Day #349 - The Forerunner
The Presence - A Devotional for living in Thanksgiving, Worship and Wonder
“There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.” John 1:6-8 NIV
Have you ever had someone go out of their way to make a way for you?
One of the best feelings in life is to have someone believe in you and go out of their way to help you succeed in what you need to accomplish. My friend Ben Dixon is like that, he goes out of his way to give me opportunities in ministry because he believes I have an important message to share. He invites me to his church, his conferences or his podcasts and encourages people to get behind me. All of us ministers ought to follow his example to help prefer others and lift up others to help them succeed.
In John 1 where we learned about Jesus being the Word and the Light, we learn that there was man named John who came to be a witness of the light. John here would later be known as John the Baptist. As the story goes, John is a relative or cousin of Jesus who was born shortly before Jesus. He was born to come as forerunner of Jesus. He was to go before Jesus and make a way for the message of Jesus by proclaiming His identity and mission. John is clear about this forerunner John the Baptist. He is not the light. But as He goes before the Light as a witness to testify of Jesus, all might believe in Him.
God raised up John the Baptist to go before Jesus and testify to who He is. He was a man sent from God. He was man of “the Presence.” He lived a peculiar life. He was a man on fire with God’s purposes. He was the last Old Testament prophet. Jesus presence coming to the earth came with one final prophetic voice to confirm His identity and mission. The prophets all point to Jesus. The prophets point to Jesus so that we might know Him and experience relationship, fellowship and His Divine presence.
We only know Jesus through the revelation of the prophets. There was a historical record of God’s Word confirming who Jesus would be as the Messiah. As great as the Light is, He still chooses the voice of the forerunner to be a witness to who He is. And it is through forerunners who have encountered “the Presence” who are still sent today to go before the Lord and carry the message of who He is to those who will one day receive Him as Lord. People of “the Presence” are sent to testify and prepare the way for the coming move of God and ultimately for the return of our precious Lord Jesus.
What a privilege to be a voice who goes before another, but not just any other, the Lord Jesus Himself. May our lives not be about promoting ourselves but about promoting Him.
Lord Jesus, I want to be a forerunner like John. I want to go before You and testify of You. There is no one like You, great Light of the world. Let my life burn with a passion to make You known and proclaim who You are so that others might encounter Your presence too. In Jesus name, amen.
Thank you John for your example. My desire is to be a person of “His Presence”. 🙏🏻♥️
You embody this well my friend.