Lifted - Lowered - Lined Up & Leveled
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KEY PASSAGE: Isa 40:3-5
3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare 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 brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth;
5 The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
These verses tell us about a time of genuine revival. Isaiah is writing about the coming of the Messiah. These verses were partially fulfilled through the ministry of John the Baptist
3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.’ ”
We know that we need a move of God in our lives and in our church.
We want to see the blessings of verse 5. Those blessings are the blessings of revival.
But, before we can live in verse 5, we must make the preparations found in verse 4.
If we make these preparations, I cannot promise you that we will have revival, but I can promise you that we will make revival far more likely than it would be otherwise. I can promise you that these preparations will form a “highway in the desert”.
The word “highway” means “raised up”. It refers to that which is “higher or elevated”.
When we take the steps outlined in these verses, we will be elevated in our living, and we make it far more likely that the Lord will walk among us for His glory.
So, I want to point out the preparations we need to make as individuals and as a church.
Lifted
Lifted
• “Every valley shall be lifted up”—Isaiah refers to a “filling process”.
• A valley is “a crevice, a gutter, or a low place”
• This speaks to us about the places in our lives that are lacking. We all have low spots in our walk with the Lord.
We all have places that we have allowed to become hollowed out and shallow.
Those places must be filled in before revival can come in your life.
• These valleys can go by many names.
For some it is spiritual
For some it is spiritual
prayer life, Bible reading, church attendance, unforgiveness, guilt, anger, self-righteousness, etc.
For some it is physical
For some it is physical
financial problems; marital issues, physical problems, the hardships of life, relationship and activities that have pulled you away from God, etc.
I am asking you to look into your life today. Identify those low places that need to be filled in and lifted up and get busy seeing that they are made right before God. If you will, you will be more likely to experience God moving in your life in genuine revival.
Lowered
Lowered
Every mountain and hill shall be made low”—This refers to a lowering process.
A mountain or a hill is something that stands taller than the landscape around it. Throughout history, mountains and hills have always been barriers to man’s progress. They have hindered his efforts to explore his world and go where he wants to go.
• This speaks to us about the barriers, or roadblocks in our lives, that have the potential to hinder revival from coming our way.
There are many potential barriers to revival in our lives.
Let me name a few: Jealousy, lust, pride, unfaithfulness, hindering relationships, worry, hypocrisy, disobedience to the will of God, busyness, fear, guilt, unforgiveness, etc.
• While we need to work in some areas of our lives to bring things us to where they need to be; we must also work to tear down the barriers that stand between us and what God wants to do in our lives.
Everyone here has mountains in their life. We all have attitudes, actions and passions that need to be brought down so that God can move in like He desires to. I have noticed that when mountains are brought down, lows places are filled in.
Look at your life today and identify those high places that stand as barriers between you and revival.
Lined Up
Lined Up
Isaiah 40:4 (NKJV)
4 Every valley shall be exalted And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth
If we want revival in our lives, we are going to have to identify those areas where we have taken the wrong road and get back on track with Him.
Some have gotten themselves into relationships that have led them away from God. That road is crooked and needs to be straightened out.
Some have allowed work; recreation or some other pursuit to lead them away from the Lord. That is a dangerous road and it needs to be abandoned for the straight road of serving the Lord.
Some have wandered down a path of self-righteousness, and have come to believe that they know what’s right for everyone around them. That is a dangerous road and it needs to be abandoned for the straight path of humility.
Some are walking the crooked path of pride. They refuse to bow to the Lordship of Jesus in their lives. They hear His Word and turn a deaf ear to His call. That is a dangerous path! It needs to be abandoned for the path of humble service to the Lord.
We have all taken the wrong path at times. If we want real revival in our lives and church, we must consider the path our feet are walking right now.
We must abandon the “deceitful, sly and slippery” paths of sin, pride, self-righteousness and worldliness that lead to destruction, and we must step onto the path of submission, surrender and obedience to the Word and will of God.
• “The rough places plain”—This refers to a smoothing process.
• The word “rough” refers to that which is “impassible” It refers to “roughness or being bound up”. It can even have the idea of being “dubious or doubtful”. It speaks to those areas in our lives that are a little rough, or doubtful. It speaks to those areas that are questionable. It speaks to those places in life where we know we could do better but we don’t.
• The Bible tells us very clearly how to handle those areas of life. It says, “Abstain from all appearance of evil,” 1 Thes. 5:22.
The Word of God is telling us that we need to examine our lives and deal with those places where we are a little rough around the edges.
We need to address those areas where we tolerate things that need to be confessed and forsaken.
• Again, we all have those places in our lives that are a little rough. We allow ourselves a mile when the Lord has forbidden even an inch.
We allow things like gossip, envy, anger, unforgiveness, slackness, hatred, bad temper, bad habits, arrogance, tardiness, prayerlessness, impurity in talk, thoughts and motives.
There are a thousand other areas that could be named. I am talking about things that we often see nothing wrong with, or that we excuse as our own “little weakness”.
• We all allow those rough places in our walk with the Lord, but they must be smoothed out if we want Him to send us genuine revival.
CLOSING:
if real revival came, what would it look like? It would not be a few days of meeting and then forgotten forever. If real revival came, would everyone embrace it? No, if real revival came, many would leave the church because they like things the way they are. Revival messes things up for those who are unwilling to change.
If real revival came I think it would look a lot like Acts 2:42-47
42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.
44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common,
45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.
46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,
47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
In other words, I think real revival, when it comes, will make the church look more like the New Testament model that it does now.
I think real revival would empower us for God’s work; impassion us to reach the lost; enliven us to worship the Lord; and instruct us in holiness.
I do not think that real revival would be about counting “nickels and noses”.
I do not think real revival would be about emotionalism.
I think real revival would cause the church to fall in love with Jesus Christ once again
There are some here today that do not know the Lord Jesus as their own savior - maybe there have been excuses you’ve used, maybe you are putting it off, but I am telling you today - the time is getting closer and the end is drawing near - Those here today - I pray you come to salvation today. You need only believe the gospel - That jesus died for your sins, was buried, and rose again. BUT THERE IS YOUR RESPONSE AND IT IS PUBLIC - BAPTISM !
PLEA FOR SALVATION
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Maybe during this short series on revival some of us have decided - I am going to do it! I am going to surrender my life to Christ. But now struggles have popped up here and there and it’s getting harder -
Don’t go back to your old life or your old ways. Follow Jesus, no matter how hard it gets.
Yes, there are battles to fight, but Scripture tells us that what we go through here on earth can’t be compared to the glory in heaven that awaits us.
I’m not going back to the way I use to be,. I am going to follow the Lord.
We’ve all gone through that time when Satan tries to rip the joy out of our lives and causes us to say “I give up” - DON’T be discouraged today.
You’re not going back
YOU. ARE. GOING. ON.
Today as we close - there are 2 situations I want you to consider
The need for salvation and the obedience of baptism.
The need for us to allow God to get things lined up in our lives - for us to allow God to break us, to be more like Him - to Melt our hard hearts, to Mold us to become what He is calling us to be, and to Fill us to overflowing with His spirit in this place today!!
AMEN!