Prepare the Way of the Lord — John 1

0:01 Good morning. The scripture passage today comes from the first chapter of the Gospel of John, verses 19 through 34 of John one. Now, I realize that my assignment was to preach on verses 19 through 51, But frankly, that is just too much text for my poor brain to handle. So we are going to choose a part of that and try to muddle through this morning and hopefully the next speaker can make up for my deficiencies. From John one, beginning in verse 19.

1:07 Now, this was John's testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, I am not the Christ. They asked him, Then who are you? Are you Elijah? And he said, I am not.

1:23 Are you the prophet? And he answered, No. Finally, they said, Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?

1:34 John replied, in the words of Isaiah the prophet, I am the voice of one calling in the desert. Make straight the way for the Lord. Now some Pharisees who had been sent questioned him. Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet? I baptize with water, John replied, but among you stands one you do not know.

1:58 He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. This all happened at Bethany, on the other side of the Jordan where John was baptizing. The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This is the one I meant when I said, A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me. I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.

2:35 Then John gave this testimony: I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me. The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit. I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God. And may the Lord bless our understanding of this Scripture.

3:04 And, Father, we just ask for your Holy Spirit to come and move in this place this morning. I pray that you would speak your words through me. If anything I say is not of you, it would quickly be forgotten. You would apply these words to our heart, to the furtherance of your kingdom. In Jesus' name.

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5:58 But today, we're going to talk about what it means to be prepared for the coming of the Lord. And preparing for the Lord's coming is not just something we do at Advent time. I really appreciated the fact we sang Joy to the World this morning. Joy to the World is not just a Christmastime song. We are supposed to be, in our lives today, excited about Christ's next coming.

6:55 And finally, we will consider the call: For whom is this command given and how is the Lord still calling us today? Primarily, we're going to be in John one, but I want you to also keep a finger in Malachi three, The last book of the Old Testament. Malachi Malachi three gives us some insight into the condition of the people of Israel at the time of John the Baptist. Malachi three, beginning in verse one. See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me.

7:45 This is clearly John the Baptist. Then suddenly the Lord you seek will come to his temple, the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire will come, says the Lord Almighty. But who can endure the day of his coming? And who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fuller's soap.

8:05 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, So in these verses, the prophet Malachi is talking about the need for the sons of Levi to be purified. Now, the sons of Levi were the priests of Israel. And we find from reading in the book of Malachi that the priests of Israel, at least in the time of Malachi, were neglecting their holy duties. For example, they were offering spoiled bread on the altar to God. They were sacrificing the sick or the damaged animals and not the pure ones.

8:48 In fact, in Malachi one fourteen, it says: Behold what it is. The worship of God, which should have been powerful and full of delight, had become a burden. Worship had become dull and boring and routine. I don't know about you, but I will confess that sometimes I have had that same thought about coming to church. Behold what a burden it is.

9:24 We have to get up early, and then I have to get the Paul ready for church. Then I got to keep the Paul occupied while Megan and I get ready for church. And then we got to all go out in the car, And then we go back in the car, I forgot the Bible. And then we're back in the car again and we're out of the driveway and we drive all the way to Westlake and we sit through two services. And the thing which should be an honor and a delight becomes, in my mind, a burden.

9:56 Many Christians report that Sunday morning is the most stressful morning of the week. And then I look at some of you who have more than one kiddo to get ready, and I think, This is only going to become more difficult? But this worship of God, which should be a joy and an honor, is becoming, my mind at times, to be a burden. But it is necessary that we worship God and spend time not only in his presence but in the presence of other believers because we are engaged in a battle with Satan. You wrestle not against flesh and blood but against powers and principalities, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

10:50 And if just the joy of the Lord's presence is not enough to drive us to church, then our desperate need for him in this daily battle ought to do it. And even in those rare moments of life, when everything seems to be going well and you are singing with joy in your heart, we are not supposed to neglect the worship of God. Even Jesus, after he had triumphed over Satan in his forty days temptation in the wilderness, returns to where John the Baptist is preaching. And in like manner, we are to seek the fellowship of fellow believers. So we see that there is this condition to which John the Baptist came preaching.

12:12 And so, it was proper that only priests should examine his teaching. But these are priests, they're not coming here to get saved. They're not really coming here to listen to his message. But they are driven here because of jealousy toward him, of his reformation, and of his message of repentance. And frankly, it seems remarkable to me that John the Baptist's message, Repent, would have seemed so strange to these priests.

12:39 What other message would they have been preaching to the people if not for the repentance of sins? And yet we know that in many churches today, the message of repentance is unpreached. It's the same situation today. You can find many sermons this morning that are preaching love and kindness and helping our neighbors and tolerance of others and the purality of beliefs. In fact, I looked up the sermon titles, in case you wonder what's happening at the competition this morning.

13:13 If you're already sick of my message and you're thinking, I could probably make the sermon down the street, here 's a few options for you. I will not name the fellowships. Reimagining the American Dream. Reimagining the American Dream. Alright?

13:30 It could be interesting. How about this one? Harriet Tubman answering the call to justice. That sounds like a history report. Or ironically, is Bernie Sanders a modern day John the Baptist?

13:49 I could not make this stuff up. But the idea that we are sinners and in need of forgiveness is foreign, even to many people who call themselves Christians. Because that would mean acknowledging that some human behaviors are in fact sinful. It would mean acknowledging that not every lifestyle is okay, that God actually disapproves of some things. The condition of the mainstream church, I'm afraid, many times is no better than the condition of the priests at the time of John the Baptist or at the time of Malachi.

14:30 And nevertheless, crowds are flocking to John the Baptist to find out what is going on. And you will find that to be true in life. If your public testimony is strong enough, eventually people are going to come to you and ask, what is going on? I was at a math conference a couple of months ago. I enjoy those kinds of events.

14:54 I was at a math conference and sitting at this dinner and talking about formulas and equations. The guy sitting next to me, who as far as I know has no interest in the things of God, turned to me and said, By the way, do you think the Bible is actually the Word of God? So what are we supposed to do in that situation? Well, what is our confession going to be? This is point two.

15:51 There may be a time for that, but my primary goal is to point that person to the Lord. So they ask him then, Okay, if you're not the Messiah, are you Elijah? And I want to take just a minute and talk about this question because it's not entirely out of the blue. The Jews actually expected that Elijah would return prior to the coming of the Messiah. This comes from Malachi chapter four.

16:21 Malachi chapter four and verse five. See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the hearts of the children to their parents, or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction. So, knowing this prophecy and then hearing about John the Baptist, the way he talked, the kinds of clothes he wore, even the place in which he was baptizing, it was not unreasonable for a Jewish person to think, hey, this could be the guy. So they say to him, are you Elijah who is to come?

17:01 And, in fact, in Luke chapter one and verse 17, it says that John the Baptist would have the spirit and the power of Elijah. But John the Baptist says, no, I am not Elijah. Even though in two places in the Gospel of Matthew, Matthew chapter 11 and Matthew chapter 17, Jesus says that John the Baptist does fulfill this prophecy, that Elijah would come prior to the coming of the Messiah. So how are we to interpret John the Baptist's answer? They say to him, Are you Elijah?

17:32 And he says, No, I'm not. And most scholars would say he was denying being a physical manifestation of Elijah. He's saying, I am not the Elijah who went to heaven in the fiery chariot. And I'm not the Elijah who is going to meet with Jesus and Moses on the Mount Of Transfiguration. In other words, I am not some reincarnation of a previously lived being.

18:01 The Bible does not teach that at all. But unfortunately, it seems that the Jews almost expected that. John the Baptist fulfilled the prophecy of Elijah's coming in terms of preaching with the power and spirit of Elijah. But that is not what the Jews expected. John the Baptist did not meet their expectations just as, believe it or not, Jesus does not meet the expectations of many people in the world.

18:31 Some people want things from Jesus that they are never intended to receive. If you come to the Lord expecting that He is going to give you a life of health and wealth and prosperity and good times, Well, God has not promised that. So John points them to Jesus. He said, Let's not think about Elijah. Let's not think about the prophets.

18:58 Let's think about the Lord. This is he of whom I spoke. You see, John is going further with them than any previous prophet. He is not just saying, That the Messiah is coming. He's saying, And that's him.

19:14 This is the one. He points right at Jesus, says, behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. And he says, this is the man who was before me. And what does that mean? In that sentence, John the Baptist is affirming two aspects of Christ's character.

19:32 First, that he is a man. He came as a man in linear time after John the Baptist. But he's also affirming Christ's deity, that Christ is God, because Christ had existed before him. In fact, Christ existed before anybody. So when John the Baptist said, This is the man who was before me even though he came after me, he's not trying to speak in a riddle.

19:59 He's saying, in essence, This is the Messiah, fully man and fully God. Christ is the first and Christ is the last. I think that's in Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 44. And so sometimes when people come to us and ask about the things of God, I have to remember that I, too, am not the Messiah. I don't have the powers.

20:25 I don't have the praises that are due to Christ alone. I don't have the ability to affect faith in other people. I cannot create grace in their lives. I actually cannot convert them. I cannot quicken their spirits.

20:41 I can only confess. I can only confess to you what I know, and that is Jesus Christ and him crucified. It was well said by someone whose name I forgot to write down, when the condition of a human heart is right, our confession of Christ will be powerful. When the condition of the heart is right, your confession of Christ has great power. So I turn to the third point in the message, which is the command.

21:17 Because in answer to the question of who he is, John the Baptist responds not only with his identity, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, but also with a command, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. And the main point I want you to take away this morning, if you don't remember anything else, you know, psychologists tell us that you only remember about 10% of the things you hear. So if you're going to only remember the 10%, this is it. That even today, this command is still in effect. That we are to prepare the way of the Lord and make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

22:26 Luke three:three-four. And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. And from Isaiah 40: John was working to create a favorable environment to facilitate the coming of Jesus who could operate in the lives of these people. So one way we prepare for the coming of the Lord is through repentance. If there is unconfessed sin in our lives, the mountains of pride have to be brought low, the crooked dealings with our neighbors have to be made straight, The rough places in our hearts need to be smoothed out.

23:26 And these rough and crooked places come in many forms, and I'm sure they are different for many different people. They can look like refusing to forgive those who have wronged us. It could be a lifestyle that is unfaithful to God. It could be an addictive behavior that keeps me enslaved. It could just be a self centeredness where I don't concern myself with the needs of others around me.

23:50 And so we should pray for the grace of God that we could honestly deal with these roadblocks in our own hearts so that, in the words of Isaiah, we could make a highway for the Lord. So by repenting of sins, we clear the way for Christ to operate in our lives. And if we say we have no sin, hey, I'm doing okay. I don't have any sin. Well, we deceive ourselves, one John one:nine, and the truth is not in us.

24:24 Secondly, John shows us that preparing the way of the Lord means relying on a proper relationship with God. So, I prepare the way through repentance and I prepare the way through relationship. Starting in verse five. Then all Jerusalem was going out to him. Everybody was going out to him.

24:56 And all Judea around the district of Jordan, and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore, bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not suppose you can say to yourselves, well, we have Abraham for our father.' For I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.

25:31 In other words, is our relationship with God totally dependent on Him or are we looking to our external circumstances? As soon as John the Baptist begins to preach, these men of the Jewish race are coming to him proud of their heritage and saying that their cultural connections I can trace my ancestry back to Abraham, brother and that connection is good enough. And John the Baptist is saying, That is totally irrelevant. And yet, there are many people today who sort of fall into this same trap, saying, Well, I come from a Christian family and I go to a Christian school. I'm probably okay.

26:16 Right? That's all I need. I've got these external connections. Or, I live in a Christian country. Live in a Christian country.

26:27 And even if that were the case, it still is irrelevant. It's not as if there's something in the soil that makes us closer to God than other people in the world. So whatever external privileges we might have, my family, my church, my country, they are not sufficient to secure my salvation. There have always been people who have been tempted to say to themselves, What's good for America is good for the Lord. It's kind of like that old saying, What's good for General Motors is good for America.

27:04 Well, this is a twist on it that I've heard some Christians give. And I've probably fallen into this trap myself, equating things that are beneficial for my country with goodness for God. And that's not always the case. Sometimes I grieve over some perceived loss of holiness among the leaders of this country. It's not a bad thing to do.

27:29 Sometimes I worry that our country is drifting away from the Lord, and perhaps it is. But I act sometimes as if the moral decay of society is somehow going to keep the kingdom of God from spreading. And maybe I'm too concerned with Donald Trump. Maybe I'm too concerned that Starbucks took the word Christmas off their cups and I'm going to get all fed up about that and it distracts me from preparing the way of the Lord. Our business ought to be one of repenting and making sure we are in relationship with God And in a relationship that is totally dependent on him.

28:16 Not who my father was, not who my president is, not what country I live in. I know that is hard to hear. I am a proud American. I am a gun toting member of the National Rifle Association. I have a don't tread on me flag.

28:35 But frankly, I probably need to spend more time focusing on the cross and less time focusing on Fox News and the Republican Party. Third, John the Baptist calls us to prepare the way by revealing Jesus. We prepare the way by repenting, by being in right relationship, and by revealing the Lord. Verse 31: The reason I came baptizing with water is so that he might be revealed to Israel. Jesus embodies what the presence of God in the world means for the people of God.

29:37 The message over and over and over again is that God is particularly concerned with those people who are on the lowest rungs of society. And we prepare the way for the Lord's coming by revealing Jesus to others, especially to those who are in the most need and the most forgotten by the world. And I am afraid that this has some radical implications for my life. Instead of working to reveal Jesus to the world, you know what I am often tempted to do? I'm often tempted to think I'm just going to hunker down and wait until the Lord comes.

30:21 The world's just going get worse and worse and there's nothing I can do about it. And I watch the news and then I go to bed mad. And maybe I'm just going to take care of my family and I just hope that Jesus returns before things get too bad. I'm sure that each of us have thought that way at times. But this kind of thinking, I find, can quickly kill my own testimony to the world.

30:47 And it stifles the progress of the kingdom in my family. What is the point of the parable of the mustard seed? To me, that's a difficult parable. Matthew thirteen thirty one. He told them another parable.

31:07 The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field, though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches. I know this is a difficult passage. What is meant by the birds? What is significant about the fact that they are in the branches? Here's one point I took out of this.

31:34 The Kingdom of God, even though it starts off very small, is going to grow and grow and grow until it is spread far and wide in the world. And frankly, I want to be a part of that. I want to prepare for the Lord's coming by rejoicing in the life that Jesus offers and by revealing that life to other people. Psalm 20 four:seven, Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be lifted up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of Glory shall come in. How often do we lift up our heads?

32:19 And how often do we just hang our heads and say, Woe is me. Things are so bad. Lift up our heads. If we're not excited about the life that Jesus offers, who is going to buy into our message? What kind of life are we offering?

32:36 Hey, I can offer you a life of fear and hiding and insulating yourself from the world. Wouldn't that be great? And also, you can have contempt for others. That would be a great life. You know what Jesus said?

32:51 Jesus came so that we might have life and have it more abundantly. That's right. From John 10. In other words, when you get saved, you have something more to look forward to than just going to heaven when you die. Not that that's a bad thing to look forward to, but we should be preaching something to people about this life that is more abundant and free.

33:16 And life more abundant and free. Except when we sing that song, we kind of sing it like we're sad. There's light for a look at the Savior, and life more abundant and free. Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Oh boy, that sounds so abundant and freeing.

33:35 I can't wait. Or do we even expect people to see Jesus through our testimony? Do we reveal him through our actions? Do we reveal Christ through our conversation and our lifestyle? By all means, preach the Gospel.

33:54 And if necessary, use words. St. Francis. By all means, preach the Gospel. And if necessary, use words.

34:46 John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. This is the one I meant when I said, A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me. I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water is that he might be revealed to Israel. Then John gave this testimony: I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him, and I myself did not know him. But the one who sent me to baptize with water told me that the man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.

35:22 I have seen and I testify that this is God's chosen one. It's interesting to me that even John the Baptist says he would not have known Christ unless God had first told him who it was. I would not have known him except the one who sent me, that's God the Father, told me, this is the guy, the one on whom the spirit of the Lord rests. If you are saved this morning, it is by God's grace and God's grace alone. We are not saved as the result of anything that we do or that we desire, but simply as the result of God's good pleasure and his work in our hearts.

36:05 And frankly, I think this is awesome news. This means that no sinner can prevent God's grace, that the Lord himself can overcome my passions and my convictions and my desires and my hopes and my fears. Anything that is good or ever will be good about me comes straight from the Lord. John six: No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. Jesus was saying, For this reason I have said to you, no one can come to me unless it has been granted of him by the Father.

36:39 John 15: You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit. I don't want you to misunderstand what I'm saying. In order to be saved, we have to believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, that he is God's provision for lost sinners. But when we are doing this, it is because God has given us a heart to do so. Deuteronomy 30: Moreover, the Lord your God will circumcise your heart, to love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul in order that you may live.

37:48 The God of the universe is calling to you. He alone can break your chains and set you free. You know, some people aren't even aware that they're in chains. My grandfather used to spend a lot of time preaching to people in prisons. He was at the Summit County Correctional Facility preaching to a man.

38:13 And at the end, the man said he refused to believe. I refused to believe because when you become a Christian, you ain't got no freedom. This was a man in jail saying this. When you become a Christian, you ain't got no freedom. And my grandfather said, Well, that's fine.

38:35 You stay here and enjoy your freedom. I'm going to church. And on the way, I'm going to stop at the Dunkin' Donuts and get a cup of coffee. But you enjoy your freedom. But many people are not even aware how enslaved they are.

38:53 We are living in chains that we often cannot see. But only God can open the eyes of the blind. In fact, even some of us, as Christians, live as if we're still in our little cell when the abundant life of Christ is out there for us. But God is calling us to higher things, to a life beyond sin. Sometimes I just need to turn off the TV or the Internet and spend more time thinking about the bloodstained hands of my Savior.

39:30 Consecrate me now to thy service, Lord, by the power of grace divine. Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope, and my will be lost in thine. Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, to the cross where thou hast died. Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, to thy precious, bleeding side. Father, if there is anyone here this morning that you are drawing through the power of your precious blood, I pray that their hearts would be soft enough to yield their lives.

40:17 Lord, that You would break their chains and set them free. And for each of us sitting here today who have trusted in You, we pray once again that You would break the power of canceled sin and set these prisoners free. Free. Help us, Lord, to prepare the way for your coming. Give us opportunities, even this day or this week, to make straight in these deserts a highway for the Lord.

40:49 In the name of Jesus, our Savior. Amen.