PREPARE THE WAY!
Our life is full of preparation. From a young age, we
prepare ourselves by studying and working hard to have a comfortable and
satisfying life. When we spend so much time preparing for a temporary life that
one day ends up in a grave, how much time are we spending preparing our souls
that will live forever in eternity?
Preparing themselves and their people for eternity has
been the call of the prophets of the past. They urged people to turn away from
their sins and return home to God. Some listened to their pleas, changed their
ways, enjoyed God's blessings, and ensured an eternal place with God. Many
others stubbornly rejected such promptings and faced severe consequences. At
the end of the age, they may enter a Godless and pain-filled eternity. What
would you choose today?
The prophet Isaiah prophesied in the sixth century BC.
Looking ahead to Judah's return from Babylonian exile in Chapter 40:1-5 we read
about a messenger who would prepare the way for the Lord and how God would
restore the Jewish people to their homeland of Judah.
God brought people back to their land. The temple was
rebuilt, and sacrifices were offered, but the priests were careless. The people
doubted God and were intermarrying outside Israel. The initial enthusiasm that
marked the Jew's return to Jerusalem was gone. They were discouraged. There was
a drought, and the crops were bad. They expected a golden age of prosperity,
but it had not dawned. Did God not care? Malachi answered these doubts:
God is still on the throne! Look what He did to Edom.
God deals with sin. Pay your tithes, obey Him, and see how He will bless you.
The Messiah is coming! He will destroy the wicked and give victory to the
righteous. But before that, the prophet Elijah must come.
Malachi 4:5-6 "Look, I am sending you the prophet
Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the Lord arrives. 6 His preaching
will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to
their fathers." Has Elijah ever come before the dreadful day of the Lord?
Four hundred years after that prophecy, we read about
John the Baptist showing up in the Judean wilderness with a message, Matthew
3:2, "Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is
near." (Or has come or coming soon).
On this second Sunday of Advent, we will greatly
benefit if only we pay attention to the voice shouting in the desert places of
our lives saying, "Prepare the Way for the Lord's coming! Clear the road
for him." Let us see what it takes to Prepare the Way for The Lord in our
hearts.
I.
Giving up our sinful ways
John the Baptist's birth was unusual. Both his parents
were well passed in age, and his mother, Elizabeth, was beyond childbearing age
when she conceived him. The political condition was volatile under the rule of
King Herod's two sons Antipas and his brother Philip. There was no spiritual
revelation from heaven for four centuries. John was a cousin of Jesus.
He wore clothes made of camel hair; a leather belt
tied around his waist. He symbolizes the ancient prophet Elijah. He ate locusts
and honey for food., the meal of the poor. What a strange man he was, we might
think, but he brought a straightforward message to people.
He fulfilled the prophecies of Isaiah and Malachi. He called the Jews and Gentiles alike to repent and give up their sinful ways. He preached to the people authoritatively using the familiar words of Isaiah 40 :3, "Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God!" or "straighten up." John tells them to change. Only then will they be ready to receive what the Messiah would offer them. Humans' sin prohibits them from entering the presence of God.
For that reason, God established a whole set of animal
sacrifices and offerings for the forgiveness of sins and purity rituals for
cleansing people's impurity in the Old Testament. Yet people continue to commit
sins, not receiving what God had promised them. Listening to John's direct
message, many confessed their sins and were baptized by him in the Jordan
River.
How does John's message speak to us today? We all have
sinned and need forgiveness. "If we claim we have no sin, we are only
fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to
him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
wickedness." (I John 1:8-9). Preparing the way for the Lord in your life
begins with you repenting your sins, however gruesome they might be. Once you
confess your sins and seek His forgiveness, give up your sinful ways by
worshipping God. How do we do that practically?
2.
Living a life that is pleasing to God
What pleases God? Is it our family
heritage, nationality, wealth, success, and education? That was what many
Pharisees and Sadducees that came to John thought. They declared proudly,
"we are the descendants of Abraham. John had a few harsh words for them.
He called them, "you brood of snakes." Don't
say you are sons of Abraham but prove your repentance and turning to God by how
you live. Repentance and turning to God were just the beginning, and then they
were to cultivate a life that was pleasing to God.
In Luke 3:7-14, John gave them some practical ways by
which they can prove their genuine repentance. By sharing their clothes and
food resources with the poor and living a corruption-free life. They were not
to extort money and make false accusations of others but to live a contented
life. If John were to be here today, he might have some choice words for us.
He might say you don't say you are a Baptist or a
member of Hope Church but show your repentance by living a God-pleasing life.
As they say, the proof is in the pudding. The evidence of our repentance is
in the way we conduct our life. If you say you have repented of your sins, do those
closest to you see a change in your life? If not, your repentance is not
genuine.
You say, Lord, I am sorry for my anger. If you keep on
having anger outbursts, your repentance is questionable. In the words of John
the Baptist, you are not producing fruit in keeping with repentance.
(NIV). How can we cultivate and produce the fruit of repentance?
3.
Producing fruit in keeping with repentance.
Vs. 11, "I baptize with water those who repent of
their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is greater than I
am—so much greater that I'm not worthy even to be his slave and carry his
sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."
. For years the Jews had used baptism in ritual
cleansing ceremonies of Gentile proselytes. John baptized Jews and Gentiles as
they both required cleansing. It was a symbolic representation of changing
one's mind and going in a new direction to meet the Messiah.
John prepared the way for Christ by calling people to
acknowledge their sin and their need for salvation. Through repentance and
baptism, he prepared people to receive the Savior and all He would offer them
through the Holy Spirit to produce the fruit of repentance.
On this second Sunday of the advent, the voice in the
wilderness still calls us to repent our sins, change our ways and turn to God.
As we heed that voice, repent our sins, and turn our lives over to God, He will
forgive our sins and cause the desert places of our lives to bloom.
But as John exhorted, repentance is only the beginning
of a new life with Christ. Once we are forgiven, we are called to produce fruit
in keeping with our repentance. On our own, we cannot bear the fruit of
repentance and live a God-pleasing life. That is why John said the one who
would come after him was much greater. He is the Messiah who would baptize
every repentant soul with Holy Spirit's fire. We need both the power and the
fire of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy
Spirit's fire will burn up all the rubbish and stubborn sinful habits in our
lives. The power of the Holy Spirit would soften our hearts and cultivate the
beautiful fruit of repentance. Paul equates that to the fruit of the Holy
Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. As the Holy Spirit enables us, we can become
loving, joy-filled, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and
self-controlled people. God, please help us all to produce the fruit of
repentance.
