The
Bible Prayer Line – Bible Lesson
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Bible Lesson: Conversations With
Jesus: John the Baptist.
Bible Text:
Matthew 11:7-24 KJV
7 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.
16 But
whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children
sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows,
17 And saying,
We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto
you, and ye have not lamented.
18 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.
20 Then began
He to upbraid the cities wherein most of His mighty works were done,
because they repented not:
21 Woe unto
thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works,
which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would
have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
22 But I say
unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of
judgment, than for you.
23 And thou,
Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to
hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been
done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
24 But I say
unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in
the day of judgment, than for thee.
Bible Topic:
John the Baptist:
John the Baptists
parents were both of priestly lines. His father, Zacharias, a priest
of abia (I Chronicles 24:10), his mother, Elisabeth, of daughters of
Aaron (Luke 1:5).
Luke 1:5-17 NLT (The Birth of John
the Baptist Foretold)
5 When Herod
was king of Judea, there was a Jewish priest named Zechariah. He was
a member of the priestly order of Abijah, and his wife, Elizabeth,
was also from the priestly line of Aaron.
6 Zechariah and
Elizabeth were righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of The
Lord’s commandments and regulations.
7 They had no
children because Elizabeth was unable to conceive, and they were both
very old.
8 One day
Zechariah was serving God in the Temple, for his order was on duty
that week.
9 As was the
custom of the priests, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of
The Lord and burn incense.
10 While the
incense was being burned, a great crowd stood outside, praying.
11 While
Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of The Lord appeared to him,
standing to the right of the incense altar.
12 Zechariah
was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him.
13 But the
angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your
prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to
name him John.
14 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.”
Verse 15 above, The Nazarite Vow
Numbers 6:1-8 NLT (Nazirite Laws - see also 9-27)
1 Then The Lord
said to Moses,
2 “Give the
following instructions to the people of Israel.“If any of the
people, either men or women, take the special vow of a Nazirite,
setting themselves apart to The Lord in a special way,
3 they must
give up wine and other alcoholic drinks. They must not use vinegar
made from wine or from other alcoholic drinks, they must not drink
fresh grape juice, and they must not eat grapes or raisins.
4 As long as
they are bound by their Nazirite vow, they are not allowed to eat or
drink anything that comes from a grapevine—not even the grape seeds
or skins.
5 “They must
never cut their hair throughout the time of their vow, for they are
holy and set apart to The Lord. Until the time of their vow has been
fulfilled, they must let their hair grow long.
6 And they must
not go near a dead body during the entire period of their vow to The
Lord.
7 Even if the
dead person is their own father, mother, brother, or sister, they
must not defile themselves, for the hair on their head is the symbol
of their separation to God.
8 This
requirement applies as long as they are set apart to The Lord.
John took as his
residence the region west of the Dead Sea. His clothes were that of
woven camel's hair, attatched by a leather girdle.
II Kings 1:8
KJV (Elijah)
And they answered
him, He was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his
loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.
John the Baptist's
diet consisted of locusts and wild honey.
Leviticus 11:22 KJV
Even these of
them ye may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after
his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after
his kind.
Psalm 81:16 KJV
He should have
fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the
rock should I have satisfied thee.
Many came out to see John, and he baptized them.
Matthew 3:5,6
NLT
5 People from
Jerusalem and from all of Judea and all over the Jordan Valley went
out to see and hear John.
6 And when they
confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.
John baptized Jesus.
Matthew 3:13-17 NLT (The Baptism of Jesus)
13 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.”
John's
teachings:
Matthew 3:11 KJV (Baptism of repentance.)
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:
Matthew 9:14 NLT (Fasting)
One day the
disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus and asked Him, “Why
don’t your disciples fast like we do and the Pharisees do?”
Luke 5:33 KJV (Fasting)
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?
Luke 11:1 KJV (Prayer)
Once Jesus was
in a certain place praying. As He finished, one of His disciples came
to Him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his
disciples.”
John 1:24-34 NLT
(Jesus The Messiah:)
24 Then the
Pharisees who had been sent
25 asked him,
“If you aren’t The Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet, what right
do you have to baptize?”
26 John told
them, “I baptize with water, but right here in the crowd is someone
you do not recognize.
27 Though His
ministry follows mine, I’m not even worthy to be His slave and
untie the straps of His sandal.”
28 This
encounter took place in Bethany, an area east of the Jordan River,
where John was baptizing.Jesus, The Lamb Of God
29 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.’ 31 I did
not recognize Him as The Messiah, but I have been baptizing with
water so that He might be revealed to Israel.”
32 Then John
testified, “I saw The Holy Spirit descending like A Dove from
heaven and resting upon Him.
33 I didn’t
know He was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, He
told me, ‘The one on whom you see The Spirit descend and rest is
The One who will baptize with The Holy Spirit.’
34 I saw this
happen to Jesus, so I testify that He is The Chosen One Of God.”
John the Baptist, was not afraid to speak out against sin, wherever
he saw it.
Matthew 3:7 KJV
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 3:19,20 KJV
19 John also
publicly criticized Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee, for marrying
Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for many other wrongs he had
done.
20 So Herod put
John in prison, adding this sin to his many others.
Herodias, Herod's adulterous wife, could not be satisfied, with
anything other than the head of John the Baptist.
On the kings birthday, a festival was held. After the festival, the
daughter of Herodias (Salome), danced for all, and she was so
graceful, that the king promised to give her anything. The young girl
asked her mother what she should ask for, and her mother, Herodias,
asked for the head of John the Baptist, on a platter. Herod had John
executed, and his head was exhibited for all to see.
Mark 6:29-31 NLT
29 When John’s
disciples heard what had happened, they came to get his body and
buried it in a tomb.
30 The apostles
returned to Jesus from their ministry tour and told Him all they had
done and taught.
31 Then Jesus
said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest
awhile...”
Here is a song, John the Baptist, would have loved to sing....
I
am On The Battlefield For My Lord
Refrain:
I am on the battlefield for my Lord,
I'm on the battlefield for my Lord;
And I promised Him that I would serve Him till I die.
I am on the battlefield for my Lord.
I was alone and idle,
I was a sinner too,
I heard a voice from heaven
Say there is work to do,
I took The Master's hand,
And I joined the Christian band,
I'm on the battlefield for my Lord. [Refrain]
I left my friends and kindred
Bound for the Promised Land,
The grace of God upon me,
The Bible in my hand,
In distant lands I trod,
Crying sinner come to God,
I'm on the battlefield for my Lord. [Refrain]
Now when I met my Savior,
I met Him with a smile,
He healed my wounded Spirit,
And owned me as His child,
Around the throne of grace,
He appoints my soul a place,
I'm on the battlefield for my Lord. [Refrain]
Author: E.V. Banks; Author: Sylvanna Bell
Hear the music, copy and paste this URL into a new web browser, and
hit enter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlQGJ72-epk
Prayer:
I Chronicle
28:20 KJV
And David said
to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear
not, nor be dismayed: for The Lord God, even my God, will be with
thee; He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast
finished all the work for the service of the house of The Lord.
I Corinthians
15:58 KJV
Therefore, my
beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the
work of The Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain
in The Lord.
