly nothing wrong with stirring our emotions. But if we simply go to church every Sunday to get an emotional high, what happens the other six days of the week? The question is not whether we are challenged for one day. The question is, are we changed from glory to glory in our inner man every day?

That song seems to be particularly appropriate during this time of the pandemic, when for several months now, people have been shut in their own homes. Who has been shut in with God during these times? Are we shut in or shut out? Noah was shut in the ark by God Himself (Genesis 7:16). As long as Noah stayed in the ark, he never had a problem with man or beast. Even the animals who were mortal enemies of each other were content to dwell together in peace. John the Baptist was a man who was shut in with God in the wilderness. The Apostle Paul was shut in with God for at least three years in the deserts of Arabia (Galatians 1:17-18).

This pandemic is another amazing example of the love of God for His chosen people. He is giving us another opportunity to be shut in with Him. Unfortunately, some call it akin to claustrophobia. We Christians are too busy, too talkative, too oriented toward doing something to get quiet and listen to what the Lord wants to say.

Many years ago the Lord quickened to me this principle of being shut in with God from the life and ministry of Peter as recorded in the Book of Acts. We might recall that the 120 disciples were shut in an upper room for ten days after the ascension of Jesus until the Day of Pentecost. In Acts 1:15 we see that it was Peter with the 120.

In Acts 2:14, Peter stood up with the other 11 apostles. Then, from Acts 3 through Acts 8, it was always Peter and John. They were constant companions. But from Acts 9 through Acts 28, we never see Peter and John together because then it was Peter and the Lord. That reflects a solid principle in the maturity pattern of a Christian believer. When we are babes in Christ we need to experience the love of God through a pastor. But as we grow in grace we come to a point where we know that the Lord, not a human being, is our Shepherd.

A fifth important characteristic of John the Baptist was his courage. He called a spade a spade. That is a well-known idiom that dates back to ancient Greece. In other words he was not motivated by principles in the well-known, self-help book written by Dale Carnegie titled, "How to Win Friends and Influence People." He called the Pharisees and Sadducees a generation of vipers. He had the same resolve and motivation to please the Lord, not men. He was not afraid to be different from the multitude, in sharp contrast to so many soft-handed pastors of today who don't want to rock the boat. He was not afraid of losing his job, not afraid of losing his income, not afraid of losing friends, not afraid to offend men. He only wanted to do the will of God and prepare the way of the Lord. There is a song titled "Be Strong and Take Courage," which is worth listening to. The words of that song come from four different Chapters in the Book of Joshua. The words of that song include:

"Be strong and take courage. Do not fear or be dismayed; 

For the Lord will go before you and His light will show the way."

Another in-worked characteristic of John was that he was a man of vision. Some time ago we shared a complete message on vision. The man of the city sees the tall buildings, the red and green lights, the hustle and bustle of all of the ways of the world. But the man of the wilderness spends most of his time in the quiet solitude, peace and contentment of simply being alone with God. Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world. The natural man has a natural myopia or nearsightedness. He can see only the here and now. But John, and all men sent from God, train their eyes to see eternity and the God of the eternal.

After the transfiguration of Jesus, as recorded in Matthew 17:8, speaking of the disciples Peter, James, and John, we read, 

"And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only." 

They no longer saw Moses and Elijah.

Returning now to John, Chapter 1 and Verse 7.

7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through Him might believe.

"The same" refers to John the Baptist. In Verses 7 we see another of the major key-words of John's Gospel ... the word "witness." The word "witness" means one who "bears witness." In John's Gospel there are eight different witnesses to the unique and supreme position of Jesus.

(1) The witness of the Father.

John 5:37, "And the Father himself, which hath sent Me, hath borne witness of Me. Ye have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His shape."

(2) The witness of Jesus Himself. What Jesus was in Himself was the best witness that His
claims were true.

John 8:18, "I am one that bear witness of Myself, and the Father that sent Me beareth witness of Me."

(3) The witness of His works.

John 5:36, "But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given Me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of Me, that the Father hath sent Me." 

It is not by working miracles that we prove we belong to Christ, but by living a Christ-like life every day. It is in the ordinary things of life that we show that we belong to Him.

(4) The witness of the Scripture.

John 5:39, "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me."

(5) The witness of those with whom Jesus came into contact.

John 4:39, "And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on Him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did."

John 12:17, "The people therefore that was with Him when he called Lazarus out of his grave, and raised him from the dead, bare record." [or witness]

(6) The witness of the disciples, especially the Apostle John.

John 15:27, "And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with Me from the beginning."

John 19:35, "And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe."

Then we have the witness of every disciple of Jesus over all of time. This includes you and me.

Acts 1:8, "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."

The word "witness" in Acts 1:8 means a martyr, one who bears witness by his death.

(7) The witness of the Holy Spirit.

John 15:26, "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me:"

(8) The witness by John the Baptist, the last of the Old Testament prophets, as we read in Verses 7 and 8.

Returning now to John 1:8,

8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

Jesus said, in John 9:5, "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." 

Now, however, Jesus is seated in heaven at the right hand of the Father, so we Christians are to be the light of the world ... not our old, natural man, but Christ in us is the light of the world.

Jesus also said, in Matthew 5:13-16, 

"Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

Verses 14 and 15 are the very first verses that the Holy Ghost sovereignly quickened to me shortly after the Lord sovereignly apprehended me. Verse 14 says that we Christians are to be the light of the world. Verse 15 says that we are to be a light unto all that are in the house.

When I read that verse in 1967, the Holy Ghost immediately quickened to me that the "house" refers to the household of God ... the Church. So Christ in us and through us was designed to be the light to all men. I remember when I received that revelation I became so excited that I ran out to tell another young brother in Christ what I had just received.

God is light and in Him there is no darkness. God wants a testimony of this light working in us to be a clear display that God cares for us, and no matter what we have to go through He is carrying us and His presence is sufficient to sustain us. The power source of this light is Jesus Christ and His life burning in us. This light is not kindled by man and cannot be put out by man.

There is a process of brokenness and crushing that God will allow in our lives that will produce a cry that will say, "Father into your hands I commit my spirit." It is a crushing that produces a cry and a commitment that we will be a flame of fire burning for Jesus Christ. Lord, continue to work within us that which is well pleasing in your sight. Amen.