Introduction
In Matthew 3:3, the great prophet Isaiah says John the Baptist will call the people to prepare the way of the Lord, to make His path straight. “To prepare the way of the Lord,” what does that mean? Is John calling the people to do some road work? Is John saying that we need to go out and get hired on with MDOT?
I had to look at what John preached to see exactly what he meant by “prepare the way." And yes, it is road work but not of a physical nature; He is saying that we need to do some road work on our hearts. He preached a Gospel of repentance. Clean up your heart for his arrival. Do roadwork on your heart.
In fact, during Christmas time, we sing Joy to the World, and it goes like this.
Joy to the world, the Lord has come
Let earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare Him room (Do the Road work)
And heaven and nature sing, and heaven and nature sing
And heaven, and heaven and nature sing
Answering one question, discovering what prepare the way of the Lord means leads me to another question. How do I do that? How do I do the spiritual roadwork on my heart? And that is where our sermon is going to take us today. So turn in your Bibles to John 3:25-30.
Scripture reading
John 3:25-30 (NIV)
25 An argument developed between some of John's disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing.
26 They came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan--the one you testified about--well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him."
27 To this John replied, "A man can receive only what is given him from heaven.
28 You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.'
29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.
30 He must become greater; I must become less.
point #1
To prepare my heart, my motivation must be pure. I cannot be preparing my heart for Christ and at the same time, having some personal agenda driving my motivation.
26 They came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan--the one you testified about--well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him."
27 To this John replied, "A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.'
I want you to see the contrast in motivations between John the Baptist and his own disciples. In verses 22 and 23 of this chapter, we discover that Jesus and his disciples were baptizing in the Judean countryside, and John and his disciples were baptizing the area of Salim. So, Jesus and John, for a while, had parallel ministeries.
And that causes us to see the personal motivation of the disciples vs. the pure motivation of John the Baptist. The disciples say to John that the one you testified about. They could not bring themselves to mention his name- Jesus. The one John called the Son of God. Secondly, He is doing the same thing that we are doing- baptizing. He copied our idea. Why cannot He do something different? And finally, everyone is going to Him. He is getting bigger than us. These disciples are in a religious setting, but their motivation is not seeking God but jealousy. We love our group, and we want our group to be the biggest and best.
Now, look at the motivation of John the Baptist. First, he says that I am only a man who was sent ahead of Christ. He is God, and I am not. His motivation was a pure motivation seeking God.
This story reminds us that people are in church today, and they are there with a whole bunch of different motivations. Some are there because their motivations are pure, and they want to seek God. Others might be there to please the person they are dating. Some might be there to avoid people thinking negatively about them. Some might be there today because they want to bargain with God. Look, I came to church now God fix my problem. Some might be there today because it is a place for a great source of business contacts. And there may be some who come to church just to start trouble.
If we are going to prepare our hearts for God, we need to check why we are here. And the only motivation that will please God is a pure motive. I am here because I want to grow in my relationship with Him. And remember, God can see your motivation. Proper motivation I decrease, and Christ increases. Improper motivation I increase, and Christ decreases in my life.
point #2
To prepare my heart, I need to know my proper position in Christ, and I need to stay in that position.
28 You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.'
29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.
Do you remember when you were a child growing up in your home? If adults were coming over, you were told by your parents not to engage in their conversations. You can sit in the room with the adults and be quiet or you can go to your room and play. What your parents were saying is to know your proper position and stay in it.
Families today are in chaos, and do you know why? It is because family members have forgotten their proper position in the home. In most homes, it is the children who run the home, and the parents are following the orders of the children. That is not the proper position, and the result is chaos in the home.
John’s disciples forgot their position; they wanted their group to be the top dog. They wanted to run the show. But John always kept his proper position. He tells them I am not the Christ, but I am blessed to be sent by him. I know my position! Everyone that you say is going to Christ rather than us is rightly going to Him because He is the groom of the church. All that I am is the best man, so all I can do is sit back, watch, and enjoy the fulfillment of the relationship between the bride and the groom.
Churches today are in chaos because people have forgotten their right position. They think it is their church. It has never been your church or my church or Bro. Geg’s church. This is Jesus’ Church. Lose that position, and this church plummeted into chaos.
And let’s think about our personal lives. When we start telling God, this is what I want You to do for me, we have left our proper position. Think about your personal prayer life. Are your prayers more often, God, I would like you to do this for me or do that for me? Are your prayers more like, God, what would you have me to do today for you? Proper position.
If you want to prepare your heart, find your proper position.
point #3
To prepare my heart, I need to settle in my mind there is no wiggle room on my part as to what it takes to have that right relationship with God.
30 He must become greater; I must become less.
If you have your Bible’s open, underline two words in that verse: the first must and the second must. It didn’t say that he ought to increase and I ought to decrease. It did not say it would be good if He increased, and I decreased. It says He must increase and I must decrease. If He must increase and I must decrease, where is the wiggle room? There is none.
There is no wiggle room with salvation. There is only one way to be saved, and that is through the Lord Jesus Christ. He says I am the way, the truth, and the Life no one comes through the Father except through Me.
There is no wiggle room with how you are to live your life. The Bible tells us plainly in Romans 12:1- Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship.
Do you know how chaos comes into our life? Trying to find wiggle room in salvation! There must be some other way to be saved. He must increase, and I must decrease. There is no wiggle room.
Do you know how chaos comes into your life? Trying to find wiggle room in my day to day life as a Christian life! What days do you have to be a living sacrifice? Every day. Take yourself off that altar and try running your own life even for a day and watch the chaos come in.
Conclusion
Today, if you are here and your life is in chaos, I showed you three ways your heart can be out of wack. Wrong motivation, failing to recognize your proper position and trying to find wiggle room when there is none.
What is the answer? Jesus, and only Jesus! Listen to what He says: Matthew 11:28 (NIV)
28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
