John the Baptist in the New Testament is an amazing character on so many levels. He was the cousin of Jesus Christ, he was the greatest prophet ever to be born of woman, and he was bold, brave and fearless in his service to the Lord God. Yet when the 'rubber hit the road', he proved himself to be every bit as human as you and I, he doubted the Lord during the time of his greatest trial. Today I would like to bring you a message about one of the most-sobering truths contained in your King James Bible, that we who are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ have been saved and washed clean in His shed blood so that we might serve Him, regardless of the cost, and indeed, because of the cost. John the Baptist was a mighty and fiery figure, a type of the prophet Elijah, and the man chosen to herald the physical appearance of God 'in the flesh' on the face of the earth. He lived in the desert, ate locusts and wild honey, and preached hard at the Pharisees and told them to repent. Did this ministry lead him to own a 24,000 square foot mansion in Texas like Joel Osteen, did it give him a fleet of private jets like Kenneth Copeland, or cause him to stay in luxury hotels costing $50,000 per night like Benny Hinn? No. The ministry of John the Baptist led him to his own death for preaching against the immorality of Herod. On the night before he was to be executed, he sent messengers to his cousin Jesus, asking if He really was the one. The answer Jesus sent back is exactly what we need to hear today and be reminded of in this lukewarm Laodicean age we find ourselves in today.