Why We Are Baptist

Note: I preached this sermon at Bible Believers Baptist Church (Not a Ruckmanite church) in Yakima, WA. This is a new church plant by Pastor Aaron Thompson of Sure Foundation Baptist Church in Vancouver, WA. I thank my pastor, Pastor Aaron Thompson, for allowing me to preach there in Yakima.

Please go here for video on You Tube: Why We Are Baptist Sermon Video

The title of the sermon is “Why We Are Baptist.” Here’s a PDF of the sermon text: [download id=”16770″]

I haven’t been Baptist my entire life, and that is very unfortunate.
I didn’t even know what it meant to be Baptist. I was blind, but now I see.
I am an independent fundamental Baptist NOW, and I will never change that.
I want to go over, in detail, why we are Baptist. Please turn to Luke Chapter 7. Luke Chapter 7.

While you’re turning there, I want to be crystal clear that I strive to follow Jesus Christ. We all do.

I will try my absolute best to be like Jesus Christ. But, He is God. And I’m not. I’m just a man.
So, if I’m just a man, who was the greatest man to ever live? I want to be more like that man.
I can be like that man. I will be like that man. And that man led the way for Jesus Christ.
One day I will be like Jesus Christ. But not yet. ONE DAY I will have a glorified body.
One day I will be sinless, immortal, and perfect but not now. NOT YET.

Until then, I’m going to do my best to be like John the Baptist because he was just a man like me.

And I will follow the ways of John the Baptist because He followed the ways of Jesus Christ.
He led the way for Jesus Christ. He pointed us to Jesus Christ.
Can we be like John the Baptist right now? Yes we can. YES WE ARE. And yes we will be.
And before I get any objections about following the ways of men of God, SUCH AS John the Baptist, remember 1 Corinthians Chapter 11.
Paul says, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.”

In this sermon today, I’ll show you why we are like John the Baptist. WE ARE BAPTISTS.

Some might say, “Well, we’re Baptist because we baptize people.” But that’s not all.
I searched the Scriptures from front to back for everything I could find about John the Baptist.
There are many Scriptures. And I love John the Baptist. I want to share this with you today.

I hope this motivates you, ensures you, exhorts you, and convinces others to join us as Baptists.

Join us in this same fight that John the Baptist and all the prophets who have ever lived FOUGHT.
My brothers and sisters, TODAY, make no mistake, WE ARE IN A WAR. And you need to be ready.
Look at verse 24 in Luke Chapter 7. We’ll read verses 24 through 26 to start.

Luke 7:24-26 And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind? 25 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings’ courts. 26 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.

This is Jesus Christ, the Son of God and God, speaking here in this Scripture.
“A reed shaken in the wind.” Hey, as a Baptist, let me be clear to all out there listening.
WE AREN’T WEAK. We are not shaken. We stand strong. We have good courage.
We fear not this world. We aren’t effeminate men. We aren’t shaken with your lies.
We run our homes. We lead our wives and our children and our churches.

WE LOVE THE GOOD WITH A PASSION. AND WE HATE THE EVIL WITH A PASSION.

We aren’t afraid to tell you the truth. We aren’t afraid of what you will do to us.
We don’t back down when you tell us we can’t do what God has asked us to do. WE WILL DO IT.
WE WILL SERVE THE LORD. We decided that a long time ago, and it’s NEVER going to change.
You will not shake us like a little reed in the wind. WE ARE UNSHAKEN.
John the Baptist was more than a prophet. He was spoken of in the Scriptures.

We are spoken of in the Scriptures. WE ARE THE PEOPLE OF GOD. We are more than preachers.

We have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit now. We have the Comforter.
We have the Holy Scriptures. We have God Himself leading us as we choose to walk in the Spirit.
WE ARE THE CHILDREN OF GOD, AND WE WILL DO WHAT OUR FATHER TELLS US TO DO.
Let’s continue there in the next verse, verse 27 in Luke Chapter 7. WE ARE BAPTIST.

Luke 7:27-29 This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 28 For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. 29 And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John.

John the Baptist was the messenger of Jesus Christ. Jesus says, “I send MY MESSENGER.”
We know for sure that John the Baptist came from God. He was sent by Jesus Christ.
And we know that we are messengers for Jesus Christ because we preach His words.
We prepare the way for people to be saved. We show them the way. We get people saved.
We baptize them. We get them to church. We teach them all things.

“Among those that are born of women, there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist.”

Hey, I want to be like John the Baptist. But still, John the Baptist was a sinner and in his flesh.
In the kingdom of heaven, there are no sinners. We’re sinners. I AM A SINNER.
We’re in this flesh as John the Baptist was in this flesh. But we will follow his ways.

We follow the ways of John the Baptist because he followed the ways of Jesus Christ.

He was a man just like we are men. And when I say man, I mean men and women.
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”

So, what made John the Baptist the greatest prophet to ever live on the face of this earth not named Jesus Christ?

We know he was a strong man. He wasn’t shaken like a reed in the wind. He was rough.
He was tough. He wasn’t a soft and delicate preacher that these weak “Christians” want.
He didn’t come out of a seminary looking and acting like a woman, effeminate.
The people went out to see John the Baptist because he was different.
And we, as Baptists, are different than this world. We aren’t “holier than thous.”
We will try to win you to Christ. WE WILL TELL YOU THE TRUTH because we care.

And people can see this. And people notice that we’re different than anything they’ve ever seen.

Why do you think I’m standing here right now? I saw the difference with the Baptists.
I saw men speaking with authority using the Scriptures. I saw hard preaching.
I saw men calling out false preachers. I heard false preachers being called serpents and vipers.
I saw men of God. I heard the preaching. I got my King James Bible out.
I compared the preaching to the Scriptures. And I heard and saw the truth. IT MATCHES.

And that’s why WE ARE BAPTIST. We don’t care what this world thinks of us. We follow God.

We don’t care when the people we work for threaten to fire us over a vaccine.
FIRE US. Not taking it! Not a chance in hell. FIRE US. And you just lost the best worker you had.
Why? Because when we do something, we do it right. We give it all we’ve got.

“And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;” I WORK FOR GOD.

We serve the Lord Jesus Christ. WE ARE NOT SHAKEN. We serve the Lord God Almighty.
And we know it. We work for Him, and we don’t compromise for ANYTHING or ANYONE.
We don’t compromise against the rainbow people, the liberals, and progressives.
We preach against their wickedness and take the winning side of God Almighty.

Do you think John the Baptist was one who compromised his beliefs? He knew who was number one.

And we know. GOD FIRST ALWAYS. Please turn to Isaiah Chapter 40. Isaiah Chapter 40.
I absolutely love this Scripture. Many people stop with verse 3. We’ll keep reading.
We know John the Baptist was a voice CRYING or yelling out in the wilderness.

Some people might ask, “Why are you yelling out when you preach at times?” Why are you so excited!

I’ll tell you why. Because we are Baptist and John the Baptist cried out with excitement.
Jesus Christ called out boldly. WE WILL CRY OUT WHEN WE PREACH! Look at verse 3.

Isaiah 40:3-5 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: 5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

“For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” John the Baptist preached the word of God.
I’m not preaching anything new. What I’m preaching has already been preached.
But the Spirit of God is with me right now as I preach and His words continue to profit us.
God already spoke the things that we speak. We’re simply preaching God’s words as BAPTISTS.
And we don’t just say we preach the word of God, we actually preach it.
Look at the next verse, verse 6. Let’s see what John the Baptist preached.

Isaiah 40:6-8 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: 7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. 8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

We know what this means. We preach these same things at the doors of strangers.
“All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field.”
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth. As men, we fade. None good. Surely the people is grass.
We are sinners. Our life is as a vapor. This is the first part of the Gospel that we preach today.
We come to people letting them know that we are sinners and they are sinners.
We deserve death. We deserve to go to hell because we’ve broken God’s law.

I was preaching the Gospel to a woman the other day, and she didn’t think she deserved hell.

If she doesn’t deserve hell, then she’s saying that she deserves heaven. That’s not grace.
She didn’t need to be saved from her wickedness. SHE CAN’T BE SAVED UNTIL SHE KNOWS THIS.
She says, “Well, we greatly differ in our belief system.” She thinks she deserves heaven.
She says she believes in God and Jesus Christ but she doesn’t understand the simple truth.
John the Baptist didn’t preach what this lady was preaching. Jesus didn’t preach this. WE FADE.

We come with the Gospel, just as verse 4 says there, to make every mountain and hill LOW.

We come to bring down the people who think so highly of themselves. WE DECREASE.
As Baptists, we do not think highly of ourselves. We have humbled ourselves. I AM NOTHING.
When you step outside today on the dirt of this earth, that’s where I came from.
We make the mountains and the hills low through the word of God. They must be humbled.
We come to exalt the humble or exalt the valleys. We come to make the crooked straight.
We come to make the rough places plain. THIS IS WHAT WE DO AS BAPTISTS.

We freely took of the word of God, and we freely give the word of God.

Please turn to Malachi Chapter 4. Malachi Chapter 4. We know that John the Baptist is like Elijah.
He is in that same spirit of Elijah. He’s a tough man. He’s a grave man of God.
Look closely there at the last 2 verses in Malachi Chapter 4, verses 5 and 6.

Malachi 4:5-6 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: 6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

Jesus Christ Himself tells us that John the Baptist is the fulfillment of this prophecy.
He tells us this in Matthew Chapter 11, Matthew Chapter 17, Mark Chapter 9, Luke Chapter 1.
Luke Chapter 7. That’s a handful of times. John the Baptist is like the prophet Elijah.
He wasn’t Elijah because his dad and mom were Zacharias and Elizabeth.
He wasn’t a reincarnation. He was born into this world 6 months prior to Jesus Christ being born.

His job was to lead the way for Jesus Christ. And what did John the Baptist do?

His job was to preach the word of God. That’s what the prophets in the Bible did.
If John led the way for Jesus, what do you think Jesus Christ did? He preached the word of God.
John the Baptist was a Gospel preacher. WE ARE GOSPEL PREACHERS first and foremost.
Independent fundamental Baptist churches are filled with Gospel preachers.
And, if not, they aren’t a Baptist church. They are an imposter of a church. Elijah preached.

Do you remember what Elijah preached and how he preached? Turn to 1 Kings Chapter 18.

1 Kings Chapter 18. People will question us when we preach the way Elijah preached.
WE PREACH WITH POWER AND BOLDNESS. We are not afraid to offend effeminate ears.
We are not afraid to offend the false prophets and false preachers. LET THEM BE ACCURSED.
Let them die a horrible death. This is what the Bible teaches. They send people to hell.
AND THEY CAN DIE AND GO TO HELL. I pray all the false prophets die and go to hell.
This is what Baptists pray for. We want people going to heaven and not to hell. Verse 21.

1 Kings 18:21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.

This is how Elijah preached. Joshua preached the same way. CHOOSE YE THIS DAY.
“How long halt ye between TWO OPINIONS?” Tell me, how long will you play both sides?
People do this. This is exactly what churches are doing today. BUT NOT HERE.
A real Baptist doesn’t play games with God’s word. “If the Lord be God, follow Him.”
And let me tell you. THE LORD JESUS CHRIST BE GOD. We follow Him.

What are you so-called “Christians” doing out in this world today? Where are you? GET IN HERE.

Why don’t you get to a good Baptist church like this one before it’s too late?
Why don’t you give up the ways of this world? “But if Baal, then follow him.”
ANSWER US. Which way are you going to choose? GOD OR SATAN? Make your choice right now.
Look at the next verse in 1 Kings 18, verse 22. Elijah preaches. John the Baptist preaches.

1 Kings 18:22-24 Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the LORD; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men. 23 Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: 24 And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.

Hey, all you people of the world out there? Hey, you Mormons, Jehovah False Witnesses, Southern Baptists, Church of Christ, Oneness Pentecostals, Seventh Day Adventists.
Hey, Muslims, Buddhists, Catholics, Lutherans, Methodists, Evangelicals.
“Call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord.”
Let’s see who answers. I KNOW WHO WILL ANSWER. He’s already answered.

1 Kings 18:25-27 And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under. 26 And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made. 27 And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked.

Call on your gods. “O Baal, hear us.” You idiots. “But there was no voice, nor any that answered.”
And they leaped upon the altar like the Pentecostals. And what does Elijah do here?
John the Baptist preaches just like this. WE PREACH JUST LIKE THIS. We are Baptist.
Elijah starts mocking them. We mock the false preachers. “Elijah mocked them, and said:”
“Cry aloud: for he is a god either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey.”
“Or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked.”

All the gods of these false religions I mentioned, such as the Mormon god, are DUMB. IGNORANT.

STUPID. “His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs.”
Isaiah Chapter 56 tells us this. “They cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.”
“Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, they are shepherds that cannot understand.”
“They all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.”

These are the people in the other religions. Let me be very clear. WE UNDERSTAND.

We can read God’s words, study them from cover to cover, and come out with a sermon like this.

We aren’t after your money because we don’t have the love of money. WE HAVE THE LOVE OF GOD.

Hey, when I hear some idiot say that we are after someone’s money, I LAUGH.
If you think we’re evil, why don’t you just take a look at what we do. Look at our works.
We aren’t after money. We’re after God. We pursue after Jesus Christ.

We don’t run away from our enemies over money.

We don’t give apologies because you try to hurt our bank accounts. WE ARE BAPTIST.
We’re like King David. WE HASTE AND RUN TO THE BATTLE WITH GOLIATH.
You want a spiritual battle? You got one. Money doesn’t control a Baptist.
WE HAVE GOD WITH US.

You all know the rest of the story in 1 Kings Chapter 18 because you are Baptists.

You read your King James Bible. You burned all the other perversions of God’s words.
I’m going to skip down to verse 37 in 1 Kings Chapter 18. Take a look at these.

1 Kings 18:37-39 Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. 38 Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.

And do you know what happened next? Verse 40.

1 Kings 18:40 And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.

We don’t do this because we aren’t in power in this country.
But allow me to be crystal clear. THIS IS WHAT FALSE PROPHETS DESERVE.
And I pray, just as I said earlier, that they die. Elijah slew them there. THANK GOD!
Please turn to Matthew Chapter 3. Matthew Chapter 3.
Baptists don’t invite Mormons and Jehovah False Witnesses into our homes. WE MOCK THEM.
Why? Because their beliefs are stupid. That’s why. Oneness Pentecostals are stupid.

They deserve to be mocked. Hillsong and Bethel are stupid churches.

They worship their own god they imagined up in their pea brains. DUMB. IDIOTIC.
Hey, if you’re out there listening and this offends you, CHOOSE YE THIS DAY.
Who will it be? Will it be your fairy tale god or the one who sits in the heavens right now?
God sits in the heavens and laughs at the secret Mormon underwear and handshakes. STUPID.
Make your choice. I’m telling you the truth just like Elijah and John the Baptist told the truth.
Please look at verse 1 in Matthew Chapter 3.

Matthew 3:1-3 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, 2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

John the Baptist came preaching “Repent ye for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Jesus Christ came preaching after John the Baptist the exact same thing.
We’ll look at that in just a few minutes. But let’s keep going in verse 4.

Matthew 3:4-6 And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, 6 And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.

We see what John was like. He was like Elijah. WE ARE BAPTIST. We are like them.
These Christians today will call us rough and have called us rough.
They want no association with us. They say things like “I condemn the New IFB.”
Why? Because we preach the truth.
A dad who approves of a gender surgery for his 4 year old does deserve to be put to death by the government, YOU SICKOS OUT THERE.
And you condemn us for that? WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON? We are Baptists. What are you?

John the Baptist baptized people AFTER they believed in Jesus Christ. He preached they were sinners.

Isaiah Chapter 40 told us he preached that they were sinners. He brought the high people low.
He humbled them. He was able to convince them that they were sinners.
They confessed their sin. We do the same when we go out and preach the Gospel.
Which, by the way, is often. We go out multiple times per week and preach the Gospel.
We get people saved. We baptize people.
I know 10-year old girls, BAPTISTS, that get people saved. THAT’S AWESOME.

And you condemn us because we preach against wickedness?

You condemn us because we say piss, dung, whore, bastard, stupid, fool, idiot?
To all the evangelicals out there, hold on to your seats so you don’t pass out.
PISS AND DUNG. PISS AND DUNG. PISS AND DUNG. The words are in the Bible, fools.
You strain at a gnat and swallow a camel. Look at verse 7 in Matthew Chapter 3.

Matthew 3:7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

John the Baptist called them names. One of the false god 10 commandments is:
“Thou shalt not call people names.” That’s an evangelical fake Christian commandment.
“Thou shalt not mock people. Thou shalt not say stupid.” Hey, if they’re stupid, they’re stupid.
A MORMON IS STUPID. A MUSLIM IS STUPID. A ONENESS PENTECOSTAL IS STUPID.
Wake up out there, and I won’t call you stupid anymore. O generation of vipers.
John the Baptist preached hard, and so do we because WE ARE BAPTISTS.

John preached that God will throughly purge his floor and gather his wheat into the garner.

“But he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
When we preach the Gospel, we give warnings. WE DON’T HAVE GREAT FILTERS. We speak truth.
“Hey, if you don’t change your mind about your works getting you to heaven, you will go to hell.”
“And you will burn there forever in torments.” This is prophesying the truth. WARNING THEM.

John the Baptist was chosen by Jesus Christ to lead the way because he preached the right things.

John the Baptist baptized Jesus Christ, the disciples of Jesus Christ, and many others.
He did things the right way. WE DO THINGS THE RIGHT WAY. We follow God’s words.
John the Baptist buried them under the water and lifted them straightway out of the water.
He gave them the picture, like figure, or symbol of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
Is there anything better than coming up out of that water in the likeness of His resurrection?

What did John the Baptist preach? HE POINTED PEOPLE TO JESUS CHRIST. We do the same.

John the Baptist preached Jesus Christ. We preach Jesus Christ. Please turn to Acts Chapter 19.
“Repent ye for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” False prophets trip all over that.
John the Baptist didn’t preach to repent of all your sin before you can be saved.
God put these Scriptures there for false prophets to trip, fall over, and bust up their nose.
The Bible doesn’t say repent of all your sin to be saved. NOT ONCE. What did John preach?
Look at verse 4 there in Acts Chapter 19.

Acts 19:4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.

John the Baptist preached the baptism of repentance. This is a full change of mind.
A man I was preaching the Gospel to once said, “You mean sort of like a baptism of your mind?”
Hey, that man got it. But he still wouldn’t believe in Jesus Christ. He was enlightened, though.

John the Baptist preached that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.

The Bible tells you exactly what John THE BAPTIST preached. And we preach the same.
You know John 3:36 very well, right? Those are the words of John the Baptist.
Here’s what he said: “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
Southern Baptists are frauds. THEY AREN’T BAPTIST. Frauds, deceivers, serpents, vipers.
“Think not to say that they are Baptist.” They are nothing like John the Baptist.

We all know that John the Baptist lost his head and was put to death because he preached against sin.

People in today’s world don’t like when we preach against sin.
They don’t like when we preach against the reprobates changing their gender and encouraging the little children to do the same.

The weak Christians back out and go another way because they won’t stick up for God’s words.

JOHN THE BAPTIST DID. And that’s why we are Baptist because we’ll do the same thing.
You can threaten to chop my head off, and I’ll still preach against the sodomites.
We will still tell you the truth. Why? Because WE ARE BAPTIST.

John the Baptist was a man that the world was afraid of. You can see even king Herod was afraid of him.

John the Baptist was to be feared. And we, as Baptists, are feared in this world.
This is why we’re targeted. If you don’t like that, go run away to the “we love everyone church.”
Go take it easy. Have an easy life that you want. I don’t want an easy life.
I want a life of serving God. And that’s not an easy life. Being Baptist is not easy. But it’s good.

We don’t love everyone here. We hate pedophiles with a passion. AND I MEAN WITH A PASSION.

We hate false preachers with a passion. WE HATE EVERY FALSE WAY.
If the Baptists were running this country, we would put all the pedophiles to death immediately.
There would be no trial. There would be no court case. There would just be a quick death.
The ones left would be running like hell. The world doesn’t like when we say these things.
But we don’t care what this world likes. WE CARE WHAT GOD LIKES.

We already know they will hate us because we have God’s words stored up in our hearts.

We already know that this world will want to kill us because they killed John the Baptist.
They killed God’s people. They killed God’s preachers. But we know we will NEVER DIE.
You can kill me. But God will raise up another just like me.
You can kill my brothers and sisters here but God will just bring another here and another there.
We aren’t going away EVER. We live forever. Please turn to John Chapter 1. John Chapter 1.

We want the evil within the spiritual world to know us. “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?”

We will put on the armor of God and go to battle in this spiritual battle. It’s not physical.
The world fears us because they think we’re going to start some physical battle. WE AREN’T.
We’re Baptist because we’ve decided to take up this spiritual battle. And we aren’t afraid.
We are like Elijah. We are like John the Baptist. We will point you to Jesus Christ.
We are ready to preach the Gospel any time and any place to anyone. Look at verse 29.
This is how we preach. WE PREACH JUST LIKE JOHN THE BAPTIST.

John 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

We know that we must decrease. We’re fading. BUT JESUS NEVER FADES AWAY.
The Word of our God shall stand forever. FOREVER.
John the Baptist stood there and saw Jesus Christ coming towards him. Imagine that.
Jesus Christ walking straight towards John the Baptist. John cries out.
“BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD, WHICH TAKETH AWAY THE SIN OF THE WORLD.”

He didn’t preach to get baptized in water to take your sin away. Please turn to Luke Chapter 1.

He preached that only Jesus could take your sin away. Behold, this man takes away sin.
John knew Jesus would baptize with living water. John the Baptist told people to follow Jesus.
We point people to Jesus Christ. We preach Jesus Christ. We baptize as Jesus Christ commanded.
We preach hard. We don’t compromise. We work hard. We go soul winning often.
Look there at verse 41 in Luke Chapter 1.

Luke 1:41-42 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: 42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

We know that we MUST be soul winners. And my Baptist brothers and sisters exhort me.
They do their job. When I hear them preaching the Gospel, my heart jumps for joy.
My heart leaps inside of me. And I know I am with the right people. I know I am a Baptist.
I love my Baptist brothers and sisters with a passion because they love God with all their heart, soul, and mind.

I’ve seen it, and that’s why I decided to be a Baptist. If you aren’t yet Baptist, I hope you’ll join us.

So, to summarize, this is why we are Baptist. Just a quick run down here.
We follow John the Baptist in pointing people to Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Savior of the world.
The word Baptist is in the Bible 15 times. The word Christian is there 3 times. We are Christian.
People will know what we believe better when we call ourselves Baptist versus just Christian.
We aren’t weak in doctrine. We don’t have effeminate men. We have strong men leading.

We love good. We hate evil. We will speak it out on the rooftops without fear. We don’t love money.

The world doesn’t control us. We don’t back down to threats.
We aren’t shaken like a reed in the wind. We leap with joy when we hear of Jesus Christ.
We aren’t ashamed of Jesus Christ. We stand strong with Him. We chose our path.
And we aren’t leaving it. We will follow Jesus Christ. We will preach the Gospel.
We will warn you. We will teach you the Bible. We will baptize you in much water.
We will not tickle your ears with lies. We choose God’s ways over the ways of this world.
We cry out from the pulpit. We get angry with evil.

We, as Baptists, are on the good ground, and we are bringing forth much fruit. THANK GOD.

And we want you to be saved, be baptized the right way, read your Bible, pray with us.
Join us. Learn everything you can in the Bible. Learn to win souls to Christ. Bring forth fruit.
We are strong in the Lord Jesus Christ. We trust Him for all things. We fear not this world.
This is why we are Baptist.

Let’s pray.

Isaiah 40

Cries in the wilderness.
Prepare ye the way of the Lord.
Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be exalted. Every mountain and hill shall be made low.
The crooked shall be made straight and rough places plain.
Cries out that all flesh is grass and all goodliness is as the flower of the field. They wither.
The word of the God stands forever.

Malachi 3

Sends his messenger that prepares the way before Him.

Malachi 4

Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
He shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children.
Turns the heart of the children to their fathers.

Matthew 3

John the Baptist comes preaching in the wilderness of Judaea.
He comes preaching “Repent ye for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
John the Baptist is he that was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah.
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”
Raiment of camel’s hair. Leathern girdle about his loins. Meat was locusts and wild honey.
Jerusalem, all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan.
He baptized them in Jordan. They confessed their sins.
He saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism.
“O generation of vipers, who what warned you to feel from the wrath to come.”
“Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance.”
“And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham for our father.”
We come in the way of righteousness.
We prepare the way of the Lord.
We make the paths straight. We point people to Jesus Christ. We preach Jesus Christ.
What did John preach?
We pass it on.

Parable of the sower. We are the good ground.

Isaiah 40:3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Malachi 3:1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

Malachi 4:4-6 Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. 5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: 6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

Matthew 3:1-15 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, 2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 4 And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, 6 And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. 7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: 9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. 10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: 12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. 13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. 14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? 15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.

Matthew 4:12 Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;

Matthew 9:14-15 Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not? 15 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.

Matthew 11:7-15 And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? 8 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. 10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. 15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Matthew 11:18-19 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. 19 The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.

Matthew 14:1-12 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus, 2 And said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him. 3 For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias’ sake, his brother Philip’s wife. 4 For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her. 5 And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet. 6 But when Herod’s birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod. 7 Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask. 8 And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist’s head in a charger. 9 And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath’s sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her. 10 And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison. 11 And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother. 12 And his disciples came, and took up the body, and buried it, and went and told Jesus.

Matthew 16:13-16 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? 14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Matthew 17:9-13 And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead. 10 And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come? 11 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. 12 But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. 13 Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.

Matthew 21:23-27 And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority? 24 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him? 26 But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet. 27 And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.

Matthew 21:23-32 And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority? 24 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him? 26 But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet. 27 And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things. 28 But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. 29 He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. 30 And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. 31 Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.

Mark 1:1-9 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; 2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 4 John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. 5 And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey; 7 And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. 8 I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost. 9 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.

Mark 1:9-15 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. 10 And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: 11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 12 And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness. 13 And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him. 14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Mark 6:14-29 And king Herod heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him. 15 Others said, That it is Elias. And others said, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets. 16 But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead. 17 For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias’ sake, his brother Philip’s wife: for he had married her. 18 For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife. 19 Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not: 20 For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly. 21 And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee; 22 And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. 23 And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. 24 And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. 25 And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist. 26 And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath’s sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. 27 And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, 28 And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother. 29 And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb.

Mark 8:27-29 And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am? 28 And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets. 29 And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ.

Mark 9:11-13 And they asked him, saying, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come? 12 And he answered and told them, Elias verily cometh first, and restoreth all things; and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought. 13 But I say unto you, That Elias is indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him.

Mark 11:27-33 And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders, 28 And say unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things? 29 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me. 31 And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him? 32 But if we shall say, Of men; they feared the people: for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed. 33 And they answered and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.

Luke 1:1-80 Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, 2 Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; 3 It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, 4 That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed. 5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 7 And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years. 8 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course, 9 According to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense. 11 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. 14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. 15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. 16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. 17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. 18 And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. 19 And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings. 20 And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season. 21 And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless. 23 And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house. 24 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, 25 Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men. 26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. 29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. 30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. 36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing shall be impossible. 38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. 39 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda; 40 And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. 41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: 42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. 43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. 45 And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord. 46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, 47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. 48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. 49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. 50 And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. 51 He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52 He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. 53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. 54 He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; 55 As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever. 56 And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house. 57 Now Elisabeth’s full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son. 58 And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her. 59 And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father. 60 And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John. 61 And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name. 62 And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called. 63 And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all. 64 And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God. 65 And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea. 66 And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him. 67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, 68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, 69 And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; 70 As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: 71 That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; 72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; 73 The oath which he sware to our father Abraham, 74 That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, 75 In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life. 76 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; 77 To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins, 78 Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, 79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. 80 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.

Luke 3:1-22 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, 2 Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. 3 And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; 6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. 7 Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. 9 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 10 And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then? 11 He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise. 12 Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do? 13 And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you. 14 And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages. 15 And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not; 16 John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: 17 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. 18 And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people. 19 But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, 20 Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison. 21 Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, 22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.

Luke 5:33-35 And they said unto him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but thine eat and drink? 34 And he said unto them, Can ye make the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? 35 But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.

Luke 7:14-35 And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. 15 And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother. 16 And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people. 17 And this rumour of him went forth throughout all Judaea, and throughout all the region round about. 18 And the disciples of John shewed him of all these things. 19 And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another? 20 When the men were come unto him, they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another? 21 And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight. 22 Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached. 23 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. 24 And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind? 25 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings’ courts. 26 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. 27 This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 28 For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. 29 And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. 30 But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him. 31 And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like? 32 They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept. 33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil. 34 The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! 35 But wisdom is justified of all her children.

Luke 9:7-9 Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by him: and he was perplexed, because that it was said of some, that John was risen from the dead; 8 And of some, that Elias had appeared; and of others, that one of the old prophets was risen again. 9 And Herod said, John have I beheaded: but who is this, of whom I hear such things? And he desired to see him.

Luke 9:18-20 And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am? 19 They answering said, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others say, that one of the old prophets is risen again. 20 He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God.

Luke 16:14-17 And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him. 15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. 16 The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it. 17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.

Luke 20:3-8 And he answered and said unto them, I will also ask you one thing; and answer me: 4 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? 5 And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then believed ye him not? 6 But and if we say, Of men; all the people will stone us: for they be persuaded that John was a prophet. 7 And they answered, that they could not tell whence it was. 8 And Jesus said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.

John 1:6-9 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

John 1:15-42 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. 16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. 18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. 19 And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? 20 And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. 21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. 22 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? 23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias. 24 And they which were sent were of the Pharisees. 25 And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet? 26 John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; 27 He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose. 28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. 29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. 30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. 31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. 32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. 33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. 34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God. 35 Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; 36 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! 37 And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? 39 He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. 40 One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. 42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.

John 3:22-36 After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized. 23 And John also was baptizing in AEnon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized. 24 For John was not yet cast into prison. 25 Then there arose a question between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purifying. 26 And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him. 27 John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. 28 Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. 29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease. 31 He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all. 32 And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony. 33 He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. 34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. 35 The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. 36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

John 4:1-3 When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, 2 (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,) 3 He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee.

John 5:31-37 If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. 32 There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true. 33 Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth. 34 But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved. 35 He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. 36 But I have 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, that the Father hath sent me. 37 And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.

John 10:39-42 Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand, 40 And went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized; and there he abode. 41 And many resorted unto him, and said, John did no miracle: but all things that John spake of this man were true. 42 And many believed on him there.

Acts 1:20-23 For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take. 21 Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection. 23 And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.

Acts 13:22-26 And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will. 23 Of this man’s seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus: 24 When John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. 25 And as John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom think ye that I am? I am not he. But, behold, there cometh one after me, whose shoes of his feet I am not worthy to loose. 26 Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent.

Acts 19:1-6 And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, 2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. 3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism. 4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.

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