Prepare the Way of the Lord 1983

From Isaiah, chapter 40, verse 3 and following, a voice cries, in the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord. Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill shall be made low.

The uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed. A voice cries, prepare the way of the Lord.

And from the moment we became followers of Jesus, we became that voice. The whole purpose of our existence on this earth now is to announce with authority and with power and great grace to the world that the Lord is near, and prepare the way for his coming. To do this with such clarity and with such power that people will awaken to the reality of the kingdom of God, know that they're hearing from him, taste the kingdom in some way so that it's no longer just words, but it's life.

What if we go out into the world and pronounce, prepare the way of the Lord, and people walk past us as if they don't even see us and certainly don't hear us. Every valley shall be lifted up. Valleys stay right there.

The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and everything still lies in darkness. Nothing changes. We find ourselves trying to speak a word for God, even though we may think that our word has great life, but nobody seems to respond.

Nothing happens. Nobody listens. And it appears that the hand of God is not confirming what we're saying.

Nothing changes. This almost always is evidence that it's time for us to see if we are in some way blocking the flow of God's life in our own hearts. And now instead of saying to the world, prepare the way of the Lord, it's time for us to turn around and begin to prepare the way of the Lord within and to remove whatever it is that's blocking the flow of his life in and through us.

Reading from Luke chapter 9, verse 1, and he called the 12 together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases. And he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal. And we slide down chapter 9 of Luke to verse 37 and read, on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him.

And behold, a man from the crowd cried, Teacher, I beg you to look upon my son, for he is my only child. And behold, a spirit seizes him and he suddenly cries out and it convulses him till he foams and shatters him and will hardly leave him. And I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.

He called the 12 together and gave them authority and power over all demons. I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not. And Jesus answered, O faithless and perverse generation, how long am I to be with you and bear with you? Bring him here.

While he was coming, the demon tore him and convulsed him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy and gave him back to his father. And all were astonished at the majesty of God.

So these disciples were given authority over unclean spirits. And yet when this father comes begging them to cast out this demon, they can't do it. Why can't they? They've been given the authority.

Jesus tells us why. He says, O faithless and perverse generation. He's not talking to the father and his boy.

He's talking to his disciples. O faithless and perverse generation, how long am I to be with you and bear with you? Although they had been given the authority to deliver people from this kind of bondage, somehow the life of God was being blocked in these men who were doing wonderful things so that they weren't able to accomplish what needed to be done in this instance. And it was being blocked by two things, faithlessness and perversity.

How many times do we find ourselves in the same situation? One way or another, the father of this demon-possessed boy comes to us, begging us to set him free, and we can't do it. A friend comes at midnight, and we want to feed him living bread. We go to the cupboard for food, and there's nothing there.

Almost every day, one way or another, our lives touch people who are desperately hungry for something, some evidence of God's love. And we want to bring this to bear upon their lives. Time and again, we find ourselves totally inadequate.

And the reason is exactly the same. O faithless and perverse generation, how long am I to be with you and bear with you? Faithlessness. I mean, we don't think of ourselves as faithless.

After all, look at us. We came here today. We come here almost every week.

Many of us have quite a disciplined prayer life. We're trying to serve God. We're trying to be faithful.

And yet, if we're honest, we have to admit, every one of us, that there's a stratum of unbelief down at the bottom here. Even while we're saying to the world, Prepare to lay on the Lord, we're wondering how we're going to pay our bills or whether things are ever going to change in this situation or that, whether God's going to truly answer our prayer, how we're going to make it, so that our faith in God seems to be built upon an if. And again and again, after that first honeymoon when we were so sure of everything and so wonderfully fanatical, now we're more careful.

And it's maybe, if, I'm not sure. And Jesus puts his finger on that for our own good. So what's the cure? We can observe the way Jesus deals with the father of this boy in the account that we have in Mark chapter 9, the same episode as being described in Mark.

And Jesus asks the father, How long has he had this? And he said, From childhood. And it is often cast him into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have pity on us and help us.

And Jesus said to him, What do you mean, if you can? Believe. All things are possible to him who believes. Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, I believe.

Help my unbelief. And how many times is it that way with us? You know, Lord, that door has been closed to me for so long and I've been asking you if you can do anything. It's so much better for us to admit our doubt and lay it right out in front of God than to pretend it's not there.

Far better to come to him with an absolutely honest admission that this is where I am, Lord. I don't even know if I believe anything. If you can do something, open that door.

And the Lord says, What do you mean, if? Come on, believe. All things are possible to him who believes. And then we respond, I believe.

Help my unbelief. Lord, I've been praying and praying about this matter. I long to see something happen for good in this person's life.

And it seems like nothing ever breaks loose. But if you can do something, what do you mean, if? Come on, believe. All things are possible to him who believes.

If we have to bring that if before God a thousand times a day and have the Lord himself say, Come on, believe. And to answer him, I believe. Help my unbelief.

As we do this, the faith in the goodness and mercy of God begins to grow. And the unbelief begins to shrivel. Until we begin to see everything in a different light.

And we find ourselves able to trust God in ways that we never could before. And as we remove this obstacle, the light of God's Spirit begins to flow. O faithless and perverse generation, how long am I to be with you and bear with you? Prepare the way of the Lord into your own heart.

The second thing we have to get rid of is perversity. And again, we don't think of ourselves as particularly perverse. I mean, we're far more respectable, we think, than most people.

And yet, clinging to our hearts. Every room of our hearts is furniture which is not part of the earthen vessel. And it certainly isn't a heavenly treasure.

It comes straight out of the pit. It's foreign to the things of God. And we've lived with this so long, these perverse things in us, so long that we don't even notice them.

We think it's part of being a human being. And in His mercy, the Lord begins to put His finger on specific areas inside our hearts that need to be pushed out of the way and dealt with if His Spirit is to flow with any kind of liberty. First of all, the Lord is calling for holiness in the place of perversity, in the area of the moral.

Reading from Matthew 5, verse 27. Jesus is speaking. You have heard that it was said, you shall not commit adultery.

But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away. It is better that you should lose one of your members than that your whole body should be thrown into hell.

And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better that you should lose one of your members than that your whole body should be thrown into hell. And many of us, after becoming more enlightened, have been inclined to take this passage and just toss it.

You know, I don't want to become neurotic. This is going to make me a neurotic. But this isn't what Jesus is doing to us.

He's not making us neurotic. He's not trying to make us nervous wrecks. He's giving this truth to us because it's absolutely necessary for us to adhere to this if we're to have any freedom at all.

You're trying to pray. You're waiting on God. And it seems like things are going pretty well.

You know, you're conscious of God and you're lifting people up before His throne. And then all of a sudden, out of nowhere comes a memory from the past that can be described in only one way, but to call it perverse. But it comes, you know, in a kind of a pink light.

It looks so beautiful. And before you know it, your mind is drifting down a path which is taking you straight away from God. In His mercy, the Spirit of the Lord puts His finger on this and says, That's perverse.

That's getting in your way. And the best thing we can do is say, Thank you, Lord. I repent.

Help me. You're walking down the street. It's a beautiful day.

The sky is blue. Everything's going fine. And then you see a person walking towards you who you don't even know, but who becomes a symbol of something inside your own life, which is unclean.

And without even thinking about it, you dwell on whatever it is. The Lord, in His mercy, puts His finger on it and says, That's perverse. And the best thing we can do is say, Thank you, Lord.

Help me. You know, and He's doing this so that the life of His Spirit can move. We can't share the holiness of the Spirit of God and a perverse mind and heart.

It's got to be one or the other. Prepare the way of the Lord means move that out of the way. Secondly, the Lord is calling for holiness in place of perversity in the area of mammon, money and things.

Luke chapter 16, verse 10. Jesus is saying, He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much. He who is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much.

If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? Now, it's absolutely ridiculous to think that we can live in this world and not deal with money. We have to deal with money. We've got to pay our bills, buy our groceries, provide for transportation, get clothing.

And to do these things, we handle money, sometimes large amounts and sometimes small amounts. In the process of dealing with money, our hearts are inclined to become anxious, especially at certain times, times like these perhaps. Will I have enough to get me through to the end of the month? When we get that one solved, then it's, Will I have enough to get me through to the end of the year? Now I have enough for that.

Now the question is, Will I have enough to get me through to the end of my life? You know, what about my children and grandchildren? And on and on and on. And next thing you know, we are absolutely enslaved to anxiety concerning money and things. And the Lord is calling us to see that we can't serve God and mammon.

The only way we can serve God is to make mammon serve his purposes. And if he has to put his finger on this area of our life a thousand times a day, and we repent a thousand times a day, we have to learn that our house, if we have one, our apartment, our car if we have one, our shoes, our clothing, the food in our refrigerator, the money in the bank if we have any, all has to be under him. All under him.

And if there is any area in the realm of mammon that is getting hold of our hearts in an unhealthy way, he'll show it. And then it's better to get rid of it. Give it away.

Half of it, all of it, whatever. Do whatever you have to do so that this does not become the idol that consumes your heart. Jesus is calling for holiness in place of perversity in the area of the ego.

Mark chapter 10. And Jesus called them to him and said, You know that those who are supposed to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them, but it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and he who would be first among you must be slave of all.

For the son of man also came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Now there is in every one of us the need, which we often think is part of our humanity, which it's not. It's not part of being the earthen vessel.

It's coming right from the pit. The need to dominate, to control, to rule, to be on top. If I can't be on top in this sphere, I'll be on top in that sphere, but I'm going to be on top.

This compulsion to be on top is the atmosphere in which we live, and we have absorbed it. And Jesus says, It can't be this way among you. It can't.

He who would be greatest among you, she who would be greatest among you must become the servant of all. And we follow his advice, and we follow Jesus' example. As Jesus laid aside his robe, wrapped himself in a towel, got down on his knees, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and commands us to do the same.

We don't have any robes of glory, but we sure do have robes of vanity, ego. And we have to understand that the life of the Spirit of God absolutely cannot flow freely through a big ego. The counterfeit gifts of the Spirit can flow very wonderfully through a big ego, but not the true gifts of God's Spirit.

He who exalts himself is going to be effaced. The one who dwells in the high and holy place dwells with him who is of a broken and contrite spirit. And so we follow our Lord's example, and we lay aside our vanity, wrap ourselves in a towel, and get down on our knees, and begin to wash one another's feet.

We become servants. God help us to see that this is a basic lesson without which we can't possibly be of any use to the purposes of the kingdom of God. And finally, Jesus calls for holiness in place of vanity, in the realm of forgiveness.

Reading from Luke chapter 17, verse 3, Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him. And if he repents, forgive him.

And if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times and says, I repent, you must forgive him. Now many of us have our Bibles pretty clear. We understand.

We have all passages memorized. We understand why Jesus died on the cross, and how he rose from the dead, or why he rose from the dead. We have an answer for everything.

We have a grasp of the Christian faith. And yet, every time we open our mouths, whether we realize it or not, death flows out. Nothing good.

Nobody seems to be encouraged. Nobody seems to come to life. Nothing seems to be happening, and we wonder why.

The reason why is because although we grasp the faith with our minds, deep in our hearts we have a snake pit of resentments. We have unforgiven grudges that are crawling around down there like serpents. And there's no possible way life can flow in, through, or out of us as long as those snakes are crawling around in there.

Things that we've been carrying around for five years, ten years, and longer. You know, and somebody jars us a little bit, and out it comes. And it's still alive, it's not dead.

Prepare the way of the Lord. Get rid of that. Oh, faithless and perverse generation.

That's perverse. And the Lord, in his mercy, puts his finger on it and says, come on, bring those snakes to my cross, dump them out, and let them drown in the blood at the foot of my cross, and be no more. Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.

When you stand praying, forgive if you have ought against any. See, and we tolerate bitterness and resentment and grudges in our lives as if it's an acceptable thing. And it's not.

It's killing us. It's making us totally ineffective. And we may think ourselves to be effective, but as long as we carry this perversity in us, we can't be of any use.

He called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases and sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal. Teacher, I beg you to look upon my son, for he is my only child. And behold, a spirit seizes him, and suddenly he cries out, and it convulses him till he falls and shatters him and will hardly leave him.

And I beg your disciples to look upon him and to cast it out, but they could not. Jesus answered, O faithless and perverse generation, how long am I to be with you and bear with you? And so as we now come to the Lord's table, come before him in prayer, if we're going to go out into that world and be able to say with any authority, prepare the way of the Lord, all of us need to prepare the way of the Lord in our own hearts. We need to move away the boulder of unbelief, the if, by saying, I believe, help my unbelief, over and over again, beginning now.

And we need to pull out the offending eye, cut off the offending hand, and be pure. Make sure that everything we have in the way of mammon, money and things, is under the authority of the kingdom. Lay aside our robes, get down and wash each other's feet, and take that snake pit and dump it out at the foot of the cross until there's not a resentment, a resentment or a bitterness left.

Then we will indeed be able to go out and say, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley will be lifted up and every mountain and hill will be made low and the uneven ground will become a level plain and the rough places will become a plain and the glory of the Lord will indeed be revealed through us.