Hey, Carpool Crew, it's Pastor Justin, and I have something really special for you on Carpooling with Heroes of the Bible. One of my really good friends, Cathi, is taking the wheel. Cathi's been a friend of this podcast since before it even existed. Before we ever launched Carpooling with Jesus, I sent her our very first episodes, and she gave me some of the best feedback. She was one of the very first people to believe in Carpooling with Jesus. Cathi also has a brand-new kids book out right now called Little Star. My kids love it, and I know you and your kids would love it, too. If you're looking for a great book to add to your collection that teaches all the right stuff, I encourage you to check out Little Star. There's a link in our show notes. And guess what? Everyone who orders gets a special sticker because you're part of the Carpool Crew. Now, let's jump in with Cathi as she takes it away. Hey, Carpool Crew, I'm Cathi, a friend of Pastor Justin's, and today we're starting a brand new five-episode journey with one of the great heroes of the Bible, John the Baptist. If you know one thing about John, it's probably that he lived out in the wilderness, wore clothes made of camel hair, and ate bugs. A little odd, even to the people who lived in his time. But John had a big job, and he actually modeled something that's important for every single one of us. He pointed people to Jesus. But John's story starts way before any of that. It starts before he was even born. Over these five episodes, we're going to meet a man whose whole life had one big job: getting people ready for Jesus. Let's start with John's parents. They were an older couple named Zechariah and Elizabeth. Zechariah was a priest, which meant he served God at the temple in Jerusalem. The Bible says Zechariah and Elizabeth both loved God and lived his way, but they had never been able to have children, and by now they were old. One day, Zechariah was chosen for a really special job. He got to go into the holy place of the temple all by himself to burn incense to God while a big crowd prayed outside. This was a way of presenting the prayers of the people to God. It's kind of like when your whole class makes a giant card for someone who's sick. Everyone signs it, and one kid gets picked to carry it down the hall and deliver it. That day, Zechariah was carrying everybody's prayers to God. Jewish history tells us most priests only got that job once in their whole life, if ever. And while he was in there, an angel appeared, standing right beside the altar. The Bible says Zechariah was terrified. Remember, he was all by himself in a room where nobody else was allowed. Nobody should have been in there, and suddenly, someone was. Someone who had come straight from God. You know that feeling when you walk into a dark kitchen for a glass of water and somebody is already standing there, and your whole body jumps? This was a lot more than that. There was an angel, and his name was Gabriel. He told Zechariah not to be afraid because his prayer had been heard. His wife Elizabeth was going to have a son, and they were going to name him John. And then Gabriel said some big things about this baby. Basically, he said, "This boy John will bring you joy, and many people will be glad he was born. He'll be great in God's eyes. He'll be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he's born, and he'll help turn many people's hearts back to God to get them ready for the Lord." But Zechariah had a hard time believing it. To be honest, I think I would have a hard time believing it, too. Zechariah and his wife were old, too old to have a baby. Plus, they had been praying for a child for years and years, and God hadn't answered them. But God was about to do a miracle, and he was asking Zechariah to trust him at his word, or really the word of his angel Gabriel. Because Zechariah didn't believe, Gabriel told him he wouldn't be able to speak until all of this had happened. So he walked out of that temple and couldn't say a word for months. But God did exactly what he said. Elizabeth became pregnant. Little did they know, a few months later, the same angel would appear to Elizabeth's relative Mary and told her she would become pregnant with, you guessed it, Jesus. That means Jesus and John would be related, too. Mary went to visit Elizabeth, and when Elizabeth heard Mary say hello, the baby inside Elizabeth leapt for joy. Before John was even born, the first thing the Bible tells us he did was get excited about Jesus. When John was born, the neighbors and relatives celebrated with Elizabeth and Zechariah, who still couldn't talk. It was the custom in this time to give a son a name that came from your family, so everyone was ready to name him Zechariah after his dad. But Elizabeth said, "No, he'll be called John." The relatives were like, "Wait, nobody in your family has that name." So they turned to Zechariah, expecting him to say, "No way." He asked for a writing tablet, and he wrote four words: "His name is John." And right then, Zechariah's voice came back, and the very first thing he did with it was praise God. Everybody around them had just watched all of this happen, and here's what they said. It's in Luke chapter one, verse sixty-six. "All who heard about him took it to heart, saying, 'What then will this child become?' For indeed, the Lord's hand was with him." Took it to heart means they couldn't stop thinking about it. Everything about this child and his family seemed to be marked by something kind of miraculous. So naturally, they were wondering, "Who is this kid going to be?" Here's the funny thing. Up until now, John hasn't done anything yet. He's a baby. He can't even hold up his own head. But look at everything that was spoken over him. An angel said he'd be great in God's eyes. His dad, once his voice came back, called him a prophet of the Most High. God had big plans for this little boy, and his parents came to believe every word. Even Zechariah, who doubted at first, he had a hard time believing he would have a baby at all, let alone one that was meant to be great in God's eyes. But by the end, he was the one writing, "His name is John," and praising God out loud. Nobody else knew yet what John would become. The world hadn't seen it, but God's hand was already on him. Here's the big idea I want you to take with you. Nobody knew yet what John would become, but God's hand was already on him, and it's on you, too. Sometimes people decide who you are for you. Maybe somebody at school calls you the shy one or the loud one. Maybe you're the youngest and everybody still treats you like the baby. Those labels can feel really big, but they aren't the first words about you. God was there first. You might not know yet what you'll become. Honestly, lots of grownups are still figuring that out, too. That's okay. God's hand is on you right now while you're still growing. So here's something you can do. The next time someone sticks a label on you, say this in your head, "God's hand is on me." Wanna try it right now out loud? Ready? One, two, three. God's hand is on me. Remember, no matter where you are or how you're listening today, God's hand is on you, and He loves you. Thanks for riding along today on Carpooling with Heroes of the Bible. Next time, we'll follow John out into the wilderness where he grows up to be one of the most surprising looking people in the whole Bible. Camel hair, a leather belt, and what he ate for lunch, well let's just say you won't want to miss it.
