Luke 1:63 New International Version (NIV)
63 He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.”
The birth of John the Baptist marks the fulfillment of prophesy. His name means, “The Lord is gracious.” The fulfillment of the prophesy comes from Malachi 4:5-6, “I will send the prophet Elijah to you.”
As you read this Scripture in Malachi you might ask the question, “Is God raising Elijah from the dead?” No, he is sending the man, John, who will take on the character of Elijah and bring his people to repentance.
John the Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus. His trajectory in life was to prepare the way of the Lord. He had a calling at birth. He was the cousin of the Christ, and he was a man filled with the Spirit.
There is power in that man. A man filled with the Spirit and who is on fire for Jesus has a power to him. We need men like that today. We need men who have the courage of Elijah and who are spirit filled like John the Baptist.
You might be asking, “How can that happen?” “How can the courage of Elijah be in my life?” Courage is fueled in God’s promise and God’s power to fulfill them. It is not a matter of how will I have courage. Courage is faith in God and that he will help you over come your fears.
Being filled with the Spirit is given to all believers in Jesus. It is when we fully yield our lives to Christ. Psalm 19:4 says, “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”
Let’s be men of courage and ask the Holy Spirit to fill our lives in order to advance the Kingdom of Christ. Let’s be men of fire like John the Baptist.
Strength and Courage
Michael
