The Cooling Stream

The true Light which gives light to every man.
- John 1:6-11-

The Lord Jesus is described as the Light.

God sent John the Baptist to bear witness of the Light.

John came to announce the arrival of the promised Messiah that all through him might believe.

John the Baptist had a great ministry. But he was not that Light. He was sent to bear witness of that Light.

There is no inner light in us to clear away the fog of ignorance and sin within the human heart. Enlightenment comes from Someone outside of ourselves.

Enlightenment comes from the Lord Jesus who is the true Light which gives light to every man.

The Lord Jesus gives light to all types of people from all nations as they hear the gospel.

The Lord Jesus came into the world that He had made. But He was not recognized.

His own Jewish nation did not receive Him.

They had been waiting for the promised Messiah for centuries. John the Baptist had pointed them to Him. They had witnessed His mighty miracles. They had heard His wonderful teaching.

But their understanding was darkened. They despised the Light of the world. They rejected Him and killed him.

How about us? Are we rebelling against the light that God has made known to us through His holy Word or do we gladly own Jesus as our Savior and Lord?

John the Baptist did not preach to build up his name and reputation. He preached to point the people to the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Message Of A Humble Servant (7). When John the Baptist began to talk about Jesus, He became very humble. He told the people that compared to the Lord Jesus Christ, he was a nobody! He wasn’t even worthy to do the job of the lowest household slave. That is a humility that we must have.

People often compare themselves to the wrong standard. We often compare ourselves with someone who lives worse than we do. And we think we are not too bad. But if we would honestly compare our lives to Jesus, we would see how bad we really are.

When John the Baptist saw Jesus, He saw how needy he was! When He saw Jesus, he saw that he was nothing and Jesus was everything. That is why He was willing to step aside so that Jesus might shine in him (John 3:30).

John the Baptist magnified Jesus! He knew that if the people could just see Jesus, they would see themselves as they really were. They would then see their need of Jesus. They would then want Him to be their Savior and Lord.

That’s the message people need today! If they can see Jesus, they would desire to humble themselves before Him. They would bow to Him in salvation, surrender and service.

The Message Of A Holy Savior (8). John the Baptist told the people that when Jesus came, He would do a spiritual work in their hearts. He was using a material element, water, to baptize their bodies. But Jesus would use a spiritual element, the Holy Spirit, to baptize their souls. He was taking them and placing them under the water in a symbol of their repentance. But Jesus would take them and wash their sins away in His blood and give them a new life.

John the Baptist was pointing the people to a Savior Who could save their souls, forgive their sins and change their lives.

If we will come to Jesus and repent of our sins and call on Him by faith, He will save our soul, forgive our sins and change our lives.

His Fashion. John did not wear fine robes. His clothing was as rough as his message. He was a man of the desert and he dressed like a man of the desert.

His Food. John favored the food of the desert dwellers. He lived on such things as he could trust the Lord to provide. His diet was balanced. Locusts are protein and honey is carbohydrates. John the Baptist was a balanced man who was satisfied with the basics of life.

John the Baptist stepped out of the wilderness dressed in the rough garments of a prophet. He came to the people of Israel preaching with power!

John came with a strange appearance. He came with a strong message. He was out of step with his times. But God was with him. God used Him in an amazing way to carry out a powerful ministry.

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It is all right to be different. We can dress differently. We can talk differently. We can live differently. The main thing is we walk with the Lord and honor Him.

It is all right if we don’t live as the world lives. It is all right if we don’t do the things the world does. It is all right to be different if the Lord Jesus has made us different!

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We should never allow the world to force us into its mold (Rom. 12:1-2).

We should rather yield ourselves to the Lord, separate from this world (2 Cor. 6:17), and allow Him to mold us into His image!

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We must never be ashamed of who we are.

And we must never be ashamed of who we are not!

John 1:4-5

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John’s Preaching. “Preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” (4b).

• John's message was a message of confrontation. He confronted sin and calling on people to repent. They had sinned and they must change their minds regarding sin. They must clean up their lives in preparation for the advent of Jesus!

• John's message was a message of change. He told the people that their repentance would result in the forgiveness of sins. Their repentance would result in God’s forgiveness!

Preachers of our day must preach like John the Baptist! They must confront sin and call people to repentance for the forgiveness of sin. They must tell the people the truth!

John’s Practice. “Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River” (5b).

John baptized people. He did not baptize people to make them right with God. People were not being baptized to have their sins forgiven; they were being baptized because their sins had been forgiven.

They went to John and were immersed into the river Jordan to declare publicly that their lives had been changed by the power of God. They were baptized to give glory to the God Who had forgiven their sins and made them whole.

This baptism was about a change of life! It is a picture of a person dying to the old life of sin and rising again to a new life of holiness.

John’s Power. “The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him” (5a).

Many people came to John to be baptized by him. Some traveled many miles on foot.

They made a break with their past and were changed by the power of God. They responded to the preaching of John and they came to him confessing their sins and turning from their sinful lifestyles.

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People still need to be told they are sinners.

They still need to be confronted with the need for genuine repentance.

Then they will come confessing their sins and turning from their sinful lifestyles. They will want to be baptized!