Prepare the Way

Prepare the Way

Luke 1:10-17

LaFayette Baptist Church

11/30/25

By: Jacob Winters

References to John Pipers’s book Good News of Great Joy

Introduction

Let me give you to scenarios and you tell me, which one sounds like you were excited for someone’s 2 day visit to your home. In the first scenario, you are waiting outside for them when they come, when they get out of the car, you greet them with a hug and help bring in their luggage. Then, you lead your loved one inside the house and show them their guest room, which warmly and cheerfully greets with them a made bed, a clean space, fresh linen towels, and while they are settling in you have the kettle on to make them a nice cup of hot tea. That one, now onto option 2. In option number 2, your loved one exits their car, and knocks on your front door. You are shocked to hear the door, and look up at the o’clock, “Oh My! Is that time!?” You say in your head. Your loved one had driven 6 hours to see you, and you had been planning to see each other for over a month. You welcome your loved one in, and show them to the guest room, which is filled with junk on the left and right and a small and barely passable route through the room. The untidy bead is covered in cat fur and covered in more stuff, which you then take off and put into the wash. Tell me, which scenario sounds like you were prepared to receive your loved one? Which one shows more that you love this person and were truly excited for their arrival……. Then let me ask you, are you prepared for Jesus’ arrival?

Prayer/Scripture

Father God, we thank You for Who You are. A great Big God who sees each and every one of us here and cares deeply about us. We ask this day, as we are continuing in this time of worship to You, reading Your Word and hearing Your Word, that You refine us with it. Mold us, make us, shape us, rearrange us so that we can be more like You, and made more into the image of Christ. Help us be a people who love You and love others so much that we are moved into action by whatever it is You are going to show us about Yourself today and what that means in our lives. Help us do this, because all too often our selfish and sinless flesh war against our will to follow Yours. As we are doing this, and as we are coming into Your Word today, we ask that You take away any distraction that we may have, and make it go as far away as it possibly can, because we want to see and we want to know You better. I ask these things for your glory and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and precious name that I pray, Amen.

10 At the hour of incense the whole assembly of the people was praying outside. 11 An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified and overcome with fear. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. 14 There will be joy and delight for you, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord and will never drink wine or beer. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit while still in his mother’s womb. 16 He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to make ready for the Lord a prepared people.”

Context

Today starts the first day of the advent season. Advent itself means the word “coming.” That is, we are celebrating the coming of The Lord Jesus (primarily his first coming which happened 2000 years ago, but also His second coming which we are still waiting for) to the earth. We do this by taking extra time in study and devotionals, prayer, giving gifts, and building up anticipation that comes along with waiting for something/someone to come.

This advent season, I hope that you will join me in reading “John Piper’s Book, Good News of Great Joy.” I don’t have a free copy of a book as I did last year, but this book can be gotten as a free pdf by simply google searching for the book or scanning the qr code we have provided in the church newsletter, in addition I will send a link out to everyone with the book. It has a devotional day through the month leading up to Christmas day. Our sermons this month will be based largely off the devotional that falls that Sunday.

Today’s text begins with a very special prophet of God, that He sent to the world just before Jesus’ birth and what his father and mother experienced in his coming. This was a man whose task was to prepare the way for the people to receive their Lord and King, Jesus Christ the righteous. This man was John the Baptist, and just as Jesus’ birth came in unexpected ways for everyone who didn't pay attention to what God has told us, John’s birth happened in a very unexpected way. As God does this often through the entire advent and nativity narrative, it is important to Know that God works in unexpected ways. So often, we are prone to expect God to act, think, and do in ways that we imagine makes sense, but then all too often He does just the opposite, to show and teach us that He truly is the God and King of everything. So, let us each this advent season prepare the way in hearts, to receive Jesus and share Him with others. So, let’s jump into the text today and from the text, I want you to see and do these actions as you prepare the way in your life for Jesus’ return.

Message

The first action to see and do is to: Go about God’s role for you 10-12

10 At the hour of incense the whole assembly was praying outside. 11- An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the Alter of incense. 12- When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified and overcome with fear.

Our text begins with John’s father, Zechariah, a member of the levitical priesthood in the temple, doing something that was a very big deal. If you didn’t live in that time, then it would be lost on you. But, Zecharia was getting to perform his duties in what is often a once in a lifetime event (if you even got to) for members of the priesthood. Something he prepared to do for his whole life, and in his old age, finally it was time. This was offering the incense in the temple up to God, this would have been a very special moment for him, perhaps even what he considered the pinnacle moment of his life’s work. Here, we see this faithful man fulfilling the role that God had called Him too. However, Zechariah didn’t get to savor the moment, he didn’t have a normal and hitchless go at it, as I'm sure would have been his great hope. Instead, something terrifying happened to him. While working, to the right of the altar of incense was a supernatural being; A messenger from God, the angel Gabriel himself, an angel of importance, as we have only seen him appear in the Bible at very important and pivotal moments. In this moment, Zechariah would have filled with fear, the brightness and splendor the heavenly being would have made him want to fall to the ground. Yet, here we are.

In his 1st letter, the Apostle Peter wrote to the christians in Asia Minor and to Christians everywhere, telling each and every one of us a critical point to know about the roles that God has called each and every follower of the Lord Jesus. He said, in 1st Peter chapter 2 that we , “are being built to be a holy priesthood[d] to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” And also that we are “a chosen race,[i][j] a royal priesthood,[k] a holy nation,[l] a people for his possession,[m] so that you may proclaim the praises[n][o] of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Church family, each and every one of you, know matter how young or how old, how strong or how weak, have a purpose and role in God’s kingdom. Each and every one of us is important. Sometimes, He even gifts us in ways spiritually that has nothing to do with our profession and hobbies, and other talents and interests. That’s right,Know that God works in unexpected ways. That’s right, let me give you an example. It’s very common in the church world for people to make the treasurer or finance director of a church or ministry, because they were an accountant or handled money in their business, so as a human likes to think, this person has talents and skills that can meet that need in a good way. Well, what has often been found is that those people are really good at handling and budgeting money for a business or people, but not within a church and ministry context. Why? Because when you are dealing with God’s money, you have to move with an element of faith and an expectation that God is going to provide for what He wants to do. So, you should plan accordingly. That’s just one example. All of that to say, you may find that God’s role for you is something that you are unfamiliar with, one that makes you uncomfortable. Yet, you are still to try to see, if it’s a no after trying, then it’s a no, and that's ok. But, what we do know, is that He has something out there for you to contribute in a way that no one else can as well as you can. So, look and see and then go about God’s role for you.

The next action to see and do is to: Be ready for the unexpected 13-15

13- But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. 14There will be joy and delight for you, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15- For he will be great in the sight of the Lord and will never drink wine or bear. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit while still in his mother’s womb.

In many examples of angels, messengers from God visiting humans, we see that person wanted to fall on the ground in terror, no doubt that’s how Zechariah felt. The angel, who in a few verses reveals his name to be Gabriel, tells him, do not fear, you have not done anything wrong, this is a happy occasion for you. For, your prayers have been heard. Now, this would have been more than just one item of prayer. As, 1, any good Israelite and especially members of the priesthood would have prayed that God would send the messiah to them, that they would be restored to God in perfect relationship. And 2, any couple that desires children would pray for that as well. And 3, a faithful couple such as themselves would desire for their story to be a part of God’s redeeming the world. So, so much more than meets the eye was going on here! The angel tells him, your wife, who is very very old, much too old to have a child anymore, will bear you a son. His name will be John, and he will be great in the eyes of God. He will be a joy for you, and many people will find delight in his birth (as it was happy for all mankind for his ministry prepared the way for the savior, the messiah, Jesus’ ministry). Even from his mother’s womb, he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, which no one before had ever experienced. Yes, this John coming to you is unexpected (but most welcomed) and is coming to you in an unexpected way, so be ready for him!

No doubt, the disciples of Jesus learned this lesson for Jesus’ himself. Do you recall what happened to the disciples not long after Jesus rose from the grave? Well, of course on different occasions several of them were shocked and surprised to see their Lord (who they had watched die in a bloody and gruesome way) standing before them. Some of the brothers went to Jerusalem to tell the others that they had seen Him. While discussing this, suddenly Jesus appeared in the room, terrifying them with his appearance and greeting “Peace be with you.” Of all the people in the room, Jesus who had been placed in a tomb 3 days before was not one that you would expect, yet there He was.

So then, Know that God works in unexpected ways. So then, this means that we must live our lives not as everyone else, but as people with faith. Meaning, as Paul wrote to the Hebrews, that we have confidence in what we hope for (God’s kingdom to come and will to be done) and assurance that it will come when our eyes, minds, thoughts do understand how that could possibly happen in the moment. It means, we walk with the expectation that God will move. That we trust He is going to do something that our natural selves would never expect. It means we walk prepared for the unexpected. So then, when it happens, not only should we not be surprised, but we should be planning as if the unexpected will happen. That our plans and ideas can go further than just what makes sense!

Another action to see and do is to: Prepare for the Lord’s Coming 16-17

16- He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. 17- And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijiah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

Here we see just what John the Baptist’ particular ministry had in store. God’s people will turn back to Him, he will have the spirit and power of the long awaited prophet, fathers hearts will turn back to their children (raising them in The Lord, pointing them towards Him), and those that had long since turned away from God will accept the wisdom they have long since abandoned. All of this was to make that rebellious people of Israel into a people (who were willing) turn away from their sin and separation from God and to receive the Lord Jesus as Messiah, Savior/ Redeemer. Here of course, John was pointing towards Jesus’ first coming. But even today we are awaiting His second.

Have you ever gone into anything knowing you were underprepared before? For me, to do so is always terrifying; so it’s something I try to avoid if I can. There was this one time, I can recall in high school, where I was so underprepared that it was embarrassing. You see, I played in the school band and was drum captain, everyone knew me to be the most serious about playing percussion in the entire school, perhaps in the entire county and surrounding ones. Once a year, all the best players come together and try out for the elite band in the state, and it was that time of year. Well, I was involved in so many bands and events and work at the time, that I didn’t take the try outs for this band seriously enough, and didn’t think about practicing for it until the weekend that it was. Well, it was time to go tryout, of which there were 3 rounds. From the simplest very first round, I messed up so bad, played so badly, that I knew it was over. In nervousness, I lost grips of mallets while playing simple things, they fell to the keyboard, bounced up for a second and then caught them rather seamlessly, but it made look and sound like I was playing but really really badly, then realizing how bad that sounded, in shock I dropped them again and they fell to the ground. I said out loud, “and that’s where I fail.” The judge, who I knew from another activity I was in and had just left earlier that day, his jaw hit the floor at how bad I was. I was unprepared, and it showed.

Believer, are you ready for Jesus’ second coming? Yes, if you have accepted Jesus’ Christ’s offer of forgiveness, you will not know hell, yes. But, there is more to consider. When He comes back, what kind of servant of His do you think He will say you are? A good one? A bad one? A Meh one? A half hearted one? One that is all in? Let me earnestly charge you today, prepare yourself for The Lord’s coming. Know that God works in unexpected ways. One of which will be that He will come at an unexpected hour. So then, be ready. Don’t hold back, don’t hold back The Gospel of Jesus from people who are living in sin. Don’t hold onto something that you value more than Him. Don’t have your priorities out of whack. Be prepared. Jesus is coming back soon, don’t keep any glory you can give Him back because of a heart that isn’t ready.

Conclusion

So then beloved, remember these actions, to Go about God’s role for you 10-12 , Be ready for the unexpected 13-15, Prepare for the Lord’s Coming 16-17. As you are doing these this advent season, our book shared with 4 applications you do this season, to turn your mind and heart towards Jesus, they are:

Application from today’s Advent Devotional:

Meditate on the need for a savior.

Engage in Sober Self-Examination

Build God-Centered Anticipation, expectations, and excitement into your home.

Be in the scriptures and memorize great passages.

With all of that being said, I would be remiss if I didn’t share the Gospel (or the Good News) of Jesus Christ with you today, for the benefit of both believer and non-believer in the room. This begins all the way back at the beginning, God created everything, and he created all things good. He gave His most treasured creation (us, mankind) the ability of free will, the ability to choose Him or rebellion. Man was deceived by Satan and desired to be like God and sinned (or rebelled against God). This brought the curse of sin and death into the world and it remains with us to this day; which separates us from God. God, though, loved His creation (mankind) so much that He worked through history to redeem all mankind that would turn to Him from sin so that we can experience a full and perfect relationship with Him again. This was through the perfect and final sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the pay for sins. Accepting this free gift from God, makes you new and forgiven. All you have to do is accept this free gift by repenting and believing in the Lord Jesus and you will get to experience the good side of God’s justice forever. So, now that you know this, you can no longer plead ignorance. I invite and urge you to respond today non-believer and apply this to every part of your life believers in the audience today.

Application from today’s Advent Devotional:

Meditate on the need for a savior.

Engage in Sober Self-Examination

Build God-Centered Anticipation, expectations, and excitement into your home.

Be in the scriptures and memorize great passages.

Father God, we thank You for Who You are. A great Big God who sees each and every one of us here and cares deeply about us. We ask this day, as we are continuing in this time of worship to You, reading Your Word and hearing Your Word, that You refine us with it. Mold us, make us, shape us, rearrange us so that we can be more like You, and made more into the image of Christ. Help us be a people who love You and love others so much that we are moved into action by whatever it is You are going to show us about Yourself today and what that means in our lives. Help us do this, because all too often our selfish and sinless flesh war against our will to follow Yours. As we are doing this, and as we are coming into Your Word today, we ask that You take away any distraction that we may have, and make it go as far away as it possibly can, because we want to see and we want to know You better. It’s in these things that I ask and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and precious name that I pray, Amen.