Mark 1:1-4

Mark 1:1-4  The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  It is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way” — “a voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”  And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

Luke 3:4-6  As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.  Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low.  The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth.  And all mankind will see God’s salvation.’”   

God gave John the Baptist the special privilege of preparing the way for Jesus Christ.  Yet after speaking to John's messengers concerning his identity, Jesus told the crowd, I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.  (Luke 7:28)  John prepared the people for Jesus by preaching a baptism of repentance.  He asked them to repent of their sins, to turn from their carnal ways of living.  He was directing them to acknowledge God as Lord of their lives and commanding them to give their heavenly Father supreme authority in their lives.  By giving God absolute authority in their lives, they were giving him their lives for his purposes.  As was true for John, their eternal purpose was to become ambassadors for the Lord, bringing salvation to the people.  They were to make straight paths for the Lord Jesus that He might reach people's lives with God's mercy.  They were to fill in the valleys and take down the mountains the best they could in people lives so that they might find Christ.  As with John, the people who were listening to him were to prepare the way for the Lord.  All of this fulfilled the words of the prophet Isaiah: Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.  Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.  The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.  Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:  And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.  (Isaiah 40:1-5 KJV)

The Holy Spirit revealed to John what remains true today: To be useful instruments in God's hands, we must turn from our self-centered lives and repent of our sins.  The first step to salvation is relinquishing our old ways of living.  By repenting we give God a freehand to fulfill his will.  If we fail to yield completely, we are merely adding God to our lifestyles, to our broken cisterns; and we will find a constant feeling of emptiness, the need for more.  We must choose to die to our old lives by letting Christ grow in us, by recognizing we have been born again into the family of God.  Jesus said, Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.  (Matthew 10:39)  And if we lose our lives for the sake of Christ and the gospel, we will gain a new life rich in mercy, grace, and peace.  We will find a new purpose and a family that loves us and prays for us and supports us in the body of Christ.  But we will also learn that the Christian walk is to live Christ's life not our own.  Jesus desires us to be one with him as He and the Father are one.  We are IN HIM and He is IN US.  When we realize our lives are to reflect him, then we begin to pray, read the Word, and spend time with the Lord.  When we learn of Jesus, we find we are to reflect his image to the world, for we are joint-heirs with him and members of HIS BODY.  If we hold onto our lives, the road of life will remain crooked, not straight.  We will be as the double-minded man we mentioned in an earlier breakfast, never knowing exactly what we should do, never able to accomplish what we want to do for God.  How can we please God or be one with him if we try to direct our lives instead of seeking first the kingdom of God?  How can we call him LORD under those circumstances?  Only one authority can sit on the throne of our lives: Jesus.  John asked the people to prepare the way for the Lord.  Our purpose in life is to prepare the way for the Lord, first for ourselves and then for others.  We have a wonderful message.  Christ has come to save sinners!  After Jesus taught his disciples to pray the Lord's Prayer, He told them to trust God for everything.  He said they could not serve two masters.  They had to be all in!  That's the gospel message too.  Jesus said that the pagans run after things, but we should trust God.  He said, But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  (Matthew 6:33) 

The flesh wants everything and it wants to be in the driver's seat to maintain control, but our flesh, our carnal selves, will never produce anything that is spiritual, for the flesh cannot discern the things of the Spirit.  Our carnal person will always want himself or herself in the winning circle with others cheering for us.  Flesh wants recognition and promotion.  As the Bible says: Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.  For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.  And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.  (Galatians 6:7-9 NKJV)  The Holy Spirit asks us to be willing, dedicated, and patient servants.  The Spirit asks us to take the backseat in a room unless someone else tells us to go forward to a more prominent place.  We do not seek praise or an elevated position, but we are to contend for Christ to be elevated because we seek his praise.  We are to make the path smooth for the advancement of his kingdom.  We must all ask ourselves if we have the same humility as John who said that he must decrease that Jesus might increase.  Are we willing to make the paths straight, the mountains low, and the valleys high for Christ's purposes?  If we are, we will reap great eternal rewards.  We will discover our lives filled with the Spirit; our ears will become sensitive to his voice.  Integrity and honesty will remain integral parts of our lives as well as an abundant harvest of the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.  (Galatians 5:22-23)  We will add to our lives the blessing of the family of God with the affection and concern of many fathers, mothers, children, grandchildren, and so on.  And of course the greatest reward is to see Jesus lifted up and given all praise and glory, for we know He will draw all people to him.  Truly, we will see God’s salvation!