← ArchiveLuke (That you may know)Sunday, February 7, 2016DateFebruary 7, 2016Speaker—TextLuke 3Passages in this sermonLuke 30:00Luke 10:41John 1:19:20Jeremiah 2311:11Luke 1213:53Romans 8:223:502 Corinthians 4:1727:18TranscriptMachine transcribed. Click any line to jump there.0:00Good morning. If you have your Bibles, please turn to Luke chapter 3. Luke chapter 3 this morning, and we continue as a church our journey through the book of Luke. This is our second week, second sermon on the book of Luke.0:29And we're continuing the theme that Luke even gives us, that you may know. Luke 1 verse 4 says, I have written you that you may know with certainty. So today the message is entitled, that you may know that the way of the Lord is prepared. That you may know the way of the Lord is prepared. Luke chapter 3 in verse 2.0:59Think with me now to grade school. I don't know if you're on this side of grade school or on this side. I know we have our children with us today. But think with me back to your recollection of grade school. Are you there? Now think specifically to second grade. I know we're going to get there. So second grade.1:29Are you there? Okay. I remember my second grade teacher, Miss Massey. And for me, I was never a nervous child. But starting school every year created anxiety. A new desk. A new row. My high school. My grade school is not large. We had four different classes. And so I knew that some of my students in my class would be familiar and some would not be familiar. And so I prepared myself to begin.2:00And so we would, I would leave my parents' van, I guess it was that time, Aero Star. If you remember the Ford Aero Stars. It was a box with wheels. It was like a Pinewood Derby car. So they would take me to school and I would have to go a new route to get to my classroom. And then we throw this onto our children. We call it back to school shopping. And really, if you don't know, if you're not familiar with that term, this is what happens today.2:30You go to the store. Some of you Walmart. And it seems like you, everyone goes at the same time, the same night. And you go to the same console and you pull out your piece of paper. And then it's a mad dash to get your pencils and your erasers. And then afterwards, if you go the day after back to school shopping, it looks like someone actually blew up aisle three. I mean, it is. I mean, you can't find a pencil in the store.3:00And we prepare our students for that grade. For me, I remember second grade vividly because I was able to get a trapper keeper. Right? I think mine had like a Lamborghini on it. A red car. For those who are students who are like, what is that? A trapper keeper is basically a fancy binder with Velcro that closes it. You are missing. You, youth, you don't realize how cool I was in second grade.3:29Okay? With that trapper keeper in there. But here's the struggle. None of that matters. That's not the purpose of my second grade experience. And I remember second grade vividly for this reason. We learned fractions. And my teacher was a wonderful teacher. And here's what she did. One week, she had us all bring candy bars in. And she made us learn fractions and candy bars. And the larger the fraction you told her, the more of the candy bar you got to eat.3:57And Miss Massey, I want you to know, it took me one day to learn fractions because I love candy. And I still know fractions to this day. But that is not the purpose of our education. Why did we prepare? Why did I prepare that much? Why did I have that cool trapper keeper to prepare me to learn? All of that would have been wasted if I learned nothing in second grade.4:24Now, my parents still might argue what I learned in second grade. And even today, the Lord, if we prepare that much for our education and school, how much more so does the Lord prepare our hearts to know his son, Jesus Christ? And what we see in the history of the Bible is that everything until Luke chapter 3 is pointing us to the one who is going to come and save us from our sins.4:52Remember last week that we may know this child saves. We will call his name Jesus. Why? Because he will save us from our sins. Everything in the Bible is preparing us to meet Jesus Christ. And everything until that moment of history until now is preparing us still to live out the truth and the grace of Christ in our lives. So with that, let's read Luke 3, verse 2 through 6 this morning.5:21Luke 3, verse 2. While Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. And if you want to, if you have your pens, if you want to highlight, you can circle word, you can circle wilderness. We're coming back to that. As it is written in the voice of the word of Isaiah, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord.5:46Make his path straight. Every valley shall be filled. Every mountain and hill brought low. The crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth. And all flesh shall see the salvation of our God.6:16Let's pray. Father, you have prepared us in our lives to know and believe in your son, Jesus Christ. And Lord, I thank you personally for the testimonies that we saw earlier. Lord, of young and old, saying that we want to show the world we believe in Jesus Christ. I thank you for the testimony of baptism.6:44Lord, we celebrate the resurrection of our Savior. Lord, you have prepared our hearts. Father, may we hear your voice. May we respond to your message. And Lord, may we live out a life that is dedicated fully to being servants of the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Father, prepare us. If there are mountains in the way, make them low. If there are valleys that keep us away, fill them. Lord, if there are crooked paths in our life, make them straight for the sake of your name.7:14And I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen and amen. Well, how does the Lord prepare us? That you may know the way of the Lord is prepared. He first prepares us. Look at verse 2. He prepares us. He prepares you with his word. He prepares you with his word. Words have power. Ernest Hemingway once wrote a six-word story, and it goes like this.7:41Six words. Four cell. Baby shoes. Never worn. Four cell. Baby shoes. Never worn. Think of the power in those words. As I was reading that this week, preparing for this message, I began to think and pray, Lord, what does that mean? We're never given the end of the story. Maybe those shoes are bought for a child that they never fit.8:10We're having trouble with our youngest daughter. She's a year old. We can't find shoes that fit her. Maybe that's what Hemingway is saying. But for those of you who have walked through the tragedy or know someone that has lost a child and have purchased clothes for that child that were never able to be worn, those words hit you differently, don't they? Those words have power. And if you walked, and I was able to visit with a family this week that lost a child, an adult child,8:36I want you to know this, that the Bible is very clear, in my opinion, that children, if they pass away, they are at the feet of their Heavenly Father. And the comfort in that, as difficult as this might be, is that the great love of a father and a mother for their child is even surpassed by their Heavenly Father. That God loves your child more than I could ever love my child.9:02And I want you to know that your child is worshiping right now at the feet of their Savior. Words have power, but the greatest word and the greatest words the world has ever known is this, John 1.1, in the beginning, was the Word. And the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John, in the Gospel of John, equates, he calls Jesus Christ the Word.9:27Why? Not the picture? Not the mouth? Not the letter? Not the text message or the Instagram photo? Why would John, I do not believe this is an accident, I know God's Word is purposeful, why would John tell us that Jesus Christ is the Word? Because words have power, and the greatest word the world has ever known is Jesus Christ.9:56And God sent His Son to prepare you. He prepared us for His Word, and He prepares us with His Word. So, how does He do that? Look at verse 2. When Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the Word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. Now, this is, an aside, you can go back and look at this. This is interesting on a whole different level. The Word of, the Word of God came to the son of Zacharias,10:25because when Zacharias heard he was going to have a child, he laughed, and God shut his mouth. So, the Word of God came to the son of a man who couldn't speak. Go home and let that sink in. He prepares us in our life by giving us His Word. We have no greater gift in our life than the Word of God. We have none. Through Jesus Christ, God gives us His Word to transform us.10:54And so, if we neglect God's Word, we are neglecting to say, God, prepare me, wash over me by the water and of Your Word. Jeremiah actually says this. I want you to listen to this verse. Jeremiah 23, 29 says, Is not my word like a fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock into pieces? I love the picture of Jeremiah, that God's Word is like a hammer.11:21Every time we hear God's Word, every time we read it, some of us take a lot of hammering. Some of us are so hard-hearted, but I want you to know, if that's you, you say, well, I don't believe that. That's fine, but every time God's Word is spoken to you, it is hammering away on your heart. And God's Word has a way to get a hold of us, to prepare us.11:50Some of you have come in here today, and I believe God's hammering on you right now. You have never taken the step to follow Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and show the world in obedience and baptism. And we have had examples today that say, what are you waiting on? And God is hammering on you right now. And I pray you're so uncomfortable with that sounds, that when the invitation is given, that you can't wait to respond to our Savior.12:20God prepares us with His Word. But He not only prepares us by giving us His Word. Look at verse 3. He went, John, into the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remissions of sin. So He not only prepares you by giving you His Word, He also prepares you to speak His Word. You see that? So the Word of God comes to John in verse 2, to prepare the world for the coming of Jesus Christ.12:50And then one verse later, what is John now doing? He's preaching the Word of God. And you might say, well, I'm not John the Baptist. You're right. John was a, he was a man's man. You know, he ate locusts and wild honey. He wore camel fur, lived in the desert places. And I've been in that area. There is nothing there. This is not a vacation home. This is not an oasis.13:20And you say, well, I'm not John. I'm not this fiery preacher. But God has prepared you. If you're a believer, He's prepared you to speak His Word. The one thing God does not do is prepare us to remain silent. Actually, God tells us what about being silent. If you stay silent, the rocks are going to cry out. He does not prepare us to be silent. And you say, well, I can't do that. I can't speak His Word. I know God has prepared me, but I just can't.13:50Luke 12, 11, Jesus says this. He says, don't worry. When they bring you to the synagogues and the magistrates and the authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer. So if you say, well, I don't know what to say. Jesus Christ says, don't worry about that. Why? Verse 12, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say. Jesus says, if you are worrying about what God's Word is going to do in your life14:22and say in your mouth, don't worry because the Holy Spirit has already been given that task. God prepares you by His Word that you may know the way of the Lord is prepared. The way of the Lord is prepared by His Word. Secondly, look at this, verse 2. While Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the Word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness.14:51So not only does God prepare you by His Word and with His Word to speak His Word, He also prepares a way in your life when you walk in the wilderness. Now you say, well, we don't really have desert places in Alabama much. But we all walk through difficult times, do we not? I have already been with a family this week that lost a child. We are going to pray over a family at the end of the service that has cancer15:20and struggling with that. We have a lady in our community that passed away of cancer and will be laid to rest this week. And their service will be at our church Tuesday. A young lady, principal, well-known. Those are wilderness places. And here is the beauty and the grace of Jesus Christ. That when we walk in the wilderness, what do we find?15:50We still find a voice crying out, making straight the path of our Savior. What is the wilderness? It is an uncultivated, uninhabited, and inhospitable region. An uncultivated, inhabited, and inhospitable region. Wilderness are places that no one wants to be. Have you ever been there? Maybe you've gone to a city and you found your place in a part of town16:18and you say, this is not good. You lock the doors. It says, place is a town where you see a stop sign, you're not stopping. Because you're hoping the policeman's going to stop you and tell you to get out of town. I had a friend one time that they were lost. I don't remember the city. But a policeman comes up to them and says, you're not supposed to be here. There's the exit. Get out. And you know what you do when you receive that message? Yes, sir. And actually, the policeman led them out.16:47Those are wilderness places. But spiritually, we all eventually will wander through difficult places. And when we do, the promise of the Lord is what? That there will be a voice. Even in the wilderness, there will be a voice. And look at verse 4. What is the voice doing in the wilderness? It is crying out. And what is it crying out? It is preparing the way of the Lord.17:15It is making his paths straight. For us, the wilderness is a place of difficulty. But in Jesus Christ, the wilderness can be a place of renewal. Of renewal. And you say, well, pastor, how can that be? How can I go through difficult times? How can I hear the word cancer as a diagnosis in my life? How can I see my loved ones pass away? How can I see tragedy and say, my God is good?17:42Because he renews us daily by his grace. And we would be fools to look at those things and say, man, I'm glad that happened. But we'd also be foolish to not see Jesus Christ in that and say, Lord, I don't have the strength, but I know you do. So if you're here and you are walking through the wilderness, I want you to know that maybe God is crying out today in your life that I am preparing the way.18:07Look at me. The paths are straight. I am preparing your life. He prepares you in the wilderness. Now, for our youth here, I'm glad you're so close to me. I can just talk to you guys. You might be looking at me and say, what is this? What is this guy? He's crazy. Life's not going to get tough. I just want to tell you, I don't want to be the harbinger of bad news, that there will be a day where life is difficult.18:37And we look around and some people here have grayer hair than others. Those are the days where you want to find one of those people and say, look, I know you've been through it. I know you've been in the wilderness. How did you survive? And those are the days where those people can say, only but the grace of Jesus Christ. That we can look and say, when I was in the wilderness, there was one voice.19:02And that one voice was crying out, and it was preparing the way of my Lord. I didn't know it then, but it was preparing the way of the Lord. Frederick Huntington said this. He said, sorrow is our John the Baptist. Clad in grim garments, with rough arms, a son of the wilderness, baptizing us with bitter tears, preaching repentance, and behind him comes the gracious, affectionate, healing Lord.19:32Speaking peace and joy to our soul. Are you ready for the renewal that sometimes is only found in the wilderness? He prepares you by his word. He prepares you in the wilderness. And then look at verse 2 again. While Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of the Lord came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.19:56And when he went to all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying, and listen to the words of the prophet Isaiah. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.20:20Every valley shall be filled. Every mountain and hill brought low. Every crooked place shall be made. Rough places and all flesh shall see the salvation of our Lord. He prepares you and I to respond to his grace. He prepares you with his word.20:50He prepares us in the wilderness. And he prepares us to respond. You say, well, how do you know that? Look at verse 10 in the same chapter. The people heard the message and you say, well, what message was that? People were coming to John the Baptist. And his message is this. You brood of viper snakes. Who sent you here? Can you imagine? Welcome to Bethel Baptist Church. You snakes. Who invited you here? And here is the power and conviction of the spirit of the Lord.21:21Look at verse 10. The people respond this way. What shall we do? What shall we do? Look at verse 12. Tax collectors come and they are known as scoundrels. They're cheaters. They steal money. And they say, teacher, what shall we do? Verse 14. Soldiers come and they ask, what shall we do? Over and over and over again, people are coming to John the Baptist.21:48And they're hearing the truth about Jesus Christ, the one who is to come. And the overwhelming response is what? What shall I do? And even in February on the 7th, 2016, we can say in Moody, Alabama, Lord, what shall we do? Lord, what shall we do? There are two responses to the gospel, I believe.22:17The first is this. When we hear the good news of Jesus Christ, it is suffocating to our sin. It is convicting and it is suffocating. I remember sitting in a pew. I probably would have been back in this direction. I have no clue what the preacher preached about. I remember sitting in that back pew and whatever was being preached, it was like someone took the air out of my lungs. It was suffocating. And I realized, Lord, I have sin in my life and there is no hope in myself.22:46And you know what I did? I did as any good badness and I grabbed that pew. And that pew started rocking. Because I didn't want to let go of my sin. I said, Lord, I don't know what this is, but I don't like it. Someone once said that snakes only come out when it's hot. And these snakes come out to John the Baptist and the word of God is getting in their life23:13and it is suffocating their sin. But the good news of Jesus Christ is this. If you will accept a free salvation in his son, your sin doesn't have to be suffocated, but you can have freedom in Jesus Christ. If you walk out of here and you say, I'm going to live in my sin, you're going to walk out of here without breath in your lungs because you cannot do it on your own. But if you walk out of here and you say, I want to surrender my life to Jesus Christ,23:41there is freedom in the truth of the grace of Christ. Romans 8.2 tells us this, There's two ways to respond. We can respond and we can say, Lord, what shall we do? And we see evidence in scripture. There's a rich young ruler that came to Jesus Christ and said,24:09good teacher, what must I do to be saved? And in case you think you're pretty good, listen to this. Here's what Jesus says. Jesus says, keep everything in the law. And you know what this rich young man said? Jesus, I've done it. Can you say that? Everything in your word, I've done. And Jesus looks into his heart and says this, but there's one more thing. Give everything that you have away to the poor.24:39Just give it away. And you know how the young man left? Suffocated. Because he had a lot. And he wasn't willing to give it up. By the way, Americans, we have a lot. We have a lot. And if you are here today and you say, I just don't, I don't know if I'm ready to believe yet. You're going to walk away sad. Suffocated.25:08Suffocated. Because there is no hope without Jesus. There is no hope. What shall we do? The good news is this. That Jesus Christ came to the wilderness to save snakes like me. Lord, what should we do that if we believe in our heart that God sent his son to save us? If we believe that he rose from the dead, if we confess with our mouth that he is Lord, the Bible says you will be saved.25:34Well, pastor, if I'm saved, why do I need to get baptized? Because we want to obey our Savior. My mouth tells what my heart is believing. My baptism proves what my heart, what my mouth is saying. And the fruits that I live later on will prove the baptism that I've done.25:59We believe that Jesus Christ came to save sinners. And God has prepared you to hear that. He prepares you with his word. He's prepared you in the wilderness. And if you're here today and you say, well, I believe, pastor, I'm done with that. But maybe you came in here and you are just, the world has beaten you up. And you say, I am in the wilderness.26:27I want you to know that for those who mourn, Jesus Christ says that they will be comforted. Those who are broken, they will be built up. Those who are sick, the Bible says, call the elders together, anoint them with oil, pray over them, and that the prayers of the faithful will raise that sick person up. And if there's sin in their life, those sins will be forgiven. If you're here today and you are in the wilderness, I want you to know, that there is one voice crying out in the wilderness, and it has prepared the way of our Lord.26:57And I pray that that word is refreshing to you, that you find in the wilderness a moment in time of refreshing. How does he prepare us, though? 2 Corinthians 4.17 says this, For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.27:26We do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. So, Lord, how can we be in the wilderness and find strength? Because we look not to the things which are seen. And if everything that you see is dry, know that one day Christ is going to redeem us.27:51And he's coming back to redeem the world, too. That there will be a new heaven and new earth. And he has come to offer you refreshing, that the dry bones will be resurrected. We're going to have right now a time of invitation. I'm going to ask our praise team to come up. The Lord has prepared us to know his son. He has prepared us to live out the truth of Jesus Christ.28:20And when we're in the wilderness, he has prepared us, because he sent a voice to make those mountains low, to make those valleys high. If you're rough today, Christ will smooth that out. If you're dry, he will give us waters of refreshing. But he has prepared us to respond. Won't you respond to the call of God on your life? God bless you.← Previous in Luke (That you may know)Sunday, January 31, 2016Next in Luke (That you may know) →Sunday, February 14, 2016More sermons on Luke →
