TOPIC: Kingdom Living; Presence, Sanctification, Walk, Way (as in "Preparing")]
TITLE: MAKE READY THE WAY – Do You Desire the Presence of the Lord?*
TEXT: Luke 3:4 & Isaiah 40:3-5
CONCISE OUTLINE
I think we understand this passage well enough; it deals, in context, with the coming of the Lord Jesus to Israel the first time.
How did they respond to the coming of their Savior, their Messiah? As a nation? Not well, I’m afraid! As a religious body of chosen people? Shame!
I believe it is important for the believer to do some introspection at this point. They must grasp the general principle of truth behind this passage and that it applies to all areas of His coming, not just His first!
Jesus desires to come to us, to dwell in us, to work out His plan for our lives; how many have lost this opportunity and have found themselves longing today for the same things they longed for when they were first saved.
Our hearts are the very center of our being; they are our wilderness!
INQUIRY: How must we make the way ready for Jesus?
EXPANDED OUTLINE
How we hinder the work of the Lord in these days; how we must stop and surrender to His sovereignty and grace.
* Morning & Evening, January 03 - "Evening"
TITLE: MAKE READY THE WAY – Do You Desire the Presence of the Lord?*
TEXT: Luke 3:4 & Isaiah 40:3-5
"And he came into all the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins; as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, 'THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT. EVERY RAVINE SHALL BE FILLED UP, AND EVERY MOUNTAIN AND HILL SHALL BE BROUGHT LOW; AND THE CROOKED SHALL BECOME STRAIGHT, AND THE ROUGH ROADS SMOOTH; AND ALL FLESH SHALL SEE THE SALVATION OF GOD.'"INQUIRY: How should we make the way ready for Jesus?
"A voice is calling, 'Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. Let every valley be lifted up, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the rough ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley; Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, And all flesh will see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
CONCISE OUTLINE
I. WE MUST PREPARE A HIGH-WAY FOR HIS GRACE!TRUTH/CONTEXT: The voice crying in the wilderness is demanding a way be prepared for our soon coming Lord.
II. WE MUST PREPARE A PATHWAY FOR HIS HOLINESS!
III. WE MUST PREPARE A CAUSEWAY FOR HIS SOVEREIGNTY!
IV. WE MUST PREPARE A FREEWAY FOR HIS FELLOWSHIP!
I think we understand this passage well enough; it deals, in context, with the coming of the Lord Jesus to Israel the first time.
How did they respond to the coming of their Savior, their Messiah? As a nation? Not well, I’m afraid! As a religious body of chosen people? Shame!
I believe it is important for the believer to do some introspection at this point. They must grasp the general principle of truth behind this passage and that it applies to all areas of His coming, not just His first!
[SPURGEON] Regarding this passage Spurgeon says, “I would be attentive to the Master's proclamation, and give him a road into my heart ... through the desert of my nature.”I believe Spurgeon is right. I believe if you’re expecting Jesus to come to you in some fashion, any fashion (e.g., this morning’s healing time), you need to make ready for His arrival!
Jesus desires to come to us, to dwell in us, to work out His plan for our lives; how many have lost this opportunity and have found themselves longing today for the same things they longed for when they were first saved.
Our hearts are the very center of our being; they are our wilderness!
[STUMBLING BLOCKS] We have a moderate tradition in our house: dad reads to the kids at bedtime. I’m currently reading Frank Peretti’s “The Tombs of Anak” (Book 3 of The Cooper Kids Adventure Series) to my daughter Naomi.The Lord is earnestly seeking access to our hearts but at every turn, we throw something in His way.
In it, the heroes are trying to find their way to a companion who is being held in a maze of underground tombs by some unknown bad guys. At every turn, something gets in their way.
INQUIRY: How must we make the way ready for Jesus?
EXPANDED OUTLINE
I. WE MUST PREPARE A HIGH-WAY FOR HIS GRACE!APPLICATION/CHALLENGE: Beloved, would it be this morning that the Lord would find in our heart a highway of faith made ready for His grace ... that He might make a triumphal entry through the utmost wilderness of our soul, from now till the end of our time.A. Grace and faith are forever joined at the hip.II. WE MUST PREPARE A PATHWAY FOR HIS HOLINESS!
B. Every valley must be lifted; false humilities and hypocrisies are unbecoming to our King, every mountain of pride must be torn down.
C. All doubt and despair must be removed; self-seeking and carnal living forsaken.
D. Across all ravines, gouged out by the torrents of life, a highway for His grace must be raised.[REMEMBER] In 1972, the Duke of Windsor, the uncrowned King Edward VIII, died in Paris. A television program recounted his life. Viewers watched an interview in which he answered questions about his upbringing, his brief reign, and his eventual abdication.III. WE MUST PREPARE A CAUSEWAY FOR HIS SOVEREIGNTY!
Recalling his boyhood as Prince of Wales, he said, “My father [King George V] was a strict disciplinarian. When I had done something wrong, he would admonish me, saying, ‘My boy, you must always remember who you are.’”
Our heavenly Father says the same to us every day, “My child, you must always remember who you are.” Let us constantly remind ourselves of who we are [in Christ].
A. The crooked must be straightened; wavering hearts must have straight pathways for God, with holiness for its pavement.
B. The double-minded are not welcome on this path; they’re strangers to God’s truths.
C. Heed all things honest and true; God is a heart-searching God.[OBEDIENCE] Fort Bragg, North Carolina: A clerical error sent a supply clerk with the 82nd Airborne Division on his first parachute jump without any formal training.IV. WE MUST PREPARE A FREEWAY FOR HIS FELLOWSHIP!
When he jumped, Army Specialist Jeff Lewis, who landed unhurt, said he was just doing what any good soldier is supposed to do - follow orders. “The Army said I was airborne-qualified,” Lewis said. “I wasn't going to question it.”
A. Every mountain of self, every high-rise built by human hands must be bulldozed down.
B. The proud, the egocentric, and the self-righteousness must be leveled, to make a causeway for the King of kings.
C. The Lord has respect for the humble, He visits the contrite in heart, but the lofty are an abomination to him.
D. Implore the Holy Spirit to set you right in this.A. The rough places must be smooth; sin’s obstacles removed.
B. Divine fellowship is never offered to calloused or casual sinners.
C. All weeds of rebellion must be uprooted from the roadbed.
D. Such a great visitor must not be expected to travel muddy and stone littered alleyways when he comes to honor us with his company ... let Him find freeways of blessing and expectation.
[GRAHAM] As Billy once said, “If you were told the President of the United States would be at your house for a visit, you wouldn’t wait until you saw the presidential limousine driving down your street before you began to prepare for his arrival.” [Loose paraphrase]
How much more should you be prepared for the Lord’s arrival to meet your needs?
How we hinder the work of the Lord in these days; how we must stop and surrender to His sovereignty and grace.
* Morning & Evening, January 03 - "Evening"
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