WONDERS IN THE WILDERNESS pt 2 // Sunday, March 13. 2022 // Pastor Jeff Hines
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Sunday — March 13, 2022
Wonders in the Wilderness
John the Baptist
Luke 1: 14 – 17 (NLT)
You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,
15 for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks.
He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth.
16 And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God.
17 He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah.
He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord.
He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children,
and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.
Luke 1: 80 (NLT)
John grew up and became strong in spirit. And he lived in the wilderness until he began his public ministry to Israel.
1 Kings 18
How was John the Baptist like Elijah?
The places where he ministered:
1. Bethany: Beyond the Jordan
John 1 : 28 (NLT)
This encounter took place in Bethany, an area east of the Jordan River, where John was baptizing.
John 1 : 29 & 31 (NLT)
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
30 He is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘A man is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.
1 Kings 17: 3 (NLT)
Go to the east and hide by Kerith Brook,
near where it enters the Jordan River.
2. Aenon near Salim
John 3: 23, 25 & 26 (NLT)
At this time John the Baptist was baptizing at Aenon, near Salim, because there was plenty of water there; and people kept coming to him for baptism.
25 A debate broke out between John’s disciples and a certain Jew over ceremonial cleansing.
26 So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Rabbi, the man you met on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you identified as the Messiah, is also baptizing people. And everybody is going to him instead of coming to us.”
1 Kings 19: 16 (NLT)
… anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from the town of Abel-meholah to replace you as my prophet.
3. Jordan near the Sea
Matthew 3: 13- 17 (NLT)
Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John.
14 But John tried to talk him out of it.
“I am the one who needs to be baptized by you,” he said, “so why are you coming to me?”
15 But Jesus said, “It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.” So John agreed to baptize him.
16 After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him.
17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”
2 Kings 2: 11 (NLT)
As they were walking along and talking, suddenly a chariot of fire appeared, drawn by horses of fire.
It drove between the two men, separating them, and Elijah was carried by a whirlwind into heaven.
Kings 1: 8 (ESV)
He said to them, “What kind of man was he who came to meet you and told you these things?”
8 They answered him, “He wore a garment of hair, with a belt of leather about his waist.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”
Mark 1: 6 (ESV)
Now John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey.
John 3: 7 – 9 (NLT)
When the crowds came to John for baptism, he said, “You brood of snakes! Who warned you to flee the coming wrath?
8 Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones.
9 Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.”
Matthew 11: 4 – 6 (NLT)
“Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen—
5 the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.”
6 And he added, “God blesses those who do not fall away because of me.”