John the Baptist:
When ask who he was,
John the Baptist quoted a famous passage from the prophecy of Isaiah.
"I am the voice of one calling in the desert, 'Make straight the way for the Lord'" --- Isaiah 40:3.
More than anything else, John is a voice,
"calling in the wilderness"
to announce the coming of the anointed Lord, the Messiah.
That same verse applies to each of us who follow Jesus.
John the Baptist’s primary job was to be a witness, testifying to the identity and purpose of Jesus Christ.
John’s mission was to point people to Christ.
And in the end times, that is also our job and mission.
Revelation 12:11 NASB
John the Baptist said,
"He (Christ) must increase, but I must decrease" ---John 3:30.
And so should it be for us.
And John’s ministry focused on a single command: Repent!
Repentance is turning away from sin and reorienting their whole life toward and around God. He becomes the center of our life rather than ourselves.
In the end times,
Our maxim should be that of John the Baptist:
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"
John the Baptist's life is a foreshadowing of what our lives should be.
And in the end, John's testimony of truth got him beheaded just like it will be for most
followers of Christ in the end times.
(Revelation 20:4)
Prepare your heart and mind to surrender all to Christ, even your life if needed.
Daniel's Prayer of Confession and Repentance:
Daniel 9:3-19
Daniel's Prayer is Relevant for Us Today:
Pray this prayer for yourself and the Church
So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and fasting. I also wore rough burlap and sprinkled myself with ashes.
I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed:
"O Lord, you are a great and awesome God! You always fulfill your covenant and keep your promises of unfailing love to those who love you and obey your commands.
But we have sinned and done wrong. We have rebelled against you and scorned your commands and regulations.
We have refused to listen to your servants the prophets, who spoke on your authority to our kings and princes and ancestors and to all the people of the land.
(And we as a Church have failed to read and obey Your Word.)
"Lord, you are in the right; but as you see, our faces are covered with shame. This is true of all of us, including the people of Judah and Jerusalem and all Israel, scattered near and far, wherever you have driven us because of our disloyalty to you.
(including all followers of Christ throughout the world.)
O Lord, we and our kings, princes, and ancestors are covered with shame because we have sinned against you.
But the Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him.
We have not obeyed the Lord our God, for we have not followed the instructions he gave us through his servants the prophets.
(and we have not followed the instructions You gave us in Your Holy Bible.)
All Israel
(and all of the Church)
has disobeyed your instruction and turned away, refusing to listen to your voice.
"So now the solemn curses and judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured down on us because of our sin.
You have kept your word and done to us and our rulers exactly as you warned. Never has there been such a disaster as happened in Jerusalem.
Every curse written against us in the Law of Moses has come true. Yet we have refused to seek mercy from the Lord our God by turning from our sins and recognizing his truth.
Therefore, the Lord has brought upon us the disaster he prepared. The Lord our God was right to do all of these things, for we did not obey him.
"O Lord our God, you brought lasting honor to your name by rescuing your people from Egypt in a great display of power. But we have sinned and are full of wickedness.
In view of all your faithful mercies, Lord, please turn your furious anger away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain. All the neighboring nations mock Jerusalem and your people because of our sins and the sins of our ancestors.
"O our God, hear your servant’s prayer! Listen as I plead. For your own sake, Lord, smile again on your desolate sanctuary.
"O my God, lean down and listen to me. Open your eyes and see our despair. See how your city—the city that bears your name—lies in ruins. We make this plea, not because we deserve help, but because of your mercy.
"O Lord, hear. O Lord, forgive. O Lord, listen and act! For your own sake, do not delay, O my God, for your people and your city bear your name."
--- Daniel 9:3-19 NLT
