We're turning to John's Gospel chapter 5 today for a Bible reading. John chapter 5, and we'll read from verse 24 of the chapter. So it's John chapter 5, the verse number 24. And as you continue to look, I'll begin reading the word of God here today. The Lord Jesus Christ is the speaker. He said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself, and hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of Man. Marvel not at this, for the hour is coming in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth they that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation. I can of my own self do nothing. As I hear, I judge. My judgment is just, because I seek not my own will, but the will of the Father which has sent me. If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. There is another that beareth witness of me, and I know that the witness which he testifieth of me is true. He sent on to John, and he beareth witness unto the truth. But I receive not testimony from man, but these things I say that ye might be saved. He was a burning and shining light, and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. But I have a 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, and that the Father hath sent me. We'll end our reading at verse 36. With the word before us, let's just pray and seek the Lord. Our loving Father, we come before thee. Now there's no God, the sorrow of heart, in the many of the lives of thy people, how death has come even this week, and how death, when it does come to the church family, how those within the church family are reminded themselves of their own loved ones that have gone through the same within their lives. And so we cry for the binding up of all of our hearts. We pray, O God, that the word today might be a comfort, a blessing, a challenge to us as we sit around the open book Pray that every heart might be challenged, and thou wilt grant, O God, therefore the Spirit, the Spirit to anoint me with power, and also to anoint every believing child of thine, that they might hear the word aright. I often, O God, we hear thy word, and we misconstrue it, we twist it, O God, for our own benefit and profit. O God, help us to hear clearly today, and may, O God, our hearts be in tune with thine. Help us to walk with thee, and help us, O God, In the week we've now entered, help us to walk worthy of Thee. Let this word, O God, be a help in doing that, assisting us and aiding us to walk lives that are worthy of our Lord. To answer prayer and close us in with God, send Thy Spirit. We pray this in and through Jesus' precious and worthy and wonderful name. Amen. Well, today we have come to the concluding message on the life and the witness of John the Baptist. I must admit I never intended this series of messages to go as long as they have, but I trust that you have benefited from them and listening to the messages as much as I have benefited from the preparing of those messages. Last Lord's Day, we stood and viewed the decapitated body of John the Baptist being laid to rest in an unnamed Middle Eastern tomb. With the day of general resurrection, On that day, John's soul, now with Christ in heaven, will be reunited with his complete body, glorified and caught up to meet his returning Savior in the air. Today we want to think about the memorials that were erected to John the Baptist. When I speak about memorials, I'm not speaking about some kind of marble or stone structure on the physical landscape, but rather I'm speaking about the spoken memorials that were raised in memory of the forerunner of Christ whilst he was living and also when he was dead. I suppose all of us want to leave behind some lasting legacy. Whenever we step out of this world, we step out of time and into God's great eternity. Today, men, they build buildings and they put their names upon them. Others, they leave financial legacies to fund bursaries that are associated with their names. And others, they give their lives to political and to social movements. And after their death, those movements honor them with an award that bears their name. How people remember us after we are dead and gone is something that matters to us all if we were honest with ourselves. Well, John's life and testimony left a deep and a lasting impression upon the minds and the hearts of the generation in which he served. So today we want to think about those spoken memorials that were erected in honor of the son of God's forerunner. Those memorials, I believe, can be grouped and classified into two main groupings. We want to look at the first grouping. So considering the life and the testimony of John the Baptist, I want us to think firstly about the human memorials that were erected to John the Baptist, the human memorials. What did John's own countrymen, what did John's own fellow human beings say about him whilst he was living and after he was dead? Well, well, you know that if you want an unbiased, if you want an impartial, if you want an unprejudiced view about yourself, don't be asking a family member or don't be asking a friend. You see, a mother and father will always see their children in the best of lights. Sometimes I am amazed to think that some of our children are not just hovering over the pews every Lord's Day because parents just think their children are little angels. And whenever issues arise, even among our young people, it could never be them at fault. It could be never them at fault. When it comes to our friends, well, and I use that term quite lightly. They normally tell us what we want to hear, but their perspective of us is too often biased, prejudicially tainted because of their close association with us. It's certainly not Now if I was asked John the Baptist's parents or even his disciples what they thought about the Baptist, I'm sure they would have painted him in a very favorable light, because charity or love shall cover the multitude of sins, we're told in the scriptures. Or to put it another way, love is blind. That can be the case. Or love for someone. Our love for someone that we know can cause us to overlook the inconsistencies of another person, the imperfections of that person. So don't ask friends or family, don't ask friends or family about how you are, but ask a person's enemy. Ask a person's enemies what they think about someone and you'll get a truer picture of how that person actually is. Now that person, they might rhyme off a number of grievances to you, but they'll usually end with a few positives. The conversation goes something like, what do you think of so-and-so? They may say something like, ah, that boy, he's a bit slow at the work. He wouldn't be the most helpful of persons when help is asked for and, you know, sometimes he ignores me at work or at school. But giving the man his due, he's never late to work. And although he goes on and on about being saved and born again and getting right with God, I must admit that he lives out what he believes. Often our enemies give us a truer picture, a truer account of our lives than those at our nearest. And dearest to us, well, what did John's enemies think about him? Well, let me focus on his arch enemy. that by the name of Herod Antipas. What was Herod Antipas' assessment of John the Baptist? Well, his assessment of him is found in Mark chapter 6 and the verse number 20. Let me read the words, you can turn there, because we're going to glean from that portion. Mark chapter 6 verse 20, it says, For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and holy, and observed him, and when he heard him, He did many things and heard him gladly. Two qualities. Two qualities stood out to Herod Antipas as he scrutinized the life of John the Baptist. Herod saw first of all that John was a just man. That word just can point us to one of two things. It can point us to John's spiritual standing before God, that John was a justified man, that John was a righteous man, that John was a saved man, that John was one who was trusting in Christ as his Savior. It can speak to us about John's spiritual standing before God, or it can point us to John's social standing before men. in that John was a man who did things honestly. He was a man of integrity. He walked uprightly before others. See, whether it was in civil society or before God, John's life was a just life. Dr. Gill remarked that he did that which was just between man and man. He did to others as he would have been done by himself. He was outwardly righteous before men. He lived soberly and righteously. Nor was he chargeable with any notorious breach of the law. His conversation, his manner of life, was strictly moral. And he was just a righteous before God, through the righteousness of Christ imputed to him, in whom he believed and in whom he looked to as the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." And so we ask the question, which two Was it John's standing before God, his spiritual standing before God, or was it John's social standing before men that Herod here refers to when he observes that John was a just man? Well, I believe it is in relation to John's social standing before men that Herod makes this assessment of John. How do I know that? Because of the words that I read. observed him. He observed him. He looked at him. He scrutinized him. He judged him. He watched him from day to day. And as he did so, he recognized that John's dealings with his fellow man was marked by justice, by that which was right, that which was biblically right. You see, Herod could not look into the soul of John the Baptist. No human being can do that. And therefore, Herod could not be with 100% accuracy, know or discern whether John the Baptist was truly justified, because only the Lord knows them that are his. Only God knows those that are his in this meeting house today. Now it is true that as he looked at John the Baptist and his dealings with men and as he listened to him, John's outward life and his conduct gave good evidence that there had been a work of God done within the soul. But I remind you that so did the life of Judas Iscariot for a little time. His life outwardly appeared to be righteous. He preached, He served Christ. He identified with the Savior. Outwardly, for a time, he appeared to be a justified man. But there came a moment, a crisis, that revealed to all of the other disciples and the community within Jerusalem that Judas Iscariot was not justified. And so, brethren and sisters, we cannot, as it were, just go on the basis of someone's outward life, whether or not a person is truly and genuinely saved, if they are justified, if they're in a right standing with God. You see, only you know today. Only you know whether or not you have been justified, whether you've been saved, whether you've been born again, whether or not you are in saving union with Jesus Christ. And you need to settle that matter. Have that matter settled once and for all today. You need to be ready to meet God. Within the church family we have seen how quickly death can come even into a community. And you need to make sure that you're a justified one. You need to make sure that you are at peace with God through believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. Make sure you have made peace with God through His only begotten Son. But having been justified, having been brought into that right relationship with God, then our outward life should reflect that inward change. Our justification ought to lead on to a life that is just, just in our dealings with others, honest in our affairs. Is that the case? In this community in which you live, in which I live, are we known as those that are just men, just women? Do we do things by the book, God's book? Are you fair and honest in the days that you strike, in the wages that you pay, the charges you invoice others for? We are to be just because the world is observing. Here is an ungodly man who looked on to the life of this professed Christian, and he could find no inconsistency with his daily living. What a testimony. And that was his enemy. Surely an enemy is going to try and find something wrong with a professed Christian. Surely your enemy is going to find some inconsistency. But as John observed him, He came to this natural conclusion, here is a man who is just. He's doing things that are right. He's doing things by the book. Secondly, Herod, by his close examination of the Baptist, he saw that John was a holy man. Holy. I believe that word is banded about too freely and too loosely these days, to be holy. to be marked out within a community as a holy man. Word holy, it translates to mean morally blameless. And that is not to say that John the Baptist was sinlessly perfect, far from it, but when it came to his outward walk with God, no charges of inconsistency could be brought against him. John lived a holy life, first of all before God, and then before others. Do we? We ought to. God's people are called on to what holiness? Called on to holiness, Church of Christ. And we're also reminded that without holiness, no man shall see the Lord. Isaiah 61 or 62 verse 12 reminds us that God's people are to be called what? The holy people, the redeemed of the Lord. I wonder does the outside world, the world that's beyond the four walls of this church building, do they say of us as a company of God's people, there goes the holy people. There goes the holy people. I believe that these same qualities in the life of John the Baptist was why Herod did many things and heard John gladly. You see, Herod was acutely aware of something. He was acutely aware of the man who stood before him and preached God's truth to him that he was just and he was holy. R. Cecil said, your success is very much connected with your personal character. Character, he said, is power. Can I say that there is nothing that does more damage, listen up, there is nothing that does more damage to the cause of Jesus Christ than the inconsistency among those who profess to know Christ. Nothing does greater damage to the work of God here in Portland alone than individuals who are living lies that are inconsistent of professing Christians. Nothing does more damage. But let me look at the other side of the coin and encourage you to say that nothing does more good to the cause of Christ than those that live lives that are consistent to the teachings and to the standards of God's Word. Nothing so attracts a person to Christ than someone who walks with God. Now which one of you are, which life are you living today? Which life am I living? A life that's inconsistent? Can I say you're doing damage not only to the cause of Portnolone Free Presbyterian Church, for what is that, but to His cause and His name and His glory? Or are you by the God's grace and by the help of the Spirit, are you trying to live a life that is consistent? We thought about it on Wednesday night. You should have been there. How do I walk? a walk that is worthy of the Lord. How do I do that? Well, may God help us to walk such a walk. Why do we walk it? Why do we walk such a walk? Why do I want a life that is consistent with the teaching of God's Word so I can please the minister? So that whenever it comes to his yearly visit or whenever he comes round eventually to see me, that there's no awkwardness in that visit. that he doesn't speak to us on a personal or me on a personal level about my walk with God. Is that why I want to walk a consistent walk? Because folks, if that's your only reason, that walk will be walked for about a week after I leave. The motivation for you to walk a walk that is worthy of the Lord and to live a life that is consistent with the teaching of Scripture is that you just want to please the Lord. I just want to please the Lord. Now we're told here in this verse that Herod feared John, and he did many things, but it would have been better for Herod to have feared God and done the most needful thing, namely turning from his sin. And if all you do is to fear this preacher and reform your life because of something that I say to you, whether it be private or public, can I say there will be no spiritual benefit for your soul and that for those reforms will only be superficial and short-lived. Whenever you fear the Lord, whenever you start to fear the Lord reverentially, whenever you begin to fear God and in light of fearing Him, you make those necessary reforms in your life and in your behavior, then those changes will be real and they will be life lasting. This is what Herod said about him. Though I did not like his preaching, though I did not like his stance with respect to my marriage with Herodias, I can say this about John. He was a just man. and he was a holy man. Still looking at the human memorials to John the Baptist. What did the community in which John ministers say about John the Baptist when he was gone? Well, you can turn to John chapter 10 and read with me the verse from the verse number 39 and we'll find their memorial to him. John chapter 10, the verse number 39, therefore they sought again to take him, speaking of Christ, but he escaped out of their hand. and went again beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized and there he abode. Jesus Christ is going to the place where John began his public ministry beyond the Jordan. Verse 41, and many resorted onto him and said, John did no miracle, but all things that John spake of this man were true. And many believed on him. There. Now here's a company of God's people, or a company of people. You need to remember that we're three years on from John the Baptist's death, and yet within those three years the memory of John still lived on in the hearts and in the lives of God's people. He did no miracles. unlike the one he came to preach off, because Christ, his ministry was marked by miracles and by signs. John did no miracles, and yet they said this of him in verse 41, and what a commendation it was. All things that John spake of this man, speaking of Christ, were true. What a fitting tribute. What a lasting memorial to the ministry of John the Baptist from these men and women, that he had once ministered among that he was just a faithful and an effective witness for Christ. It was this verse that the family of the late W.P. Nicholson, that firebrand Ulster evangelist, that family placed on his headstone, the headstone that you'll find in Clandy Boy Cemetery just beside the county downtown of Bangor. That's the text they put on his gravestone, John did no miracle. But all things that John spake of this man were true. And I say, would that not be a fitting memorial for every minister of the gospel when they're dead and gone? Whenever they go to minister in another congregation, that it will be said of them by those that they leave behind, either by death or by a call of God, that he did no miracle, but all things that he said about Jesus Christ were true. He spoke the truth. May that be my testimony. It may be the testimony of every man that's called of God to preach the gospel, that we just speak the truth of Christ. We just tell the truth about Him. That was their memorial to Him. Moving on from the human memorials to to John the Baptist, we want to consider in the second place, heaven's memorial to John the Baptist. What did heaven have to say about the life and the ministry of John the Baptist? You see, folks, it's all very well and good to have the commendation of our fellow man, but it's better to have God's commendation, heaven's commendation upon our lives and ministry, because that's the only commendation that really matters. It's uncertain whether John knew exactly how the Son of God thought of him. It's hard to know exactly what the Son of God thought of him, John, I'm speaking off, because Christ spoke so glowingly of him in Luke chapter 7, when John's disciples were already on their way back to the prison. They didn't carry what Jesus Christ said about him back to John. Was John ever aware of what Jesus Christ thought of him? I don't think so. I suppose that's a good thing. That's a good thing to help with pride. We really don't know what people think of us. Maybe it's not a good thing. Maybe it is a good thing what people think of us. We don't know. It's maybe not so commendable. But who knows whether John knew? I don't think he did. John Butler, he said, one of the greatest tests of our faith is to serve the Lord when we hear of no praise and receive no honors for our work. There will be plenty, he said, of praise and honor in heaven when the battle is over. But those who would serve the Lord will discover that their praise will often be little in this life. So what did he? What does the Son of God say as a memorial to John the Baptist? Well, we'll look at the verses 24 through to verse 28. We'll see how heaven memorialized John. We see that heaven memorialized John's steadfastness. The Savior asked those gathered around him this question about John the Baptist, what went you out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind. It is a rhetorical question. The answer, most obvious, is a no. That's the answer. Of course you didn't go out just to see a simple reed, a weak reed shaken with the wind. We've seen in the study of John the Baptist that one of the most outstanding characteristics was John's faithfulness and his ability to stand steadfast and to stand true at all times, even when that stand was poles apart from where public opinion stood on the issue at hand. See, John was not a man like a reed that would just bend and bow to suit the prevalent winds of public opinion. Rather, he stood steadfastly where God stood on the issue, no matter what pressure was brought upon him to change his stance. God needs us to be like that. God needs us to be like those children who are steadfast, unmovable when it comes to His truth. We need to be those who will not bend. We need to be those who will not bow when the wind of popular opinion blows contrary to what God has revealed to us in His Word. We need to be well-grounded. We need to be like the one in the sand, number one. We need to be like those that are planted by the rivers of water. We need to be trees, the trees of the Lord, not just reeds. So Jesus Christ, he spoke about John's steadfastness. What a commendation. Could Christ say that about you? That you're steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord? That you're dependable in God's work? That you're there? that your presence is known in the house of God morning and evening on the Lord's day, there at the prayer meeting, there at the children's meeting, there at the youth fellowship, are you a steadfast Christian?" This was heaven's commendation. Then he spoke in Luke 7 again. He came, the Son of God, he came to memorialize John's self-sacrifice. The Savior goes on to ask, In that particular passage, verse number 25, what went ye out to see, a man clothed in suffering? Now we all know that John's wardrobe was, well, let's just say a little out there, maybe a little bit like mine sometimes. But I don't think it ever got to the stage of John the Baptist. We're told in Mark chapter 1 verse 6 that John was clothed in a garment that was made of camel's hair, held in place with a leather girdle or a leather belt. Not only that, but he had a diet of locusts and wild honey. Everything about John's life, whether it was where he lived, what he wore, what he ate, was marked by a spirit of self-sacrifice. He never opted for the extravagant lifestyle of this world, neither did he desire the finest things in life. One Christian writer wrote, John brought his body under control and yielded not to the sirene temptations of the flesh. He was no herald given up to the base lusts living in the luxury of a palace. He was no Pharisee strutting around in religious robes of finery seeking to impress men by his gorgeous array of his piety so that he could obtain the praise of men while all the time he was serving the passions of the flesh. John knew how to mortify the flesh. Here's a man of self-sacrifice. I ask the question, does the spirit of self-sacrifice mark my living? Does it mark your living? There's such a spirit among us as the family of God, and I include you all, all redeemed ones here today, all within the family of God, you who sit at the periphery, You who are involved wholeheartedly, all is gathered as this spirit of self-sacrifice existent among us. When there's a job that needs to be done, are we the first to volunteer, minding not the cost, or is it the case that a selfish spirit exists within us? Don't be asking me, I'm too busy. Ed B. Meyer said, too many of us are inclined to put on the soft raiment of self-indulgence and luxury. He said, we're slaves of fashion, or we are perpetually considering what we shall eat or what we shall drink, or with all shall we be clothed, or we act as though we suppose that life consisted in the number of things that we possess. The variety of servants that waited upon us, whereas the exact contrary is the case, the real happiness of life consists not in increasing our possessions, but in limiting our wants. John, he didn't seek the finery of life. Here's a man who just was happy to sacrifice for God. If this is my lot in life, If wearing camel's hair and eating locusts and wild honey and having a leather girdle and living in a wilderness with not the comfort of home, if this is God's will for my life, the lot of God for my life, I seek not anything else but to do His will. The third place when the Son of God spoke of Him here in chapter 7, He came to memorialize John's service. Read on. But what went ye out for to see? Christ asked, A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, much more than a prophet. Then comes the climax in Christ's commendation of John. In Luke 7 with the words of verse 28, for I say unto you among those that are born of woman, there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist. Christ in those words, he came to recognize the service of John in the prophetic ministry that he exercised. He was greater than Moses, greater than Elijah, greater than Isaiah, greater than Jeremiah, greater than Daniel, greater than all the Old Testament prophets. High praise indeed. And so I ask this question, what would God say of our service for Him within the ministries of this church? First of all, the question is asked, are we giving any service? That's the first question. If not, why not? Did Christ not die for your sins? Did he not come to minister? And did your Lord not come to serve? Let me ask you who gives no service, are you greater than your Lord? Because he served. Are you the servant greater than the master? And if we are serving the Lord, what kind of service are we giving him? Is it half-hearted? Substandard? Casual? Inconsistent? Unreliable? Brethren and sisters, we need to give ourselves wholeheartedly to the service of Christ. Let us not be found wanting in this area. You know, in passing, just think of the context in which these words of the Savior sits in the verse, or chapter number seven. Think of the context. You know, John was depressed. We thought about that a few weeks ago. We thought about the melancholy of John the Baptist. He's locked up into a prison cell, and there he questions the Messiahship of the Savior. Think of that. This is the context in which these words sit. When John was having such low views of his Christ, Christ was having such high views of John the Baptist. You know, folks, there are times whenever our state of mind, mentally, because of maybe sickness comes in and rolls in, or tragedy comes into our lives, We oft times have low views of Christ on those occasions, but can I just say to you that whenever you're having such views of him, he thinks highly of you. He's thinking highly of you. And so take heart, child of God. you're struggling today, if the midst of doubt has descended and your spirits are low, remember your God is thinking highly of you, even if you are thinking so lowly of Him. One final remark with respect to the Savior's memorialization of John the Baptist, his life and witness. That remark is found in John 5 where we read today and it is but a short brief comment. The Savior said of John the Baptist in John 5 verse 35, he was a burning and shining light. Now John was not just a light that had the possibility of dispelling the darkness and But he was a light that actually did what it was supposed to do. It hadn't, as it were, the inherent ability to shine and to burn. Too many people are like that in the work of God. There are gifts that lie dormant. talents that are left unused. They have been given a gift from God, they have not discerned what that gift is, but it lies dormant within. And God would have you to use that gift within the local church. And then if God would so please to take you then further afield. But too often times the light never burns and it never shines. You see John did not do what too many of us do because of the fear of man and because of our low self-esteem. He did not hide or conceal the light. He did not put it under the bushel. But instead we find him doing what we are all exhorted to do in Matthew 5 verse 16. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven. It was that shining light that drove back the darkness and exposed the hidden things of darkness in the lives of those that John preached before. And it was the burning light that warmed the hearts of those who long waited for the Messiah, and also warmed the heart, that cold heart and that cold soul, of those who had almost given up hope for a better day. He came as a light, a light that shone and a light that burned. And it was only for a season. You rejoiced in that light for a season. How long is our season left on earth? How long? But we left before we see the King. Oh, that God would make us burning and shining lights. And as one call of God to preach the gospel, may the messages that I preach through light, through light upon my sins and your sins. in order to provoke repentance on my part and on your part. May the truths presented warn your hearts. Maybe you're cold and backslidden today. Remember, remember. Though your thoughts of him are so low today, his thoughts towards you are so great. You know, in a world of sin and gross darkness, God needs his people to shine. That's why we sang the hymn. Jesus bids us shine with a clear, pure light. Philippians 2, 15, that ye may be blameless and harmless as sons of God without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and a perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world. John did. what God wanted him to do, to shame and to burn out for him. What a testimony John the Baptist had then before God and man. He being dead, yet speaketh. I trust that God has spoken to you throughout the series of messages. May God help us to follow John's example by ever pointing men and women to the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. And may whenever we come to die, the memorials that are raised to us would be something akin to the memorials that were raised for John the Baptist by our enemies, by our friends, and most importantly, by God. May God bless His word to our hearts. Let's bow our heads in prayer. Oh, may God challenge us all. Our loving Father and gracious God in heaven, we thank you for the life of this dear man of God. He was not the light. He came to bear witness of the light. And the fact that he was a burning and a shining light, it was only but the fact that he was a reflection of a greater light, Christ, the light of the world. Lord, we cry, O God, that in this dark and sinful world that we might be light set upon the candlestick, not under the bushel, that men would see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. We seek only thy commendation. Well done, good and faithful servant. Help us to strive and labor for that. And if, O God, we've got sidetracked in our lives, We thank Thee for bringing this word to our hearts today, because we believe, O God, that there's a place of repentance, there's a place of mercy, there's a place where fellowship can be restored. Bring all to that place and be glorified in it. For we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. 324.