Here, we're talking about the coming of John the Baptist here.
And I'd like to apply this scripture to go out soul-willing because we also go out as
ambassadors of Christ in Christ's dead when we go door-to-door soul-willing.
So I'd like to give us three reminders when we go out this morning for us.
The first thing is this, we should go in the spirit of prayer.
And the Bible teaches that Elias was a man of prayer.
By the way, can you turn to...keep your finger on Luke 1-17.
Can you also make your way to 1 Kings 18?
We have the first and second books in the Old Testament, 1 Samuel, 1 Kings, 1 Chronicles,
1 Kings 18.
And we'll learn a little bit about Elias as he was a man of prayer.
In James 5-17, the Bible says this, Elias was a man subject to like passions as we
are, and he prayed earnestly.
The word earnestly means with sincere and intense conviction, very seriously, a very
serious man of prayer, that it might not rain, and it rained not on the earth by
the space of three years and six months.
And he prayed again, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
And in 1 Kings 18, we all know the story of Elias calling out the prophets of Baal.
And he says this in verse 36, and it came to pass at the time of the offering
of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said,
Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God.
You see, he was a man of prayer, so he knew God, and the spirit that we've been
in, knowing God and making God known, we're kind of doing that when we go soul winning.
But he says, let it be known this day that thou art God, he knew God, in Israel, and that
I have done all these things at thy word to make God known.
Verse 37, hear me, O Lord, hear me, so that this people may know that thou has noticed,
turn their hearts back again, the same way that John the Baptist would turn the hearts
of the fathers unto the children.
So we do the same thing.
So we should go in the power of prayer as Elias, who prayed earnestly, knowing God,
and also making him known.
Number two, we should remember to go in the spirit of power.
Elijah, obviously, he came up against 450 prophets of Baal.
I mean, we go up against people who are Jehovah Witnesses or whatever religion they are or
atheists.
So we also should understand that we go with the right gospel.
We go with the Spirit of God.
We go to let people know that they actually can be saved through Jesus Christ.
We go with our King James Bible.
But at the same time we go with the power of God, we also should remember that we should
go in meekness.
2 Timothy 1 says this, for God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of
love, and of a sound mind.
See, we should go in the power, and we do that as we go so winning.
But also with meekness, in Matthew 11, 28, Jesus says this, come unto me all ye that
labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
You see, to know God is to receive his rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am lowly in heart.
So we also should have a lowly heart for those who we are going to preach the gospel
to, because the reality is if they don't receive it, they're going to hell.
So I am lowly in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy,
and my burden is light.
See, our job is that to make God known, but also with a spirit of meekness, power
and meekness.
The Bible teaches that he that increases knowledge increases sorrow.
So the more that we know, the more we know about the Lord Jesus Christ, the more we
know that he's coming, it should make us sorrowful that there are many people who
don't believe.
So not only should we go in a spirit of prayer and with power and meekness, but we
should also go with a sense of purpose, a sense of purpose.
Go back to Luke 1 17, let's read that again, and he shall go before him in the spirit
and power of Elias.
Notice, to turn the hearts of the fathers, I've read this scripture many times before,
but that word fathers is plural.
So it's not just to tell one person, but it's to tell many people.
It's to turn the hearts of the fathers, not just one, but many, to the children
and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just.
Notice to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
In Deuteronomy 6, 6, the Bible says this, and these words which I command thee this
day shall be in thy heart.
But we tell people every Saturday morning, Thursday afternoon, and Sunday afternoon
that they can be saved and how God is in their hearts so they also can go and tell
people.
Again, knowing God and making God known.
Deuteronomy 6, 7 says this, and thou shall teach them diligently unto thy children and
shall talk of them while thou sittest in thine house.
And when thy walkest by the way, as what we're gonna do today, we're gonna walk
by the way, and when thou lies down and when thy rises up, you see, when we know God, we
also make God known.
So how can we do this?
How can we, when we go out, when we know God, knowing we too are disobedient?
The Bible says in Romans 3, 10, as it is written, there is none righteous, no, not
one.
In verse 23, it says, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
You see, that gives us the meekness to be able to go out because we remember whether
we're first, second, third generation Baptist, it doesn't matter.
We were all sinners on our way to hell at one point in time.
So what we should, why remember, why remember we should go in the spirit of prayer?
Why remember we should go in power and meekness?
Why remember we should go with a sense of purpose?
Well, at the end of that verse there, Luke 1 17, the last part, just read it again,
and he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias to turn the hearts of
the fathers unto the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just.
To make ready of people prepared for the Lord.
You see, that's our job to make, to know God, but also to make God known to prepare
people for God.
2 Peter 3, 9 says this, the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men
count slackness, but his long suffering to us were not willing that any should perish,
but that all should come to repentance.
So we all should remember that, you know, when we go out there this morning, that's
be prayerful about us, be prayerful about those who, the doors that we're going to
knock on for our partners who are talking.
Let's remember that we go in power, in the power of God, but also let's
remember let's go in that meekness.
And also let's go with a sense of purpose so we can bring many people to Christ.
Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer.
Heavenly Father, thank you for this opportunity again this morning to go out,
Lord, and I pray that we are prayerful this morning as we go out this morning.
Lord, I pray that you would bless our efforts, that you would even now start ministering
to the hearts that we will talk to, Lord, and bring them to a place where they can
receive you and come to know who you are, Lord, to prepare people, to make ready
a people, Lord, prepared for you, in Jesus' name, amen.