Tuesday 9 October 2018

Prepare Ye The Way


Scripture: Isaiah 40 v 3 - 5: "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
 4  Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:
 5  And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it."

In this world and in these days we have one real hope and that is in this passage of scripture. This is a prophecy by Isaiah of the second coming of Jesus Christ.

All flesh shall see it together! The mighty power of God will be seen arriving in the skies above Earth. Jesus will be visible to every person on Earth. Every human will be fully aware of the splendour of our King and they will know in their hearts when His glory is revealed, whether they are worthy to be in His divine presence.

Those who rejected Him will try to hide in caves and under rocks to escape the knowledge of their terrible mistake. The light from Him will be seven times brighter than the Sun.  Those who pretended to serve Him for their own gain will be terrified and will flee from The Lamb who was slain.

Global warming and heatwaves are part of the reason to rejoice in those who have waited with longing hearts for His coming in His resurrection glory. Just yesterday a report was released that if carbon emissions are not reduced by 2030, the worst of climate change would be irreversible and could eventually cause extinction.

He is on His way and although we don't have an exact date of arrival, we know the times and seasons; the signs in the heavens; and the glow in our hearts. The nearer He gets the warmer you are.  It's like the children's game of Hunt the Thimble when mom says you are getting warmer, you are looking in the right direction.  The heat of the fire of the coming King is being felt already.

So prepare ye the way. Firstly, your own life - will you be crying Hosanna to the King and singing Halleluia with the heavenly choir, or will you be ashamed and trying to flee into some dark hole?  Are you ashamed of the gospel so that you are too shy to share it for fear of ridicule from your friends?  One day the whole of Heaven will be ashamed of you.  You need to revise your ideas and be bold for Jesus who saved your life.  Be a true witness of all He has done for you.

If you are fully satisfied with your right standing in Christ Jesus then look around you to see who needs a helping hand, or healing, deliverance or knowledge. Be the neighbour who brings love, light, hope and joy to those around you.  There are unsaved people in your circle of friends who need to hear about salvation.  Or can you live with the knowledge that you did not care enough to risk scorn to at least warn them that Hell has no fire escape?

When Saul the persecutor of Christians had his conversion on the road to Damascus, he was so shocked at how wrong he had been that he went blind for 3 days until a Christian laid hands on him and healed him. He immediately went into the wilderness and spent 3 years being taught the truth of the gospel by the Holy Spirit.

He tried to convince the Jews of his conversion but was mocked and scoffed at, so he went to the hungry hearts beyond Israel, even all the way to Rome. He preached Jesus to the Gentiles (non-Jews) as the Apostle Paul but considered himself unworthy to be called an apostle because he had once persecuted Jesus. 

Paul had this to say in 2 Corinthians 5 v 15 - 17 paraphrased: Jesus died for all that we should no longer live for ourselves but for Him. Therefore, from now on we know no man in his flesh, because even though the apostles knew Him in His fleshly body they, and we, cannot ever see Him that way again. If any person be in Christ he is a new creation, the old life has been exchanged for the new life of Christ in us.

So we are glorified with Jesus Christ filled with the Holy Spirit who raised Him from death and we need to live beyond our fleshly lifestyle and esteem others higher than ourselves. This is the proper way to prepare ourselves and others for the coming King of the Universe.

He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, His name is JESUS! JESUS!! JESUS!! JESUS!!!! Oh He is the King.

Prayer: Father God, our hearts desire is to know You and worship You in Spirit and in truth. Our eyes are searching the heavens to see the Light of our salvation approaching. The world does not want to know You and persecutes and kills those who do. Help us Oh God to prepare the way as a voice in the wilderness for those we can reach. In Jesus' name. Amen.