Skip to main content

Preparing the Way of the Lord Part Two - Repentance

Recently as I was praying, I kept hearing the words, “Prepare the Way of the Lord.” Why do we need to prepare the way of the Lord? We must prepare for a visitation from the Lord. Joshua spoke to the children of Israel in Joshua 3:5 and instructed them to "sanctify yourselves for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you."

To sanctify means to be set apart. In sanctification we are set apart from sin, and set apart unto God. He sanctifies us for a holy purpose. Joshua instructed the children of Israel to prepare for a visitation from the Lord. This is a day of preparation. God is visiting His people and we must prepare ourselves for His holy visitation.

John the Baptist's assignment was to prepare the way of the Lord. He was a voice crying out in the wilderness. His message is found in Matthew 3:1– 2 - “In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

The Word Wealth of the "Spirit Filled Life Study Bible" defines repentance as “a decision that results in a change of mind, which in turn leads to a change of purpose.” Some people will interpret repent as only to turn. But it is much more than that. It is a change of mind that results in a change of purpose.

The Lord is calling us to repent of the mindsets that have held us in bondage. Religious mindsets that have held us in the powerless traditions of man. Lustful mindsets that hold us in bondage to lust. Romans 12:1-2 – “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

If we are going to know the will of God and understand what we are supposed to do in these last days we must have our minds renewed. Our minds must be renewed so that we will not be conformed to the world’s thinking. The Bible teaches in I John 1:15-17 “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”

Repentance prepares the way of the Lord. The first call of the kingdom is a call to repentance. We must come clean with God both personally and corporately so that we can prepare ourselves for a visitation of His glory.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rebuilding the Broken Altar of Prayer

In Matthew 21: 12-13 , “ Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 13 And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’” Jesus made this declaration, “My house shall be called a house of prayer!”  I believe that God is calling us back to the altar of prayer.  For several weeks the Lord has dealt with me about rebuilding the broken altar of prayer in our personal and corporate lives.  If we are going to see spiritual breakthrough in our churches and communities then we must rebuild and return to the altar of prayer. Wayman Rogers writes, “The ministry of prayer is the most important of all ministries in the church.  Prayer creates the atmosphere and binds the powers of darkness so the gospel of Jesus can go forward and the church can prosper.  This is the area that
Post a Comment
Read more

The Shout of a King is Among Them

Numbers 23:21 - “He has not observed iniquity in Jacob, Nor has He seen wickedness in Israel. The Lord his God  is  with him, And the shout of a King  is  among them.” In this passage of Scripture, the king of Moab had hired the prophet Balaam to speak a curse over the children of Israel.   He saw Israel as a threat to his kingdom.   Numbers 22:2-3 – “Now Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. And Moab was exceedingly afraid of the people because they were many, and Moab was sick with dread because of the children of Israel.” When the enemy sees the people of God rising up in faith, he becomes very concerned and moves to keep us from fulfilling our assignment.   We learn in Numbers, Balaam could only speak what the Lord gave him to speak.   Instead of a curse he speaks a blessing. The enemy seeks our destruction, but God!   Listen to the conversation between God and Satan in Job 1:8-10, “Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you conside
Post a Comment
Read more

I Hear the Sound of Abundance of Rain

I Hear the Sound of Abundance of Rain 1 Kings 18:41-46 Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.”  42  So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees,  43  and said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” And seven times he said, “Go again.” 44  Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, “There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!” So he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.’” 45  Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel.  46  Then the hand of the Lord came upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.        One of the most fasci
2 comments
Read more