Point Person

Would you like to be more effective in pointing other people to Christ? If we will learn from John the Baptist’s example and humbly apply the principles we see in him, God can and I believe will put us to greater use winning people to faith in Jesus Christ. With that in mind, let's look at John and his response to investigators sent to him by some religious leaders, who were curious about the attention he was getting.

6There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. 8He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. 15John testified about Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.'" 19This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" 20And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ." 21They asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" And he said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No." 22Then they said to him, "Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?" 23He said, "I am A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, 'MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD,' as Isaiah the prophet said." 24Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. 25They asked him, and said to him, "Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" 26John answered them saying, "I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. 27"It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie." 28These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. 29The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30This is He on behalf of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.' 31I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water." 32John testified saying, "I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. 33"I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, 'He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.' 34"I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God."

God was drawing so many people to listen to John’s message that people were beginning to think he might be the long awaited Messiah. Even after Jesus’ ministry, there were still people who had to be moved from belief in John to belief in Jesus (Acts 19:1-5). I think that is at least part of what John, the human author of this Gospel, is doing here. He is reminding people that John the Baptizer himself said he was not the point of all the attention he received. His point was to point people to Christ. He was there to prepare the way for the Way and then get out of the way.

Let’s look at a few of the things that made John so effective. First, He was truly God-sent. "There came a man sent by God." John was keenly aware that God had called him and sent him out on mission. That same awareness is essential for anyone who wants to point people to Christ. As God’s ambassadors, we will feel the resistance of a gone-astray world, and we will feel tempted to compromise the Gospel that Jesus is the Way. He is not a way that is fine for me and maybe you will find some other way that will be your way one day. Jesus is God’s perfect Way to God and all other ways are deadly dead ends. Knowing that God has called us to Himself and sent us out in His service and that He is watching over us today and that we will answer to Him for our faithfulness on the Day helps keep us from compromise in the face of opposition and temptation. Awareness of God’s call is the first key to being an effective point person.

The next thing I notice about John is his awareness of God’s purposes. Look at his commitment to the role God had for him to play and how he found his identity in pursing God’s purposes - “He came as a witness…so all might believe through him...he came to testify...this is the Son of God.” His role (and ours) is that of a witness - not a prosecuting attorney and certainly not a judge. He is a witness on the world’s stage, and he does what witnesses do - He testifies. He literally tells the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help him God. I know its corny, but its accurate. Moving on - notice his testimony is out of personal experience. “I myself have seen and have testified.” You don’t need a theology degree to direct someone to Christ. You do need real life experience with Him and to be ready to share your story about His impact in your life.

Finally, let’s notice John’s awareness of God’s glory. John does not have a self-esteem problem and he is not feigning humility when he says that Jesus is One “the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” True intimacy with God produces true humility in the one experiencing it. Bob Dole once said something like “Bob Dole grew up in Kansas and felt his smallness standing before the big wheat fields.” I am sure he said it better than that, but you may recall the speech to which I am referring. My point is this - if standing before an open field makes one aware of the relative measure of a man, how much more does standing before a holy God. In fact, you simply cannot stand before Him. All you can do in the gravity and brightness of His glory is bow low. When we truly feel God’s worth, we feel our relative unworthiness and in humbled gratitude we get to truly feel the genuine privilege of doing even the most menial services in His name.

So, aware of God’s call, God’s purposes, and God’s glory we boldly point everyone He brings our way off us and onto Christ - the Lamb of God, who alone can save them and who alone is truly worthy to be the center of everyone's attention.