"The Weekly Word"

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 And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared! Luke 1:17

                Wow, what a wonderful picture. Everything is making sense; it all turns out right! I just love this heralded premise about the work John the Baptist will perform as God guides him. I mean, wow, John will go before Christ and lay all the groundwork.

                As I read this verse close, it gets me thinking, is it that simple? It was for God’s work in this time right. So can any of us do it? Can any of us perfectly lay the groundwork for something greater to happen? Yes, indeed we can! Really, isn’t that ministry to the core? But wait, what does this description say? He, meaning John, will go before him, meaning Christ. Specifically for this time, John the Baptist was anointed for this task of ground-braking foundation laying. No​ one else would have possibly been able to do it like John would do it. And why? Because God didn’t call Moses, or David, or Abraham, or Luke, or Matthew, or even Peter, or any of the other disciples for that matter for this task to get the people ready to hear Jesus. Only John the Baptist could do it. It was his baby, his ministry!

                So often we think we can all do what some other church or person is doing. Why can’t we be just like that church? I can do that just like them. Well, the truth is, no, no you can’t, and no we can’t.

                God has anointed all the people in the bible for a special ministry. And the same is true for us. We cannot try to be some other person we’re not! We cannot try to be another church, a church we’re not!

                It was important for John the Baptist to have his identity of being led to just the right ministry, so things could be made right for those to come behind him, and for Jesus to work in Jerusalem. Jesus helps us carve out our special ministry for us to make a real difference, to make things exactly right, the way they're supposed to be.

                The question is simply, are we going to hear the call, and say, yes Lord, send me, send us. Are we ready to say to God, do with us what you will, knowing God will in fact make things just as right as he does when John the Baptist goes ahead of Jesus and helps pave the way for something special, something unforgettable to happen!

                Rest assured friends, each of us has a ministry. Each of us has some special place where God​ intends us to be. Yes, we’re not all preachers. We’re not all musicians. We’re not all accountants. We’re not all…You get the idea. And we weren’t supposed to be. Let’s go ahead and be a John the Baptist, okay in our own skin. Hearing God’s specially anointed call for us to go ahead of others and prepare the work of God for things to be made exactly right by him in our particular fields, our ministries. And if we do that, we can truly give thanks and say honestly, we are further doing the work of God and helping people prepare for the coming Messiah!

To God be the glory

Pastor Brandon