Introduction: Opening words of Power Through Prayer by E. M. Bounds: “We are constantly on a stretch, if not on a strain, to devise new methods, new plans, new organizations to advance the Church and secure enlargement and efficiency for the gospel. This trend of the day has a tendency to lose sight of the man or sink the man in the plan of organization. God’s plan is to make much of the man, far more of him than of anything else. Men are God’s method. The Church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men. ‘There was a man sent from God whose name was John.’”

1. THE MAN – JOHN (John 1:6There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
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1. God Seeks for Men
1. He seeks for men of godly character (Jeremiah 5:1Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.
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2. He seeks for men who will stand in the gap (Ezekiel 22:30And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.
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2. God Takes Note of Men
1. Job (Job 1:1There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.
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2. Simeon (Luke 2:25And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.
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3. God’s Men have a Name – “whose name was John”
1. More that a label to identify them
2. An announcement of his character (Proverbs 22:1A GOOD name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.
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3. A gift from God (Luke 1:13But 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.
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2. HIS MASTER – GOD (John 1:6There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
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1. Every Man has a Master (Romans 6:16Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
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2. Our Strength Comes from being Under Authority (Matthew 8:5-10 [5] And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, [6] And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. [7] And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. [8] The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. [9] For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. [10] When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
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3. Our Highest Calling is to Please God (2 Timothy 2:4No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
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3. HIS MISSION – TO WITNESS (John 1:7The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
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1. A Man Without a Mission is a Mess
1. He gives his life for toys and trifles (Isaiah 55:2Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
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2. He is prone to fall into many hurtful lusts (1 Timothy 6:9But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
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2. Our True Mission is God’s Purpose for our Life (Acts 9:6And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
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4. HIS MESSAGE – TO BELIEVE ON THE LIGHT (John 1:7The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
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1. A Message Brings Others into Our Lives
1. No man lives unto himself (Romans 14:7-8 [7] For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. [8] For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.
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2. No earthly pursuit exceeds that of a soul (Mark 8:36-37 [36] For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? [37] Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
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3. Only people have an eternal soul; only people can receive the message
2. A Message Gives Us Something to Say
1. Words of spirit and life (John 6:63It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
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2. The word of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:19To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
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3. A word in season to him that is weary (Isaiah 50:4The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.
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Conclusion: Consider the old poem:

Today, one of the crying needs of the land is for men—men of integrity; men who love and serve God. May the Lord say of someone here today: “There was a man sent from God….”