Prepare The Way
Luke 3:1 6
How do you sort your mail ?
Many times we have those days when we are really busy,and we get over
whelmed with large quantities of mail. Then we have to sit down and sort this mail out, and because we are so busy we go through and throw out what we think is junk mail or mail that is just marked fourth class and we think that it isn’t important
Now I want you to think for a moment, if this is what you do with some of your mail, then this means that you haven’t even opened it up, and if you haven’t opened it up then how do you know if you have won something?
Maybe you just won the Readers Digest Sweepstakes. But you’ll never know because you never opened it up. Many times we do the same thing with our spiritual mail,"God’s Word". We treat it like fourth class mail, and if we don’t open it up and read it ,how would you know if there was something inside special for you.
Well you know what if you open it up and really read it with an open mind, heart, and soul and believe what is in God’s Word and except it "Geuss what, you have just become a winner and your winnings are out of this world.
Luke 3:1 6
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip Tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the
desert.
He went into all the country around the Jordon, preaching a baptism of repen tance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet : "A voice of one calling in the desert, Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all mankind will see God’s salvation."
The first two verses in this third chapter of Luke, Luke shares with us the date and the officials at this time. Here we are in the time period of around A.D. 26 or 27. Tiberius Caesar is the Emporer, Pontius Pilate was governor and then theren were the tetrarchs (which were rulers of some of the areas around Judea). This was also during the priesthood of Annas and his son in law Caiaphas.
In those days it was customary for the people to prepare themselves for the coming of a king.
They would improve the roads, fill in the ditches and smooth the hills so the king wouldn’t have to go down to the river bed and back up over the mountains. A more level highway provided the king with a more comfortable trip.
But what John was telling them was that a GREAT KING is coming and they need to get their personal lives straightened up and to clear out all obstacles in their life so that the coming Lord would have a smooth entry.
Get rid of their mountain of pride or maybe your valley of jealousy. I believe sometimes it’s not the road thats crooked or rough,but it’s the person that is walking it.
Today all over the world people need to do this. I’m talking Chistians and none Chritians. People need to start repenting for their sins.People now a days believe the craziest things, some believe if your a good person you’ll go to heaven,or they think they can sin then ask for forgiveness each time they sin,or they say I pay my tithes every week .
Let me tell you something you can’t by your way into heaven. The price has already been paid for you and your sins ,or this is the best one of them all they’ll say to you " I go to church every sunday and I have been since I was a child ".
Well let me tell you something church, going to church every sunday doesn’t make you any more a christian, then taking a wheel barrel an putting it in a garage makes it an automoble, if you got a garage that will do that let me know, because I have a hardly used wheel barrel at home and I’m in need of a second vehical.
It’s great that you go to church every sunday but it’s nothing unless you have repented and asked the Lord for forgiveness.
True repentance will bring a behavior change in any person.Let me share a little story with you.There once were two pastors talking and the one pastor was telling the story of having counseled a man who was falling out of love with his wife.
The pastor said he advised the man to think of all the ways he could make life happier for his wife and then do them.A few days later the pastor receive a phone call in which the husband related the following:
"Every day I leave for work,come home dirty and sweaty,stumble in the back door,go to the refrigerator, get something to drink,and then go to into the rec room and watch television until supper time.After talking to you,I decided I would do better than that in the future.
So yesterday,before I left work,I showered and shaved and put on a clean shirt.On the way home I stopped at the florist and bought a bouquet of roses.
Instead of going in the back door as I usually do, I went to the front door and rang the doorbell.
My wife opened the door and took one look at me and started to cry. When I asked her what was wrong she said,its been a horrible day. First Billy broke his leg and had to have a cast put on it.I no sooner get home from the hospital when your mother called and told me that she is coming to stay for three weeks. Then I tried to do the wash and the washing machine broke and there is water all over the basement. And now you comehome drunk!"
Let me give you an example of what I’m talking about from God’s Word. Lets take a look at the Philippian Jailer in Acts 16:25 33.
READ ACTS 16:25 33
This Philippian Jailer is a good example of Repentance. It was his actions toward the situation that changed his life and his families. There are three points in this story that show how the act of repentance comes about,and I would like to show you this by spelling out the word ACT for you today.
A cknowledge
In verses 29 and 30 shows that the jailer acknowledged he was a sinner when he said " Sirs,what must I do to be saved?"
C onfess
In verses 31and 32 shows his confession Paul and Silas said to him believe in the Lord Jesus Christ then they shared God’s word with him and all the others.
T urn
This man Caiaphas was the high priest who latter plotted the arrest of Jesus and was a participant in the illegal trial of Jesus.
Now during this time the word of God came to John the Baptist in the wilderness. Up to this point and time it had been about 400 years since God spoke to his people through an authentic prophet. I’m sure there were many wonna be prophets at this time, but none like John, he spoke with such authority and authenticity that crowds came out to listen.
Verse 3 John spoke to these people about the coming of the Lord and the repentance for the forgiveness of sins. But when John spoke to them, he did it in a way that they were able to understand, take a look at verses 4 and 5. It says prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.
Every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall bcome straight, the rough ways smooth. Now why in the world would John be speaking to them like this,what does he mean, make every valley high, every mountain low, every crooked road straight and the rough ways smooth could you Imagine if someone come up to you today telling you to make all the mountains low and all the valleys high and all the crooked roads straight, you would think they were NUTS.
Well John the Baptist wasn’t nuts, he was talking to them in a way that they would understand. You see in h Repentance means to turn away from and never go back and to be remorseful for what you have done. This is exactly what the jailer had done in verses 33 and 34 he turned away from his old sinful nature and showed remorse for them by washing their wounds and then feeding them.
Closing
This act that the jailer took is the same act that we have to do today it’s as
simple as 1 2 3 or A C T .
A Acknowledge that your a sinner.
God’s word says in Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God".
C Confess your sins to Jesus Christ and believe in him.
In 1 John 1:9 it says that if we confess our sins,he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.The word forgive in Greek means to leave behind, literally abandon.
T Turn away from your sinful life.
In the begining of the message I asked you a question, How do you sort yourmail? Well today the Lord is sending out invitations to everyone here,these in are first class invitations. Your garenteed to be a winner,because "God put his sons life on it."
John said in verse 4 "Prepare the way for the Lord", we need to prepare the way in our hearts for the coming of the Lord. This same Lord that John talkedabout that was coming to baptize them with Holy Spirit then, is the same Lord that’s coming back again to take His children home someday.
Use Paul and Silas as an example of how prayer works and how it can shake
foundations of sinners.
