O universe, and all of the creation, and all of what God called before it was creation—there is only One worthy. And it always, I think, touches our hearts when we are able to sing out with our voices, “He is worthy. He alone is worthy.”
That will make your heart feel good—that One was found who was worthy to fulfill all of God’s desires, all of His heart, that there could truly be rejoicing in this universe.
Lord, we thank You. We worship You. Lord, we are Yours, and how grateful we are that with confidence we can say, “I am a son of the King. I am the Lord’s. I have been saved. I have been redeemed. I have been recovered.”
Lord, we thank You this morning that we can come, blood-bought by the precious blood of God’s dear Lamb, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. So, Lord, we ask, as we look into Your Word, that we would be refreshed by what we find here this morning, and that we could come into that much closer relationship with You.
Lord, prepare our hearts to meet You when You come back. We do not want to meet a stranger. Lord, we do not want to meet a stranger; we want to meet the One who is so close to us and so dear to us.
So, Lord, we lift these hearts of ours to You this morning. Sometimes they get a little hard and crusty. We ask that You would take off that crust this morning and open our hearts back up to You. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Let us look at a couple of verses. I am going to read a lot of verses, but a couple to begin with: Luke 2:11, one that I think we will all recognize.
For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.
Now Matthew 3:1-3:
And in those days cometh John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, saying, Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
For this is he that was spoken of through Isaiah the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ye ready the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.
This morning, what is really on my heart is preparing for the Lord—preparing our hearts for the Lord.
This is the time of year when, for many saints, the first advent of our Lord Jesus Christ—His first coming, His birth—is on their hearts. We know that when He came in that cradle, His destiny was the cross. He knew He was going from the cradle to the cross for our sins.
“For unto us is born this day a Savior.” The people in the day in which the Lord came the first time were looking for one who would deliver them from their oppressors, one who would feed them, one who would clothe them, one who would make them first among the nations of the world—one who would bring in the utopia that all mankind has been looking for.
And God looked down upon man at that time, and He said, “What the world really needs is Jesus”—the One who would save them from their sins. That is what the world really needed.
The Lord is coming a second time. And the second time He comes, He will come as King of kings and Lord of lords. He will set up that utopia upon this earth, in which He will be Lord and King over it all.
Brothers and sisters, it all began for man because He first chose to die for the sins of the world—for your sins and my sins—to make it all possible. There is a great connection, I think, between the second coming and the first coming. I would like to share a little of what is on my heart this morning about preparing for that second coming by looking at the first coming.
First of all, His first advent—His birth—was unlike any birth that has ever been known or will be known. When we are born, we do not really exist until we are conceived in the womb of our mother. But Jesus preexisted before He was conceived in the womb of Mary. He already was. He already was.
So His birth is quite different from ours. His birth is really the incarnation, as it is referred to, which simply means the manifestation of God in human form. His birth was an incarnation that none of us will ever experience. It was a very unique birth.
John 1:14 says that the Word became flesh. God became man. Amazing—what has happened! His name is Emmanuel, which means, “God with us.” The amazing One came.
We know from the Scriptures—and I want to be very clear about this this morning, because it is very important—He was born of a virgin. Mary was a virgin, espoused to Joseph. She had not yet known Joseph in that way, and did not until after Jesus was born.
So how did this conception happen? It was the work of the Holy Spirit, brothers and sisters. It was the Holy Spirit who conceived Jesus in the womb of Mary. Yet He received nourishment from Mary while He was in the womb.
But when you think about it, God is the Father of Christ—of Jesus—not Joseph. Why? Because He was going to come as the perfect, sinless Lamb of God. Therefore, He could not be born of man, because He would take on man’s sinful nature.
God conceived, through the Holy Spirit, the life of the Son of God in the womb of Mary. There He developed into a full-grown baby, and she gave birth to Jesus in Bethlehem.
Think of the immensity of what happened at that first advent: God with us. The infinite One, the One who fills the universe, became finite—even that tiny little baby in the womb of Mary. How the infinite God was able to be put into that form of man in such a tiny way is beyond our imagination. Really, we can only consider that God was able to do such a thing.
God was really kind of unknown up to that time, but now He would become known through His Son, Jesus. The Son of God was the omnipotent One, the all-powerful One. But when He chose to come as a man, He said, “I can do nothing of Myself.”
Even though He was the Son of God, He did not use His own power as the Son of God. It had to come from the Father. He limited Himself to His relationship with the Father, and the power that He exhibited on this earth came from His Father, not from within Himself as the Son of God.
He was indeed the Son of Man, depending totally on His Father. He was the omniscient One, the all-knowing One—knowing everything from the beginning to the end. Yet when He was on the earth, speaking of His second coming, He said that the angels did not know, He did not know, and only the Father knew.
All of that had to come from the Father.
He was also omnipresent as the Son of God—present everywhere. But as the Son of Man, He was limited to that body, that one body, just as you and I are. Wherever He was, that is where He was present; and where He was not in that body, He was not present.
The Almighty, the omniscient One, the omnipresent One, was now limited to this human body. He emptied Himself, as we know from the Word of God. He emptied Himself of these attributes that He might come in the form of a man.
Not only did He come in the form of a man, but He took upon Himself the form of a bondservant. He was a bondservant to God. That was God’s original intention for Adam: that man would become a bondservant of God. But Adam failed. We know that; we know that we have failed. But He did not.
A bondservant—that was the original intention for man. He was not only the Son of God, but He was the Son of Man, and He would be the Savior of the world: God’s Lamb.
What has really impressed me over the last few weeks, as I have thought about His second coming and the need to be prepared for it, is those who were with Him and surrounded Him—those who were involved in His first coming, particularly at His birth.
At His birth, He was still hidden from most of the world. He did not enter into His public ministry until He was thirty years old, preceded, of course, by the forerunner, John the Baptist. But in those very first days, there were a few who amazingly knew who He was and recognized Him.
I call these ones the firstfruits—the ones who met Him right in the very beginning, while He was still hidden. If you can bear with me, I would like to read some Scriptures to refresh us concerning these ones who were with Him at His birth and in His early childhood.
Luke 1:5-7 says:
There was in the days of Herod, king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abijah; and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.
Speaking of their son, John the Baptist, Luke 1:15-17 says:
For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink no wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
And many of the children of Israel shall he turn unto the Lord their God.
And he shall go before His face in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to walk in the wisdom of the just; to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for Him.
Luke 1:26-33 tells us that in the sixth month—meaning Elizabeth had been pregnant for six months—the angel Gabriel was sent from God to Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
And he came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women.
Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God.
And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call His name Jesus.
Mary asked, “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” The angel answered:
The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee: wherefore also the holy thing which is begotten shall be called the Son of God.
And behold, Elisabeth thy kinswoman, she also hath conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her that was called barren.
For no word from God shall be void of power.
Mary’s response was simple and beautiful:
Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.
Mary arose in those days and went with haste into the hill country, to the house of Zacharias and Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the babe—John the Baptist—leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Luke 2:4-7 says:
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David;
to enrol himself with Mary, who was betrothed to him, being great with child.
And it came to pass, while they were there, the days were fulfilled that she should be delivered.
And she brought forth her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
And there were shepherds in the same country abiding in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock.
And an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them, Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people:
for there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.
The shepherds came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in the manger. Then Luke 2:20 says:
And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, even as it was told unto them.
After Mary’s forty days of purification, Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord.
And when the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were fulfilled, they brought Him up to Jerusalem, to present Him to the Lord.
Luke 2:25-32 says:
And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
And it had been revealed unto him by the Holy Spirit, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
And he came in the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, that they might do concerning Him after the custom of the law,
then he received Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,
Now lettest Thou Thy servant depart, Lord, according to Thy word, in peace;
For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation.
Then there was Anna, the prophetess, of the tribe of Asher. She was of great age and had been married seven years before her husband died. She was a widow of about eighty-four years, and she did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fastings and supplications night and day.
And coming up at that very hour she gave thanks unto God, and spake of Him to all them that were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
Matthew 2:1-2 says:
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying,
Where is He that is born King of the Jews? for we saw His star in the east, and are come to worship Him.
Then, in Matthew 2:11:
And they came into the house and saw the young child with Mary His mother; and they fell down and worshiped Him; and opening their treasures they offered unto Him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.
They were warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, and they departed into their own country another way.
A lot was going on at the birth of Jesus. But I like to refer to these ones as firstfruits—the ones whose hearts were ready, even when the rest of the nation’s heart was not yet prepared through the message of John the Baptist. These ones were ready for the Lord, ready to receive Him and recognize Him.
First of all, there were Elizabeth and Zacharias. Zacharias was a priest of the priestly family, and Elizabeth also was of a priestly family. They were well versed in the Scriptures. It says they were righteous before God, walking in all His commandments and ordinances, blameless.
Elizabeth was barren, and the Lord did a miracle for her because they were in their old age. God raised up a forerunner for Christ through them.
I think it is interesting that right off the bat, the Holy Spirit recognizes the need for belief. Zacharias went into the temple and received the revelation that they were going to have this son, the forerunner of Christ. He was astounded and said, “I do not know how this can happen. We are so old.”
And remember, the angel rebuked him. It was unbelief. He needed to believe. From the very beginning, it was clear that believing hearts were essential. To prepare the way for the Lord requires a believing heart.
Gabriel came to Mary, this virgin, and told her that she was going to conceive a Son by the Holy Spirit. She would call His name Jesus, for He would save His people from their sins. This One would be called the Son of God.
I have always liked Mary’s pure, simple, submissive, and willing spirit: “Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” That was her response. One who was ready. One whom I would call a firstfruit.
And then Joseph. Joseph was obviously very concerned about what was happening. Mary had come to him and told him, and he was struggling with it. In those days, if a woman had a child out of wedlock, she could possibly be stoned to death. He was concerned about Mary and was thinking about sending her away privately.
But the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph and told him what was happening. His response was that he did as the angel of the Lord told him and took Mary to be his wife.
That probably was not an easy thing. But he was obedient to the Lord.
The shepherds were in the field, watching their flocks by night. All of a sudden the angels appeared in the sky and said, “We bring good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.”
The message that was to be sent to the whole world was first sent to these simple shepherds in the field, taking care of the sheep. What was their response? They came with haste to see this great thing.
After seeing Jesus, they returned, glorifying and praising God. Their hearts were so full. They had seen the Savior. They were ready for the Savior. He appeared to them as a babe.
Joseph and Mary took Jesus to the temple after Mary’s forty days of purification. They came to offer sacrifice—two doves or pigeons, which was the least expensive sacrifice that could be made. In other words, they were poor. Jesus was born into poverty.
They came simply obeying the Lord. And as they entered, there was an old man called Simeon.
Brothers and sisters, when he saw this little baby—and I do not know how many babies he had seen over the years being brought into that temple—as soon as he saw this baby, without any explanation at all, without Mary or Joseph saying anything, he said, “This is He. This is the One I have been looking for.”
He had been promised that before he died, he would see the Savior of Israel. And now he saw Him.
Why did he recognize Him? If you read the Scripture closely, it says the Spirit had led him there that day, and the Spirit was upon him. He was a spiritual person.
I love his response: “Let Thou Thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation.” His whole life seems to have been given to this one thing: that he had to see the Savior before he died.
The Lord is coming back soon. It is possible that we are going to see the Savior before we die. Anyway, I just love the heart of this man.
Then Anna the prophetess. She was eighty-four years old when Jesus was brought to the temple. From the best I can figure, from the time her husband died, she had gone into the temple and given herself to prayer concerning the coming Messiah.
Fastings and prayers, day and night, in the temple—probably around sixty years she had been diligently and faithfully praying, being before God. What a heart. Certainly, a firstfruit to Christ.
She too instantly recognized Him. As soon as Simeon recognized Him, she did too, and went up and gave glory to God.
Lastly were the wise men—Gentiles. They were called Magi. They studied the stars, but they studied a lot of things. They were very intelligent people, most likely from the courts of Persia, Iran today, or from Babylon.
Remember Daniel was in the court. He was one of the wise men in the court of the king of Babylon. So here we find that wise men came from the east. We do not know for sure, but most likely that is where they came from.
It was almost an eight-hundred- to one-thousand-mile journey from there to Jerusalem. That is a long way on a camel. I mean, it was not even a car or a plane or a train. It was on a camel.
They had to have an entourage. We are not sure how many wise men there were. Some think there might have been three because there were three different gifts. But whatever the number, there were wise men who came.
They were not there at the actual birth of Jesus. They saw the star in the sky. I thought about that: why were they looking for this specific star? The Word does not tell us this, so do not think that this is directly from Scripture, but Numbers 24:17 contains a prophecy:
There shall come forth a star out of Jacob.
When they came, they asked, “Where is He that is born King of the Jews?” They knew He was a King. They knew the star represented a King, and it was the King of the Jews.
They offered those gifts. Gold meant that they recognized His kingship. Frankincense showed that He was also a priest, for the priest offered incense. Most kings are not priests, but Christ is the priestly King. And they offered myrrh, which, of course, spoke of His death at Calvary.
Brothers and sisters, these Gentile wise men came. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him and gave Him these gifts.
As I mentioned, this was His first advent. It almost seems to me that it came in two parts. First, when He was born, there were those who were ready for Him and recognized Him even at His birth. But later, John the Baptist began to preach, the whole nation was awakened, and Christ was ready to begin His public ministry.
I think at His second coming, part of the Lord’s parousia—part of what is called His presence—actually begins with the rapture of firstfruits, raptured to the throne. They are the ones who join Him in that hidden part, and they join Him in coming back to the cloud.
Then, from the cloud, He makes Himself public, and all the world sees Him as lightning across the sky. It seems like there are some real parallels here.
Brothers and sisters, I think the Lord desires firstfruits so much. I said this one Wednesday night: there is nothing tastier, nothing better, than the first ripened fruit.
When I was in Florida, we actually lived in an orange grove. I could reach out the window and pick an orange off the tree. I will tell you what, there is no better tasting orange than one that is tree-ripened. Everything else has been picked green and eventually ripens, but nothing has the flavor of that tree-ripened fruit.
The same is true for tomatoes. We have Hanover tomatoes here. I will tell you what, there is nothing better than that first vine-ripened tomato in the summer. I love them. In fact, after I said this last time, somebody gave me a bag of vine-ripened tomatoes, which I was very pleased to have.
But the point is, that is what the Lord is looking for: firstfruits—people I would call firstfruits.
Let us look a little deeper at these ones we have talked about. What is the real thing in their lives that makes them firstfruits?
With Zacharias and Elizabeth, it says that they were righteous before God. There were a lot of priests in those days, but it appears to me that these were righteous and walked in the ways of the Lord. In other words, it was more than just performing a function. For Zacharias, his heart was really in it.
Though he faltered in his belief, he had a believing heart. The Lord had to adjust him a little bit, but he had a believing heart.
What stands out about these two is that they had a heart to seek after righteousness. They were righteous, walking in the ways of God. Righteousness.
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Seeking righteousness—righteousness.
Think of Joseph. What about Joseph? He had a good heart, did he not? He could have taken Mary and said that she needed to be stoned. But his heart was not that way. Even more than that, once it was clear to him what the Lord was doing, it says he obeyed. He had an obedient heart.
And I think of Mary. When I hear her response, I think of what a tremendous thing it was to come to a teenager, most likely, and say, “You have found favor with God.”
Do you not want the Lord to be able to come to you and say, “I have found favor with you”? He found favor with her.
In her simple heart, I want to say she had a pure heart. She was not perfect; she was like we are. But, brothers and sisters, she had a pure heart for the Lord and simply said, “I am Your handmaid.”
A handmaid was not like the maids are today. Handmaidens served their master. The ones from the Orient know this because they still practice this today. The servants stand back, but they are always observing. They are very observant, and they watch their master.
As soon as the master makes a glance or a little gesture of his finger, they know what the master wants and immediately respond. They do not have to be told anything. They do it out of love for the master. A pure heart—a pure heart.
The shepherds in the field—I like these guys. They are the hard-working blue-collar workers. They are the ones who pick up our trash, build our buildings, and sweat. They are not in the office like I am, in the air conditioning. They are out there sweating.
I work with contractors, because I go out in the field a lot in the summer and winter. I am always amazed: one-hundred-degree heat, and they are out there working. Below freezing—and not often below zero around here—but below freezing, they are still out there working. Tough guys.
The shepherds in those days were not very high in society. They were considered probably the lowest in society. But these shepherds—the angels appeared to them with that message of joy for the world, glad tidings—and they were so excited. They were so excited.
They had grateful hearts, grateful that they had received this message. And they made haste.
Many people say that most likely these shepherds were shepherding the sheep that would be used for sacrifice. There were many sheep sacrificed at Passover, and many think that it is likely they were shepherds over those sheep.
But now they were going to see God’s Lamb, the Lamb of God, to whom all those sacrifices pointed. A good heart, a wholehearted heart for the Lord.
Simeon, the old man—I see in Simeon a longing heart, a longing heart for the coming of the Lord. Such a desire. His whole passion seemed to be for the Lord to come, to see the coming Lord and King.
God granted him his desire and answered his heart. As soon as he saw this little baby—he had probably seen thousands of babies—he knew it. He knew it.
I think of Anna, this dear sister, who gave her whole life to fasting and prayer for the coming of the Lord. I see hers as such a passionate heart—a passionate heart for the coming of the Lord. How she rejoiced when she saw Him. These were the first ones, the firstfruits.
And even the wise men, the Gentiles. He was going to be a light unto the Gentiles. I am so thankful that these men had what you might call an inquisitive heart.
There was this star. A special star had appeared. What was it about? Somehow, brothers and sisters, through the work of God, they realized that this was the star that pointed to the coming King. They just knew it.
They were not merely satisfied that they had this special knowledge of a coming King. They had to come and worship.
A worshiping heart. An inquiring heart for the Lord. And the gifts they offered show something of their recognition of who this baby was: gifts for a King—gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Here is the point of all of this: it is the heart that God looks at—our hearts.
It says that God owns the cattle on a thousand hills. He has everything in the universe; it is His. But there is one thing that He does not have unless we give it to Him—one thing that He greatly desires. That is our heart.
That is what He so greatly desires: pure hearts, longing hearts, desiring hearts, hearts given to Him. In other words, brothers and sisters, He is looking for those whose whole being is given to Him. That is the simple thing He asks of us.
I am humbled that the Almighty God so desires our heart. He is not just looking for robots to do things or to serve Him. He is looking for our heart. He wants to have a heart relationship.
So I come this morning saying that we should all desire to be firstfruits of the Lord—to have the kind of heart that He can respond to, the kind of heart that recognizes Him even when others do not.
These people had hearts for the Lord. They found favor with the Lord. They were looking for the Savior to come. They were just and devout people, believing in the Lord. They were led by the Spirit, diligent, responsive, and responsible. These were His firstfruits.
The Lord is coming again. I think He is looking for these pure hearts to draw Him back. It is our heart—our longing heart—that will draw Him back, I think.
In the second advent, He will come publicly eventually. He will break the cloud, come down, and touch the Mount of Olives with His feet.
But before He went into His public ministry, something was needed: the way needed to be prepared. That brings us to John the Baptist.
We remember something already of John the Baptist. He came six months before our Lord Jesus. When John was six months in the womb of Elizabeth, Mary came to Elizabeth after the angel had told her that the Holy Spirit would conceive in her a baby, that He would be the Son of God.
Mary went to her cousin Elizabeth and spent three months with her, almost to the birth of John the Baptist. But I always like this: when Mary presented herself, most likely she was pregnant with Jesus at that time. We do not know for sure, but most likely. John leaped in the womb. He leaped in the womb.
Now, brothers and sisters, just as an aside: what people today call fetuses are babies, and they are sensitive. John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit even as a baby in the womb of his mother.
Do not think that the Holy Spirit cannot move upon our children. Do not think that we have to be highly knowledgeable in order to know the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit came upon this young man, and he was dedicated from birth to the Lord. May all our children be dedicated to the Lord Jesus.
His mother was not allowed to drink wine, neither did he drink wine, because he was a Nazarite. The vow of a Nazarite was that they would serve God and fulfill their vow by giving themselves totally to God. John was a Nazarite from birth. All his life he gave himself to the Lord. He was full of the Spirit in the womb.
It also says in those Scriptures that he would come in the spirit and power of Elijah. What is the spirit and power of Elijah? The spirit of Elijah is his zeal for the Lord—how zealous he was for the Lord and for the things of the Lord.
He faced tremendous opposition in his day and even confronted the king about his sins. He was zealous for the Lord in preparing the way of the Lord.
We also know that Elijah was a man of great prayer. He stopped it from raining, and then he started it again. He was a powerful man in prayer.
John lived that separated life out in the desert as he prepared to be the forerunner of Christ. He spent his life in the desert, eating very simply, living very simply, not strongly connected to the world.
John gained a great knowledge of who Christ was through the Spirit. He was able to testify with a living testimony. When he saw Christ, he said, “Here is the Son of God.” He recognized Him. He was the Son of God.
Then he said, “He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” We need to know the Son of God. He is our Lord and Master. We need to know the Lamb of God as our Savior.
John also said that He is the Baptizer in the Holy Spirit. John knew it. The Holy Spirit had been upon John all his life.
And on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit baptized those one hundred and twenty into one body, the church, which was to become His vessel to prepare for His second coming.
The thing about John’s message was that it shook the nation of Israel out of its lethargy. For four hundred years they had not heard a word from the Lord. All they had was the message of Malachi. What was Malachi’s message? Repent.
What was John the Baptist’s message? “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Now the whole nation became alive to the immediacy of the kingdom of heaven. Indeed, the kingdom of heaven was in their midst. It was Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
Brothers and sisters, I am thankful that John was able to wake that nation out of its spiritual lethargy. We know today that we live in the age of Laodicea. What does it say about Laodicea? Lukewarm hearts, lukewarm lives, lukewarm passion for the Lord.
I am hoping that today, in this hour, right before He comes, He can prepare us with His Word. May it bring us out of our lethargy and lukewarmness so that we will be ready for Him.
This seems to be a real key: this matter of repentance. Why is this repentant spirit so essential before the Lord comes? It was essential before His first public ministry, and it will be essential as we prepare for Him now. Because repentance prepares the way of the Lord.
John’s baptism was not believer’s baptism. It was a baptism of repentance. Those who were baptized by John recognized that they had repentant hearts. They knew they were not ready for the kingdom, and they needed a repentant heart.
Baptism means that we go into death. Everything of the old man goes into death, and all that is new in Christ comes forth out of the grave into resurrection. That is what baptism means. That is why he said, “You need to repent,” and it is symbolized in baptism.
Brothers and sisters, the Lord has impressed on me that I am not ready. I do not know how you feel about yourself, but are you really ready?
I think it is very interesting that the Reformation began when Martin Luther nailed the Ninety-five Theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg. Do you know what the first thesis was? Listen:
When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, “Repent,” He called for the entire life of the believer to be one of repentance.
The very first thesis: a life of repentance. Not merely a one-time thing when we first come to the Lord, but a life of repentance.
What is this life of repentance? In the prophecy concerning John the Baptist, it says that every valley needs to be filled. In other words, brothers and sisters, repentance involves filling the valleys: the sinful things in our lives, the things we have committed that are not of the Lord, and the omissions we have left in our life and avoided. These need to be filled and taken care of.
It says the mountains and hills will be brought low, or leveled. What does that represent? Our pride, our arrogance, our self-sufficiency. It really represents me being in charge of my life.
The crooked must be made straight: deceitfulness, lies, manipulation. These need to be dealt with.
The rough places must be made plain. Simply, our flesh—our self-life—needs to be dealt with: our self-centeredness, our self-righteousness, our self-love. It all needs to be dealt with.
This is a continual work of the Holy Spirit through the cross and through the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. In other words, as Martin Luther said, life should be a life of continual repentance. Repentance prepares the way of the Lord.
That is the glorious part about it: it prepares the way of the Lord.
Repentance is more than recognizing something wrong. It is more than being regretful about what we have or have not done. It is even more than changing our mind. It is indeed a change of direction. It is turning away from what you are to the Lord.
Repentance is being real with the Lord. Repentance brings fruit that changes our life, changes our attitude, changes our deeds, and changes our conduct.
It is time to be serious about getting ready for the Lord. We cannot afford to be complacent. We need to be repentant.
I do not want to leave us heavy, so let me say this: you cannot work up repentance.
Esau sought repentance with tears, it says, and he could not find it. You cannot work it up.
Repentance is a grace of God’s Spirit. It is a gift. It is an act of the Holy Spirit in your life. That is what brings repentance.
Repentance does not originate within yourself. Our own hearts are stubborn and rebellious. It will not originate there. It will originate with the Spirit moving on your heart. It originates with God.
Romans 2:4 tells us that it is God’s kindness that leads you to repentance. It is God’s kindness that leads you to repentance.
Brothers and sisters, I do not know about you, but I would like to be a firstfruit to the Lord. As much as many times I am grieved, grief for our sins is not enough. Grief for what we are is not enough. There needs to be repentance.
But praise the Lord, there is a way to repentance. The kindness of the Lord, through the work of the Holy Spirit, convicts us—not only convicts us, but brings us through by His grace into that real spirit of repentance, turning our lives to Him, a heart for Him.
In this last hour, John the Baptist was a real vessel to bring in the Lord, to prepare the people for the way of the Lord. Today, we, His people, are also the ones who need to prepare the way of the Lord.
Repentance is needed more by His people than by the world. But the world needs repentance too. We need to be able to show the world a way to prepare for the coming of the Lord.
Lord Jesus, we just come to You today. We are thankful, Lord, that the whole world right now kind of thinks about Your first coming and Your birth. Lord, they have no idea of the immensity of what happened on that day—the tremendous change that was about to come to this world through the birth of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.
Lord Jesus, we thank You that You have redeemed us from our sins. But, Lord, we want to be firstfruits to You. We want to have those passionate, longing hearts, pure hearts, hearts given to You, Lord Jesus.
Lord, we like to keep parts of our heart for ourselves. Lord, we want to have a heart fully for You.
And Lord, I do want to say that even though Your Holy Spirit touches us and at times we are grieved over our sins, we know that is not enough. Lord, in Your kindness, bring about true repentance in our hearts. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.