What Are You Looking For?

Text: Luke 7:24-28
Tommy Burrus
First Thonotosassa Baptist

Introduction:
I’m not sure if you heard the news report. With everything else that’s been in the news, it would have been easy to miss, but a spacecraft recently landed in Washington, DC. The aliens disembarked and were given a hero’s welcome. They was a gala in their honor at the White House and they were treated to a tour of the Capitol building where they met each of the members of Congress. After the festivities, the extra terrestrial visitors boarded their spacecraft and returned to their home planet.
Upon their arrival, they gave their report to the leader on their home planet. "Bad news. We wasted all that time and we still don’t know if there is intelligent life on Earth."
It is rough when you get sidetracked and forget what you were searching for. In fact, that is the issue of our text this morning. Jesus asked a question about John the Baptist’s ministry. In fact, He asked the question three times. He is trying to get the people to examine their own motivations in order to prevent them from being distracted.
As we consider what drew the people to John the Baptist this morning, we need to examine our own motives. What brings us to church? Why are we here this morning? What is it that we are seeking, or what is it that we should be seeking? Let’s not get distracted from what is important.
People come to church services for many different reasons. Perhaps there are some who have come out of curiosity, or because they were pressured, some may be here for entertainment, and some have likely come with a longing in their soul. Jesus asked the people 3 Revealing Questions about why they had come to hear John the Baptist.

I. CONSISTENCY-
What did you go out to the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?
That’s not what drew you out there. You weren’t looking for a mamby-pamby preacher.
Like a reed that bends with the winds, some yield to whatever in convenient at the time
The leadership of Israel during that day was far from God wanted them to be.
They served themselves instead of serving God, and didn’t want anyone disrupting that with something inconvenient like the truth.
The Jewish leaders wanted everyone to fall in line but John came preaching the Truth
John was not the type to tell you what you wanted to hear or what was popular.
His message was Repent! He was preparing people for Jesus Christ’s arrival
When Pharisees came to his services, (Mt 3:7) John called them a bunch of snakes
When Roman Soldiers and tax collectors came, he told them to change their lives, not to cheat or lie or steal or hurt others but to do what is right and fair
He had the temerity to tell Roman soldiers to do no violence
He was stable and consistent with the message he proclaimed despite who came
Why do people go where the Truth is compromised and the message meaningless?
The Bible is very specific and it will stand forever
Psalms 119:89 says, "For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven."
Isaiah 40:8 tells us, "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever."
What are we looking for this morning? To feel better or to be better?
We’ll feel better when we are better! When our situation has been remedied
We don’t need preaching that allows us to feel comfortable out of the