Preparing the way for the Lord to work

Isaiah 40:3–5 (NKJV)

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.”

God had purposed to fullfill a work in the midst of his people, a work that has not been done in any other time from the begining of history itself.

God had purpose to reveal his glory in the midst of his people, So he sent out a voice in the wilderness to cry prepare the way of the Lord.

This was being spoken of John the bapstist who sent before the Lord to prepare the way by the preaching of repentance.

John 1:23, John the baptist identifies himself by quoting this verse to identified hismefl to those who asked him who he was.

Yet John the baptist when he cried out in the wilderness to the people, he did not cry out “prepare the way” but repent

Repnetance is preparing the way for God to work, Repentence is preparing the way for God’s glory to be revealed, his power demonstrated, his spirit to be poured.

Whenever God’s wan’t to do a sepcific work in our life, when he wan’t to reveal his glory, he sends a voice to cry out to us repent.

When we repent, we are preparing the way before the Lord, we are making way straight and opening the door for the King of glory to enter.

What does Repentance look like

Repentance is not a change of mind.

Prov 4:23 “23 Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.”

“everything you do flows from it”

Joel 2:12–14 (NKJV)

12 “Now, therefore,” says the Lord, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”

13 So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm.

14 Who knows if He will turn and relent, And leave a blessing behind Him— A grain offering and a drink offering For the Lord your God?

Repentance, is turning (returning) with all your heart to the Lord with contrition and brokeness.

It is rending your heart before the lord and turning to him with all of it.

Peter as an example,

Luke 22:31–32 (NKJV)

31 And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.

32 But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”

How did Peter return to the Lord?

Matthew 26:75 “75 And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” So he went out and wept bitterly.”

“Turn to me with all your heart, with weeping, mourning”, “Rend your heart and not your garments.”

Psalms 51:17 “17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise.”

The Gentiles granted repentance unto life.

Acts 11:15–18 (NKJV)

15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning.

16 Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’

17 If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?”

18 When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, “Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.”

The Sin of Herod.

Mark 8:15 NKJV

15 Then He charged them, saying, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”

The leaven of pharisee is hypocracy.

Some people are okay with looking good on the outside as long has what is within is hidden and not seen,not knowing that God sees the hidden things of darknes..

What is the leaven of herod.

Luke 9:9 “9 Herod said, “John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?” So he sought to see Him.”

Luke 23:8–9 (NKJV)

8 Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him.

9 Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him nothing.

Herod did wan’t Jesus to speak to him about his sin, he just wanted Jesus to do a miracle for him.

Herod’s sin is expecting Jesus to work a miracle for him while not dealing with his sin

There are many platform built today based on this attitude.

Things that Keep people from coming to repentance.

There are several things but the following are the main one.

Escuses.

Genesis 3 , Adam and Eve gave escuses when God began to question them about their action.

Right now when the spirit of conviction is coming into our hearts, we can lay up escuses to justify our action.

By doing so, we are harding our hearts and becoming more stubborning which will only increase the wrath of God upon our life.

Their escuses did not jusify them.

Psalm 143:2 (KJV 1900)

2 And enter not into judgment with thy servant: For in thy sight shall no man living be justified.

It better you don’t enter into Judgement with God, no one his sight is going to be jusfied.

2. Blaming others.

Hebrews 12:16–17 NKJV

16 lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. 17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.

Genesis 17, Esau When he realised that his blessing was taken by his brothers cunningness, he cried with a exceedingly great and bitter cry.

He was not crying and weeping because of his sin in selling his brithright to his father, he was crying about someone’s else sin againts himself.

He was blaming Jacob for this, when his own sin is what has brought this upon himself.

There are people that spend so much time weeping and crying what others did to them, yet they never come to repentance because they are busy blaming some one for their problems to look at their own sin and take responsibility be accountable to God.

3. Religious Pride.

The bible says let every mountain be made low

Luke 3:7–8 NKJV

7 Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.

We have the religion of Abraham, we are Moses followers, we have been christian since we were children, we father was a preacher and my grandfather too.

Don’t let that keep you from humbling yourself in the sight of God, and repenting.

The Danger of false sense of Rigtheousness or light.

John 9:39–41 (NKJV)

39 And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.”

40 Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, “Are we blind also?”

41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.

If you have said yes Lord i am Blind, your would have no sin, your sin would have been forgiven, but becuase you say i see your sin remain.

Luke 18:9–14 (NKJV)

9 Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:

10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.

12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’

13 And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’

14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Humble ourselfs in the sight of God, so God can begin his work, reveal his glory, manifest his power, pour out his Spirit.