Prepare The Way, Luke 3:1-6
Introduction
There is a story of an Atlantic passenger lying in his bunk in a storm, deathly sick—seasick. A cry of “Man overboard!” was heard. The passenger thought, “God help the poor fellow. There is nothing I can do.” Then he thought at least he could put his lantern in the porthole, which he did. The man was rescued, and recounting the story the next day, he said, “I was going down in the darkness for the last time when someone put a light in a porthole. It shone on my hand, and a sailor in a lifeboat grabbed my hand and pulled me in.” Weakness is no excuse for our not putting forth all the little strength we have, and who can tell how God will use it?
Transition
There is great power in the shining of our light to the world around us. Indeed, we must never underestimate God’s ability to multiply our faith and our witness for the ultimate good of others and the ultimate glory of God.
For followers of Jesus, pilgrims on the sojourn of this life, being a witness to the glory of what God has done in your life and what He has done in the world is not a suggestion, but a command. While we each may do this in different ways, it is something which we all must do.
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20 NIV)
“God gave Jesus authority over heaven and earth. On the basis of that authority, Jesus told his disciples to make more disciples as they preached, baptized, and taught. With this same authority, Jesus still commands us to tell others the Good News and make them disciples for the Kingdom.” (LASB)
The primary or central mission or theme of the Church is twofold: to build up believers and to make more believers! The crux of the Gospel oriented Church is to build up the body and to build the body! Our mission is to be completely consecrated to the work of spreading the true religion of Jesus in this world.
The wondrous reality of this mandate given by Jesus to us is that the true religion of Jesus is not religion at all; our mission is the propagation of the radical grace and mercy of God in the lives of broken individuals. It is the spreading of the message that God is at war with the ugly things of this world and that hope, peace, justification, eternal life, mercy, and the unconditioned overwhelming superabundant agape love of the God eternity has come unto us in Christ!
We are not commanded to share our religious tradition, our religious affiliation, even the good things about our religious traditions; we are called to share Christ.
There is a radical difference between inviting someone to church and inviting them to share in that which has affected your life. There is a divergence as vast as the Grand Canyon between sharing religious tradition, even good religious tradition, and sharing the grace of God which has transformed us!
Exposition
One of the many “buzz words” of church leadership in the modern era is “vision.” Church leaders, Pastors, are taught and encouraged to develop clear strategies for Church growth, plain visions with regard to the specific mission of each local church. There is, to be sure, merit in such discussion.
Churches do need to have a clear mission, church members, I would suggest, reach their greatest potential in Christ and as consecrated servants of the local church when they know what the purpose or mission of the Christian life and the local church is; this is plain.
The truth is, though, that the central themes of the Christian life are not obscure. God has not hidden from us that which He has called us to do. We need not assume the finding of our purpose in Christ to be in any way similar to a divine scavenger hunt!
In today’s text, the mission of John the Baptist, as foretold by the prophet Isaiah is recorded; our mission is a reflection of his. “As 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.’” (Luke 3:4-6 NIV)
This text, at first glance may seem rather obscure. I remember reading this text and thinking the text didn’t make a lot sense. Make straight paths for the Lord? So Jesus was a carpenter and His cousin John the Baptist was a road construction engineer? Every valley will be filled in and every mountain will be made low? I have read this and wondered if it was pointing to apocalyptic war or something.
There are two things going in this passage. The passage is alluding to an ancient practice on the part of servants of a King as his traveled through difficult or rough territory. As a King would ride his best horse through a brushy thorny area, one or more servants would ride ahead of him and clear the path of brush and thorns.
This may well be some of the source of much of the imagery of this passage. Further, Isaiah is saying that one will come just before the Messiah, Jesus, to prepare the hearts of the people to receive His message of redemption. The notions of the mountains being made low, the crooked path being made straight, and the valleys being filled in are statements which declare the active role of John the Baptist in preparing the hearts of the people to receive Christ message!
Dear Saints, if you only retain this much from this sermon today, retain this: Just as John the Baptist was called to an active role in preparing the hearts of the people to receive the grace of God in Christ, we too are called to be active participants in the work of the Holy Spirit of God moving in the hearts of people.
Far too often the Church has taken a resigned role in the very real and obvious spiritual war which rages in the lives of people all around us.
People in our lives are broken; children in our neighborhoods are neglected; the world around us cries out in deafening silence, declaring the desperate condition which the sin, brokenness, and pain of this life has wrought in their life and all too often, God’s people sit by, quietly reserved; watching the carnage as though it were a spectator sport!
Is that the role of the Church in society? The people of God has for far too long sat by, reserved to the assumption that they are either not empowered to make a difference or to the false belief that all things which happen are God’s will and therefore, God will take care of it!
We are correct; God will take care of it; He will take care of it through you and through me as we allow His grace to take hold of our hearts, arrest our conscience, and transform our wills to such an extent that we are compelled to shine the light of Christ and to be sensitive to the promptings of the Lord as He shows us when, where, and how to do so.
We are not passive recipients of grace, but active participants in God’s plan and activity of the redemption of this world; one broken and desperate soul at a time.
Consider the words of Jesus which are found in Matthew 16:18-19, “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (NIV)
In considering this passage with regard to the immediate spiritual warfare of this life, there are a couple of key themes to consider. Hades was the standard term in Greek culture for the underworld. In this instance it is obviously connected to the dark forces of Satan, the ugliness, sin, evil things of this world.
Jesus is saying that the gates of Hades, death, Satan, are closed and need to be overcome. Jesus says that the gates of Hades, the defensive structure of the enemy, will be able to prevail against the Church. Jesus is saying that it is the forces of darkness which are on the defense. He is saying that it is to be we who are on the offensive against the darkness of this world!
O, how unlike the teaching of Christ is the activity of the Church in the modern era! Look around at the Church on the defense against the culture, against post-modernism, against sinners, when we are actually called to be propositionally on the offensive not against anything, but in favor of declaring the truth that Jesus is the rock of salvation, the gift of eternal life, and that He reigns victorious!
In his book, “God At War,” Dr. Greg Boyd writes, “… the church is to be involved in the very same warfare work that Jesus himself was involved in throughout his ministry. Based squarely upon the “rock,” ministering in his authority and his accomplished victory, the church is to storm the fortress of Hades and bash down its gates.” (217)
Conclusion
When a man or woman is accused of something, they are taken to trial and witnesses are gathered; some to speak to circumstances in question, the events, and some to speak to the character of the accused.
We are the witnesses of the events of Jesus resurrection as He transforms us inwardly and we live that transformation outwardly! We are the witnesses to His glorious character as we experience the beautiful mystery of grace and His love!
Dear Saint, if you don’t have a witness; I beg of you to get one! Allow God to work in your life so that we all might declare what God has done for us! God does not look passively upon the realities of the sin in this world or the sin in our lives.
He is at war with them; so much so that He sent His Son to die as a substitute, a sacrifice for sin, so that He might rise victorious over the great enemy of our souls. Those born into a climate of war can pretend it doesn’t exist and suffer being a causality and allowing others to do the same or he can stand up in the face of that warfare and declare Christ in word an indeed.
“We are to go—whether it is next door or to another country—and make disciples. It is not an option but a command to all who call Jesus "Lord." We are not all evangelists in the formal sense, but we have all received gifts that we can use to help fulfill the great commission. As we obey, we have comfort in the knowledge that Jesus is always with us.” (LASB)
Let us be a people who shine Christ light into the world. If this causes us to get out of our comfort zone; then so be it. The greatest prayer which can ever be prayed is “God come inside and change me! Lord, mess me up, because the “me” that is wants to become the “me” that you long for me to be!”
And God, may you have all of the glory in my life! Amen.
