{"id":209,"date":"2016-01-17T20:12:29","date_gmt":"2016-01-18T03:12:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/acky4.com\/wp\/?p=209"},"modified":"2016-01-30T12:20:55","modified_gmt":"2016-01-30T19:20:55","slug":"preparing-for-the-coming-messiah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/acky4.com\/wp\/2016\/01\/17\/preparing-for-the-coming-messiah\/","title":{"rendered":"Preparing for the Coming Messiah"},"content":{"rendered":"

Luke 3:1-19
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

The moral decline of our nation is quite evident. Like John the Baptist, we need to prepare today for the coming of the Lord.<\/p>\n

Luke sets the time period in vv 1-2. John’s ministry began somewhere during A.D. 28-29. John came as prophet after a long period of prophetic silent. Have you ever experienced a personal silence when you wondered where God was?<\/p>\n

Luke 1:17 tells us that John came in the spirit and power of Elijah. John came with boldness and uncompromising, like Elijah before the prophets of Baal. He came preaching a simple yet challenging message:<\/p>\n

1. Repent<\/b><\/p>\n

He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.\u00a04\u00a0<\/sup>As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:<\/p>\n

\u201cA voice of one calling in the wilderness,
\n\u2018Prepare the way for the Lord,
\nmake straight paths for him.
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>Every valley shall be filled in,
\nevery mountain and hill made low.
\nThe crooked roads shall become straight,
\nthe rough ways smooth.
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>And all people will see God\u2019s salvation.\u2019\u00a0\u201d<\/p>\n

Repentance in the Bible is a call for a life change. People needed to prepare their hearts for the coming of the Messiah by turning from sin to holiness. They needed to be in a state of readiness.<\/p>\n

2. Be part of the Kingdom<\/b><\/p>\n

Kingdom was near with John but not yet arrived. A new reign of God was about to begin through the Messiah and the presence of the Holy Spirit. Jesus came preaching the kingdom. What is this kingdom?<\/p>\n

a)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It is not the church although the church is part of it.<\/p>\n

b)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It involves God\u2019s presence.<\/p>\n

c)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It operates according to God\u2019s will.<\/p>\n

d)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 God\u2019s reign and sovereignty is the guide.<\/p>\n

e)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It is spiritual that shows up in the physical world in surprising ways (acts of compassion, expressions of love).<\/p>\n

f)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It is here now in part and will come in its fullness with Christ\u2019s second coming<\/p>\n

g)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We participate in it by relationship with Christ through the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n

3. Message to the \u201creligious\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

7\u00a0<\/sup>John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, \u201cYou brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?\u00a08\u00a0<\/sup>Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, \u2018We have Abraham as our father.\u2019 For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.\u00a09\u00a0<\/sup>The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.\u201d<\/p>\n

John had a harsh message to those who should have known better. People needed to see the reality of the situation and what really mattered\u2014eternity. John knew the hearts of people and showed them that we cannot hide from God.<\/p>\n

4. Message to the Seekers<\/b><\/p>\n

10\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cWhat should we do then?\u201d the crowd asked.\u00a011\u00a0<\/sup>John answered, \u201cAnyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.\u201d\u00a012\u00a0<\/sup>Even tax collectors came to be baptized. \u201cTeacher,\u201d they asked, \u201cwhat should we do?\u201d\u00a013\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cDon\u2019t collect any more than you are required to,\u201d he told them.<\/p>\n

14\u00a0<\/sup>Then some soldiers asked him, \u201cAnd what should we do?\u201d He replied, \u201cDon\u2019t extort money and don\u2019t accuse people falsely\u2014be content with your pay.\u201d John’s message is simple: (1) judgment is near (vv. 7-9), and (2) repentance means treating others well (vv. 10-14).<\/p>\n

5. Seeking the Baptism of the Holy Spirit<\/b><\/p>\n

15\u00a0<\/sup>The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah.\u00a016\u00a0<\/sup>John answered them all, \u201cI baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.\u00a017\u00a0<\/sup>His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.\u201d\u00a018\u00a0<\/sup>And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.\u00a019\u00a0<\/sup>But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of his marriage to Herodias, his brother\u2019s wife, and all the other evil things he had done,\u00a020\u00a0<\/sup>Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.<\/p>\n

John looked forward to the coming of Christ and preached a baptism of repentance. Christ has come. A new baptism is available, one in the Spirit. The Spirit wants to do a deeper work. We need more than forgiveness of our past. We need cleansing for the present. The Holy Spirit enables us to walk in the light as Jesus is in the light. The coming of the Holy Spirit brought to completion what the cross enabled. Through the Holy Spirit we can experience the power of the cross and empty tomb.<\/p>\n

For older posts, click\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Luke 3:1-19 The moral decline of our nation is quite evident. Like John the Baptist, we need to prepare today for the coming of the Lord. Luke sets the time period in vv 1-2. John’s ministry began somewhere during A.D. 28-29. John came as prophet after a long period of prophetic silent. Have you ever […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-devotions","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/acky4.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/acky4.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/acky4.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/acky4.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/acky4.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=209"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/acky4.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":265,"href":"http:\/\/acky4.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209\/revisions\/265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/acky4.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/acky4.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/acky4.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}