Thank you for joining today as we seek God’s wisdom together. Let us begin with prayer.
“Lord Jesus, I ask that you search our hearts and see if there be anything wicked in them. We ask that your Holy Spirit show us what you are saying to us today. I ask that the words on this page would jump out to us as you speak to our hearts and minds truth and life. In Jesus name, Amen.”
Matthew 3:1-6 NASB
“Now in those days John the Baptist *came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, 2“ Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, “THE VOICE OF ONE CALLING OUT IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT!’ ” 4Now John himself had a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5At that time Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the region around the Jordan; 6and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins."
What the Word is Saying
Aside from the fact that John had a strange choice in clothing and food to eat there is an important lesson to be taken from here. The Lord had not spoken through a prophet for more than 400 years. So, there was a hunger and expectation that the next one to appear would likely be Messianic in nature. The people expected that the fulfillment of the promises of God would be occurring soon. Therefore, when a man rises up in the desert dressed in clothing like Elijah wore. Eating food concurrent with someone living in the wilderness. And preaching repentance and a return to God there should have been alarms going off in the hearts and minds of all Jewish people that something was occurring.
In fact, the circumstances are not that different from today. There has not been a significant move of God in our midst since the revival at Azuza Street in the early 1900’s. Therefore, there is an expectation that something will occur. Many are looking to the imminent return of Jesus. His mission left to us was to bring the gospel to the ends of the earth. Translation programs make the language barriers in existence since the Tower of Babel almost non-existent. Bible translation (over 2200 languages within the next year), the internet, and mission focus make fulfillment of the mission a very real possibility in the very near future. Political, economic, and cultural conditions also point to the criteria Jesus said would be in play at the end of the age. So, we look expectantly for the Two Witnesses spoken of in Revelations to appear.
But we don’t want to miss the time of our visitation. The signs are all over the place. The countries of Russia, China, and others in the East becoming entwined with each other in opposition to those in the west. The moral and ethical values being abandoned for the doctrines of men. Sin being whitewashed away, and every man now encouraged to do what is right in their own eyes. The lukewarmness of the church and emphasis on personal gain rather than surrender to the will of God. Earthquakes, wars, rumors of wars, diseases, and abandonment of God all are things that should warn us of the End being very soon. Jesus said no one knows the day or the hour of His return but He did leave us things to watch for to signal that the time is short. I believe that we should therefore expedite our efforts. We all have friends, relatives, co-workers, and people that we come across that do not know Jesus. It is time we tell them about Him. We cannot save them, only Jesus can do that, we cannot reveal the truth of Jesus to them only the Father can do that, and we cannot change them only God can do that. But we can pray that those things happen to them in Jesus' name. We can share with them what Jesus did for us. We can fulfill the mission Jesus left for us to do and Share the Good News about Him to them.
I cannot emphasize enough that our kingdom is not here on earth. We are not meant to have comfort and a life of ease here on earth. We must have that same mind that Jesus and the Apostles had in that we have to be about our Fathers business. We must repent and start doing what we were commissioned to do by the Father. You don’t need to be a minister, pastor, evangelist, or church leader to spread the gospel. You have a story that others need to here. I am sure there were plenty in Israel that heard of and mocked the madman in weird clothes out preaching in the wilderness. John was not concerned about that. He was concerned about completing the mission he had to do. Similarly, Paul, Peter, John, …etc. were not concerned with appearances they had a mission to do.
How will they know if we don’t tell them. How will they see if we do not look, act, or behave different from them. We are not called to blend in. None of the Apostles or God’s servants did that. If we truly believe that there is a heaven and hell. That those who do confess that Jesus is Lord and believe He rose from the dead will not inherit eternal life. Why are we not doing all we can to convince them? Of course, we need to speak the truth in love. But, for most of us we don’t even speak the truth. Forgive us lord and change our hearts. Take out these hearts of stone. The hearts without empathy for the lost. Unwilling to share the truth because they “may” not want to hear it. We ask for a heart of flesh. One that sees the lost as you do. In need of a savior. Then empower us by the power of your Holy Spirit to do the work you left for us to do.
“Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, 4and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue just as they were from the beginning of creation.” 5For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, 6through which the world at that time was destroyed by being flooded with water. 7But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly people. 8But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. 9The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance (2 Pet. 3: 3-9).”
If you have not received Christ Jesus as your Lord and Savior, I implore you to do so now. All He asks for is for you to accept the free gift He gave you. Therefore, humble yourself and acknowledge that Jesus is Lord of all. He alone is all powerful and you submit to His authority. Next you must believe He did what He did. That is; die on a cross and rise again from the dead. These are both actions of faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for with evidence not seen. Meaning you believe even though you don’t have physical evidence to prove it. I know you made it to this page for a reason and the Holy Spirit is working on your heart. The Father has drawn you and He alone can reveal to you the truth of what I am saying. I know that He is now, and you need to take a step of faith and pray these words with me.
Right where you are; say these words out loud: “Jesus I confess that you are Lord of all, I yield my will to your will for you are greater than me. I believe you came to this world and lived a sinless life; I believe you suffered and died on cross for my sins, I believe they put your lifeless body in a tomb, and three days later you rose from the dead. I confess to you that I am a sinner and ask you to forgive me. I also ask that you send me your Holy Spirit to give me power to live a sanctified life and to lead me into all truth. In Jesus name, Amen.”
If you prayed that prayer, I urge you to contact us here so that we might come beside you and hold you up in prayer as you begin your journey with Jesus. I assure you that we have all been where you are. We may have committed different sins, but we are just as guilty, nonetheless. We all needed forgiveness and someone else supported us as we began our Journey with Him.
Thank you for joining me today as we searched the scriptures for What the Word is Saying. I pray that God will send His Holy Spirit into our lives anew and fill us again with His love and His purpose for us. So that we can fulfill the mission He left us in bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world.
“Scripture quotations taken from the NASB (New American Standard Bible) Copyright 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved.” lockman.org
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