There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.- John 1:6-7(emphasis added)
The word that caught my attention in these verses of Scripture is the word the same. In Verse 6 of the scripture quoted we are given insight into something that was happening in Heaven.
Heaven had decided on sending out a man who will bear witness at a coming time. That man was named in heaven before he came. The name he will bear in his time on earth was predetermined by heaven before John came to earth.(if this point is not clear in above scripture, then check what the angel Gabriel said when he came to his father in Luke 1:13). Heaven was very deliberate about the identity of who was being sent, and even took the initiative to name him before his birth. The details of his life, name, and ministry, were all determined before hand.
So we see at least several things from verse 6.One was that John, was not the product of the decision of his parents, he had an assignment outlined for him even before his birth, and he was named by Heaven. Heaven took so much care to attend to these details in the life of John. Its like a manufacturing company, ensuring that the manual of a product was included and then dispatching the material properly branded and bar-coded.
In Verse 7, the Bible tells us that it was the same man, not a different person, that arrived in time! Praise God.
A man was sent from God and the same man, not a different individual, the same man, not one whose destiny had been hijacked or diverted; the same man arrived in time to fulfill heaven's mandate over his life. The same man stayed on course long enough for heaven to bear witness that, the man heaven sent arrived intact, in time.
A man was sent from God and the same man, not a different individual, the same man, not one whose destiny had been hijacked or diverted; the same man arrived in time to fulfill heaven's mandate over his life. The same man stayed on course long enough for heaven to bear witness that, the man heaven sent arrived intact, in time.
The story so far may seem pretty straight forward, if you do not consider, that between heaven sending John, and Him remaining the same person, several things had tried to divert or change his course in time. To put it plainly a lot of sacrifice lies between these two verses of scripture in John.
What do I mean? Let me explain.
When John was born the first thing we see, is that men tried to give him a name different from what heaven gave him. It took the tenacity of the mother to refuse status quo and the miraculous healing of his father to, stop this from happening. The Point here is, they already tried to alter what heaven had sent at the very beginning!
Some start business, ministry or some service according to how heaven intended but somewhere along the line they are diverted from the original intent of God. What sort to abort what heaven began with John started early.
Secondly, consider that He left home to stay in the wilderness eating locust and wild honey.
The implication of this second sacrifice I will explain in part 2 of this discuss.
But could you pause and ask yourself, Am I the same person that Heaven ordained? Has my time on earth changed who I was destined by God to be?
He said to Jeremiah before I formed thee, I knew thee and ordained or appointed you a prophet?
Are you as appointed by heaven?
To Be continued.....
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