Hey, Carpool Crew, Pastor Justin here. My good friend Cathi is back to tell us more about John the Baptist, the hero from the Bible this time. Cathi is one of my favorite people, and I'm so glad she said yes to hosting these five episodes. Now, quick thing before we start. Cathi, she came out with a brand-new book called Little Star. My kids love it. I think your kids would love it too. If you wanna add a great book to your collection, check out the link in our show notes. And guess what? Everybody gets an awesome sticker because you're part of the Carpool Crew. Let's jump in with Cathi as we jump into episode two of Carpooling with Heroes of the Bible on John the Baptist. Hey, Carpool Crew, I'm Cathi, a friend of Pastor Justin's, and today we're back for episode two of our journey with John the Baptist. In our last episode, we met baby John and his parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth. He was a miracle before he was even born, since his parents were way too old to have kids. Everyone wondered, "What then will this child become?" Nobody knew yet, but God's hand was already on him. Today, we find out just what God had planned. The Bible skips most of John's growing up years. It says just one sentence: "John grew up, became strong in spirit, and lived in the wilderness until it was time for him to show up in public." Then one day, it was time. And Luke tells us about that day in a really interesting way. First, he lists all the most important people in the world back then. There's the Roman Emperor, the governor, a ruler named Herod, and the high priests. It's like a list of everybody who's anybody. And then Luke says that God's word came to John in the wilderness, not to the emperor, not to the ruler, not to the high priest. God skipped the whole list of important people and spoke to the guy out in the desert, the dry, empty, rocky land, far from the busy towns. And this guy, John, was a little unusual. The Bible says John wore clothes made of camel hair with a leather belt around his waist, and for food, locusts and wild honey. Locusts are kind of a big grasshopper-type bug. So that's right, John ate bugs for breakfast. Now picture somebody walking into your school with a shaggy camel-haired outfit, holding a bag of grasshoppers to snack on. People would notice, and people did notice John. But here's the surprising part. They didn't stay away. Crowds of people came from Jerusalem and all over the area, out into the wilderness just to hear him. John had one main message. He warned people to turn back to God because God's kingdom was coming near. The biblical word for that is repent. It means turning around. If you've ever been walking away from God, and you want to be close to him again, you stop, turn around, and start walking his way. The people asked John a really good question: "What should we do?" What they meant was, "What does it really look like to repent?" His answers were so practical. Basically, John says, "If you have two shirts, share one with someone who has none. If you have food, share that too." To the tax collectors, he said, "Don't take more money than you're supposed to," or basically, "Stop stealing." To the soldiers, he said, "Don't bully people for money and be happy with your pay." No fancy speech, just here's how you live God's way on a Tuesday. People who wanted to turn back to God came to John, confessed their sin, or said it out loud, and John baptized them in the Jordan River. Baptize means to cover in water. It's a way of showing on the outside what's happening on the inside. Now you're walking one way, but once you come up from the water, you're committing to walk in a new direction. This is how John got his name, John the Baptist. Now, all this got people wondering. The Bible says people started to ask whether John might be the Messiah, the Savior, that God had promised to send. John's answer is written down in Matthew chapter three, verse 11. "I baptize you with water for repentance. But the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to remove his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." In those days, taking off someone's sandals was a job for the lowest servant in the house. John was saying, "The one who's coming is so great, I'm not even good enough to do that for him." And the fire part? In the Bible, fire often shows up when God is close, and it burns away what isn't good. John was saying Jesus, the one who was to come, would do something water never could. He'd give people God's own Spirit and make them new from the inside out. John could have taken all the attention. He was crazy popular and was being noticed by the most important people in the land. People were wondering if he was the Savior, but John knew his job. He wasn't the main event. He was the one making the way, like the person who runs ahead to clear the path before the most important guest arrives. Everything he said was pointing past himself to someone greater: Jesus. And that didn't make John feel inferior or less than. He knew his job was important. He was getting people ready to hear the greatest news the world had ever heard. And notice something else. God didn't clean John up first. He didn't hand him nicer clothes or a better lunch. God used John exactly as he was, the wilderness guy with the camel hair, to tell the world that Jesus was coming. The strange clothes didn't make his message any weaker. People came from all over to hear him. Here's the big idea I want you to take with you. God used John just as he was, camel hair, locust breath, and all, to point people to Jesus, and he can use you too. God made you on purpose. Maybe you have a really big laugh that fills up the whole room, or maybe you're on the shy side, but you notice the kid sitting alone that everyone else misses. Maybe you know everything there is to know about Pokemon, or you've got a whole Polly Pocket town set up at home, or maybe you're really into soccer or ballet. Maybe you love all of these things. Maybe none of them are for you. Either way, that's great. God loves the things that make you you, the ways you are different and unique. He created those things in you. You don't have to become somebody else for God to use you. Your big laugh can make the new kid feel welcome. Your quiet noticing can be the reason someone doesn't sit alone. And the thing you love can be the start of a friendship where you get to tell someone what Jesus means to you. So this week, try this. Pick one thing that's really you and ask God, "How can I use this to point someone to you?" Then watch what he does. Thanks for riding along today on Carpooling with Heroes of the Bible. In our next episode, we'll witness the moment John and Jesus finally meet, and John will make a choice that changes everything.
