This week, there's been a lot of things that
have gone on in our community, in our world,
in our personal lives that leave people saying
things like, it's not supposed to be this way.
It shouldn't be this way. It was never supposed
to be like this. This isn't the way my life was
supposed to go. This isn't the way our world
is supposed to look. This isn't the way things
are supposed to be. And people are hurting. People
are suffering. They are struggling. They are
finding it very hard to just get out of bed in
the morning. And sadly enough, there are people
that feel like they just can't keep going. Not
the way things are going. And to that I say,
you're right. It is not supposed to be this way.
It was never supposed to be this way. As we talked
about last week, and as I'm a firm believer,
the gospel message says God never intended for
it to be this way. He intended for it to be a
better way, the Jesus way. And that's why we
are having this series, because people are hurting,
people are struggling, and it feels like the
church is not doing anything. It feels like the
church isn't saying anything. And to that, I
am challenging us to stop being complacent and
to follow Jesus because Jesus spoke, Jesus acted.
When he saw people hurting, Jesus did not sit
idly by. He gave his life. Regardless of what
the world says or does, we cannot sit idly by.
The church has to follow Jesus into the depths
of Hades and say, hey, follow us. We have the
way. We know the way. Our God came to this earth
and exemplified the way. He told us the way.
So you're right. It was not supposed to be this
way. And so over the next couple of weeks, we're
going to follow Jesus. We're going to look at
Jesus in the Gospel of Luke and see the way it
was supposed to be, the way we were supposed
to live, the life we were supposed to have, because
there is only one way that leads to eternal life.
There is only one way that leads to abundant
life, and it is through Jesus Christ. And so
we follow that way. We commit to living our lives
in that way. We commit to speaking that way.
And if we are not going to follow that way, then
we need to ask ourselves, are we really Christians?
And I don't like that word. I don't like the
word Christian. So let's rephrase that. If we're
not going to follow the way of Jesus, we need
to ask ourselves, are we disciples of Christ?
Because there is only one way to live. There's
only one way to speak that brings life to this
world, that brings light to this world, and that
is through the way of Jesus. And so, this morning
we continue in this series in the Gospel of Luke
where we're trying to see what exactly is that
way. Because we talk about following Jesus. We
talk about living like Jesus. We ask questions
like, what would Jesus do? What would Jesus say?
How would he say it? And so, we look at the Gospel
of Luke to say, well, what does the Bible say?
Because everything we do, everything we say has
to be rooted in Scripture. So I want us to continue
in our study in Luke. And so last week we looked
at the promise of the way and how long ago God
promised that he would send a Redeemer, he would
send a Savior that would show us the way we were
supposed to live. And today I want us to look
at the one who came before Jesus. And I have
to start with this question. And it's a little
lighthearted, but also kind of serious. Have
you ever been to somebody's house? and it felt
like it was very obvious that they weren't ready
for you to come over. Don't point at anybody.
Don't elbow anybody. But have you ever been to
someone's house and maybe it wasn't clean and
maybe the food wasn't ready and it felt like
there's no way they were prepared to have visitors.
There's no way they were prepared to have company.
I got to tell you right now, my house looks like
a train wreck. I've got two toddlers and they
are messy. And so I've got people coming over,
our small groups coming over to watch the Super
Bowl tonight. I got to go home and get ready
because if I don't, they're going to walk into
my house and say, yeah, it's obvious he was not
ready for visitors. And I don't want people to
say that. I want people to come over and say,
yeah, this house was prepared. In Luke chapter
1, we know that the arrival of the Son, or at
least the Scripture tells us, the arrival of
the Son of God, the arrival of the Savior, the
Messiah, the King of the universe is coming soon.
But before Jesus can come to this earth, someone
has to come to prepare the way so that the earth
is ready for its king. A special visitor is coming
and we've got to make sure that everything is
ready. And to that, I want to say, church, the
king is coming again and we need to ask ourselves,
is his home going to be ready? Is it prepared
for someone special to come over? Are we ready?
There's a child that's going to be born before
Jesus is born, and his name is John, and you
may know him as John the Baptist. He's pretty
popular. He's a very well -known guy when it
comes to Christianity, but something I think
people don't talk enough about is that John the
Baptist was actually prophesied and promised
in the Old Testament just like Jesus was. Back
in Isaiah, God promises the people of Israel
that the Lord would come, that a savior would
come. And so God makes this promise. But before
the Lord gets here, a messenger would come to
prepare the way. Isaiah chapter 40 verses 3 through
5 says this, speaking through Isaiah is saying
this messenger is going to be like a road grader.
He's going to come through kind of like a fullback.
We're talking about football because it's Super
Bowl Sunday. A fullback would be this road grader
to make sure the running back has an opportunity
to actually make a play. Now, in modern football,
they play like a bunch of sissies, so there are
no fullbacks, but I'm a proponent for bringing
back the I formation. Let's get a thick road
grader in there to make way for the running back
to get through the heart. And so what God is
saying is we're going to bring somebody in that's
going to prepare the way. He's going to open
up the way so that when Jesus comes, everything
is ready. Malachi 3 verse 1 puts it another way.
He says, Behold, I send my messenger and he will
prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom
you seek will suddenly come to his temple and
the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight.
Behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.
Again, God says. The Savior is coming. I promise
you he's coming. But before he gets there, someone
has to come to prepare the way before me. And
so here's what John's father, Zechariah, was
told in Luke chapter 1. verses 15 through 17,
he says, he will be great before the Lord and
he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, he being
John the Baptist, even from his mother's womb.
And he will turn many of the children of Israel
to the Lord their God. And he will go before
him in the spirit and power of Elijah to make
ready for the Lord a people prepared. See, the
angel is telling Zechariah that his son John
would be the one who's going to come to turn
the people back to God. He's going to come in
the power and in the spirit of Elijah. And so
if you know the Old Testament, you know Elijah
was a prophet. And Elijah was a prophet whose
message was to call Israel to repent, to turn
away from their idolatry, to turn away from the
way that they've kind of fallen in line with
the ways of the world, the way that they've just
kind of taken the world. at its word. And so
the people of Israel, they need to turn away
from that and go back to the one true God. That
was Elijah's message. And so when the angel comes
to Zechariah and says, your son, your child is
going to come in the spirit, the power of Elijah.
He says, your son is going to be the one that
tells Israel to turn away from the world and
go back to the one true God. Church, let me ask
you a question. Has the church fallen into the
trap of looking like the world and not following
the one true God? I'm going to say unequivocally,
yes. We've got a problem. We have a problem where
we have become like the people in Malachi, where
our worship, our devotion has become tainted,
and we need to make sure that our focus is solely
on one person, and that is Jesus, that our devotion
is solely to one God, and that is the God of
the universe, the God that has made this promise
from the beginning of time. We have gotten complacent.
We have gotten distracted, and that is something
we need to repent of. And so, John comes for
the same reason to say we need to turn back to
God. We need to be ready because the Messiah
is coming. This lines up perfectly what the prophecy
was in Malachi, what the prophecy was in Isaiah.
John is born in Luke 1, Jesus is born in Luke
2. Then John's work shows up in Luke 3 before
Jesus begins his ministry. And at this time,
Israel, they're under Roman rule. Israel is still
living under the law of Moses. We're priests.
They act as these go -betweens for the people
and God because at that time, people couldn't
just go directly to God. They had to have a mediator.
And so this is the time that John is being born
into and then eventually what Jesus is being
born into. And so what Luke tells us is that
the word of God came to John in the wilderness.
Does that sound familiar? Because back in that
Isaiah passage, It said a voice in the wilderness.
So what was prophesied way back in Isaiah, thousands
of years before John ever comes on the scene
is starting to be fulfilled. And so we get to
Luke chapter 3, verses 3 through 9. And I want
us to read this whole section and then we'll
discuss it. Luke chapter 3, verses 3 through
9. And he went into all the region around the
Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for
the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in
the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,
the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare
the way of the Lord, make his path straight.
Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain
and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall
become straight, and the rough places shall become
level ways, and all flesh shall see the salvation
of God. He said, therefore, to the crowds that
came out to be baptized by him, you brood of
vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath
to come? Bear fruits in keeping with repentance,
and do not begin to say to yourselves, we have
Abraham as our father. For I tell you, God is
able from these stones to raise up children for
Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root
of the trees. Every tree, therefore, that does
not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into
the fire. You see, just like Isaiah promised,
John comes preparing the way for the Messiah.
He comes preaching this message of repentance,
saying, hey, you need to turn away from everything
that you've been doing, all the distractions,
all of the things that you've let take you away
from God. Turn away from them. Turn away from
what the world has shaped you into so that you
can be ready for what Jesus is about to do. Because
you need to be prepared. You need to be ready.
You'll often hear people say things like, you
don't have to be perfect to be saved. You don't
have to have to have it all together. You don't
have to know it all before you can be used by
God. And to that, I would say, amen. You don't
have to be perfect to be saved. You don't have
to have it all together. You don't have to know
it all. But. We cannot confuse that with thinking
that God intends to leave us where we are. We
can't confuse that with thinking that God intends
us to leave us how we are. God doesn't want us
to be perfect before we come to Him, but He absolutely
wants us to be perfect. We also know that God
is gracious enough to know we ain't going to
be perfect. But He is going to do what He can
to get us as close there as possible in this
lifetime, and then when Jesus comes, we will
be perfect. The day is coming. But what John
is saying is, hey, you can't stay there. You
can't stay doing what you've been doing. You
can't keep living how you've been living. You
can't keep talking how you've been talking. You
cannot stay there. You've got to make some changes
because someone special is coming. Someone perfect
is coming and he is not coming to hang out with
people that have no desire to be better. A doctor
doesn't just go around sick people that want
to stay sick. I have this problem. And Eliza
loves this about me. I have a lot of issues.
I'm hurt all the time. My back is killing me
right now. I got bad knees. I got bad ankles.
I got a bad back. My neck hurts all the time.
But you know what I do? I just deal with it.
I just deal with the pain until it's unbearable.
And then I'll go to the doctor and the doctor
will diagnose whatever the issue is. And he'll
say, this is what you need to do. Give me the
prescription, right? So I had this back injury.
I go to the doctor finally after like four years
of suffering from it. I go to the doctor. He
tells me what I need to do. And so I did the
physical therapy for one physical therapy visit.
And it was boring and I hated it. So I never
went back. Guess what? My back still hurts. You
think a doctor has any desire to help me if I
don't care to help myself? No. So John comes
and he says, hey, the Savior's coming, the healer's
coming, but you've got to be ready to get healed.
You've got to be ready to be saved. And so he's
calling them to repentance. And I want to make
sure, like I said last week, I don't like to
use churchy words and not explain them because
I'm aware some of us don't know these words.
So the word repent, we're going to define that
as to be sorrowful over our sin and to turn away
from it, to change direction. Because if I'm
going to say I want to follow Jesus, I've got
to turn away from the things that are unlike
Jesus. Jesus is not trying to go where I've been
going. He's got a better destination. And so
I've got to turn away from those things. And
it's important to understand something about
this preparation that's taking place in scripture.
John does not come to tell the people to fix
themselves so that God would love them. I want
to make that abundantly clear. John's not telling
them you've got to get it together in order for
God to like you. John came because God was already
on the move, acting in love toward them. As we
discussed last week, God has been on a mission
to save us from the moment man sinned. And this
is a part of it. This is a part of that mission.
And repentance... Repentance is not the price
of admission into God's family. It's the appropriate
response to being invited in the first place.
It's a response of love. Romans 2, 4 tells us
God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance.
We repent. We turn away from our sin, not to
earn God's love, but because God has already
shown us a great love. So I want to be clear.
John is preparing the way not by handing people
a checklist, not by telling people what they've
got to do in order to be liked by God. John is
preparing the way by making the people aware
that God is graciously inviting them into his
family, regardless of where they come from. regardless
of what they look like, regardless of what language
they speak, regardless of what they have done
in their past, regardless of what they're doing
in their present, God is inviting them into his
family. And repenting, turning away is important.
As we see John, what he says in verse nine is
that those who don't bear good fruit, those that
are not bearing good fruit are going to be cut
down when Jesus comes. Sounds like a Johnny Cash
song. Sooner or later. God will cut you down.
That's what John the Baptist said, right? He
said, if you're not bearing good fruit, if you're
not doing the right things, if you're not showing
that you have been changed by God and the Holy
Spirit, you will be cut down. And he kind of
goes a little bit further. He says, not only
will you be cut down, but you're getting thrown
in the brush pile that gets burned. And what
happens when it gets burned? It's gone forever.
So he's calling the people, and that's a little
hellfire and brimstone, but John doesn't care,
so neither do I. You've got to turn away from
the sin. You've got to stop doing what you've
been doing and get on board with the Jesus way,
which is kind of foretelling because Jesus hadn't
come yet. But John's saying there's a new way
coming. Because if we simply ask for forgiveness,
but we don't change our way of living, if we
simply ask God to forgive us and we say, God,
will you let me into your family, but we don't
bear good fruit, how will our life be ready when
Christ returns? What will he find? Again, this
isn't about earning, and I hope it doesn't sound
like that. It's about showing that the preparation
and change has taken root. It's about showing
that something different is going on within us.
And so the question for us becomes, what have
we been doing? Because Scripture speaks to the
people then, and it speaks to the people now.
And so for the people then, John is saying, hey,
whatever you've been doing, it needs to change.
And you will be judged based on what you have
done. and what Christ has done in you. Now, we
know the answer to what Christ has done in us.
We know Jesus has come. He's died on the cross.
He's rose from the dead. He has saved us. He's
offered us a free gift of redeemed life. We know
that. Hopefully, if you didn't know that, I'm
telling you now. Jesus has come. He's offered
you the free gift of a redeemed life. Okay, all
got that baseline, right? Then the question becomes,
what fruit am I bearing? What fruit has my life
bore? What does my life look like? When people
see me, do they see someone who has been changed?
Do they see someone who has turned away from
the sinful ways of the world and has started
living like Jesus? What does my life look like?
What have I been doing? I'll put it another way.
When I was little, my grandma would go to work.
She'd leave us at home. And on the kitchen table
would be a list of things we needed to get done
while she was at work. dishes need to be washed,
trash need to be taken out, living room need
to be vacuumed, beds need to be made, blah, blah,
blah, blah, blah. You know, the chore list, the
worst list in the world. At the bottom of the
list though, my grandma in her amazing way of
words, she would write, do this or else trouble,
exclamation point. Now, My grandma is from the
Philippines. She stopped going to school around
like the third grade there because that's just
a thing they do. And so my grandma's English
is not very well or very good. Neither is mine
apparently. Yeah. So my grandma writing this
message at the bottom saying do this or else
trouble exclamation point was her saying a lot
of words. In other words, my grandma was saying
you're going to get tore up if I get home and
this isn't done. Because she would come home
and she would look at us with no other responsibilities
and say, what have you been doing all day? And
so maybe you've been here before. You know what
a clock looks like. And you know what time your
parent gets home from work. So I knew my grandma
would get home from work around 5, 36 o 'clock.
And I knew that we lived in an apartment complex
right next to the Winn -Dixie that my grandma
worked at. I knew it took her about four to five
minutes to walk there. She had little legs, so
it took her a long time to walk. So I knew, okay,
she gets off about 5 .30, 6 o 'clock. If I start
cleaning at about 5 .25, I got about 10 minutes
to clean. So I would do it. And then 5 .30 would
come around, and I'm looking around. And I realize
I am not prepared for grandma to get home. I'm
not prepared for the trouble I'm about to get
in. So what I'd start doing is thinking of all
of the excuses and stories I could tell to get
out of the trouble I was about to be in. And
as good as I am with words, I was never good
enough to talk my way out of the punishment that
came. But I'd ask the question, am I ready? Am
I ready for the punishment that's coming? Am
I ready for my grandma to get home? Am I ready
for what's about to happen when she sees what
I have been doing or not doing while she was
gone? And so as a church, When we think about
the fact that Jesus is coming again and he's
told us what he needs us to do, he's shown us
the way we need to live and he has given us the
things, the mission that he wants us to be on
in this world. Are we prepared for when he comes
back, when he looks at us and says, did you not
see the list of things I gave you to do? And
I got to tell you, in case you don't know, the
list of things is actually really short. Love
God, love people. Make disciples. Three things.
And we've got a lot of time to do it. Lord willing,
we get a lot more. Love God, love people, make
disciples. And I'm afraid if Jesus came back
today, he would look at us and say, what have
you been doing? You've had 2 ,000 years. What
have you been doing? I think if Jesus came back
in like the first or second century, he would
be so proud of them. He'd look at them and say,
y 'all have made so many disciples. You took
over Rome with Christianity and not in like a
Christian nationalist way, but you just made
disciples that made disciples that made disciples
and it took over. And so. He'd look at them.
He'd be proud. I think he'd look at us, and he'd
say, what have you been doing? Have you just
been sitting on your hands? Have you been sitting
around playing video games? You've been sitting
around watching football? For me, it was watching
the Discovery Channel. I love Man vs. Wild. Great
show. Highly recommend it. So I'd sit around
and watch that, and you get consumed in the TV,
right? And then the time passes, and you look
at the clock, and it's 525, and you think, oh
no, she's coming. But here's the thing with Jesus,
we don't know when he's coming. John was able
to give a warning to say he's coming. Be prepared.
Be ready. And so I guess what I'm doing this
morning is saying, hey, he might be coming back
today. He might come back tomorrow. Are we ready?
Are we prepared? John came to prepare hearts
for a new way. The way. Not just any way, but
the way that is aligned with the heart of God,
the way that does love people extremely, the
way that does value people highly, a way that
says you are loved, you are valued by the king
of the universe. So much so that he would go
and hug the leper, that he would sit with the
adulterous woman. that he would be there with
the lame man, that he would put hands on the
blind man, so much so that he would get known
as someone who sits at the table with sinners
and tax collectors. That is the heart of God,
not to excuse their sin, but to affirm his love
for them. And so we, as the church, are being
hopefully prepared to live in that way, the Jesus
way, in aligning our hearts with God's heart
through repentance that leads to action. Because
it has to lead to action. This is what John chapter
3, verses 10 through 14 says. And the crowds
asked him, what then shall we do? And he answered
them, whoever has two tunics is to share with
him who has none. And whoever has food is to
do likewise. Tax collectors also came to be baptized
and they said to him, Teacher, what shall we
do? And he said to them, Collect no more than
you are authorized to do. Soldiers asked him,
And we, what shall we do? And he said to them,
Do not extort money from anyone by threats or
by false accusation and be content with your
wages. Do you see a difference there in what
John is telling them to do and what humanity
has always said to do? Humanity says, fill your
closet with all the nicest jackets. And John
says, if you have an extra jacket and you see
somebody cold, give them the jacket. Humanity
says, fill the pantry. I mean, you have whole
shows of people that are doomsday prepping for
an apocalypse that may not ever come, and they've
got these bunkers full of food. And if you're
a prepper, I'm not judging you. Just, you know,
keep your freeze -dried food. But you've got
these bunkers full of food and these pantries
full of food. And John is saying, if you've got
all this food and you see somebody hungry, give
them food. The tax collector's like, what should
we do? And he says, hey, don't just save up these
riches for yourself. Be honest. Give some money
to the poor. He looks at the soldiers. He says,
don't extort them. Don't make them feel like
they've got to give you extra because they're
afraid. Give them some. You see, what John is
calling us to is not an end of life. He's calling
us to a new life. Repentance is not the end of
self. It's simply the beginning of a new and
better way of living. And John is giving us a
glimpse into the way that Jesus will look in
this world. Because Jesus lived like that. He
lived a life that was selfless. He lived a life
that wasn't concerned with himself, that wasn't
consumed with himself, that wasn't worried about
preparing for a day that may not come. And I'm
not saying retirement and savings are bad. All
I'm saying is it cannot be all about us because
if it is all about me, I am not following Jesus
correctly because Jesus was not selfless. Whoa,
Jesus was not selfish. He was selfless. He was
the embodiment of selflessness. And that is a
glimpse of what John, or that is what John is
giving us a glimpse into. It's a life turned
away from the way of this world that looks like
generosity instead of greed, that looks like
honesty instead of exploitation, that looks like
contentment instead of envy. And we will see
this fully lived out in Jesus as we go through
Luke and as we see in the Gospels. So when John
calls people to repentance, when he calls them
to align, with God's heart. He is preparing them
for Jesus to establish his way in them. I was
listening to a sermon last night as we were driving
back from out of town. And conveniently enough,
one of my favorite preachers, he is currently
preaching a series called The Way of Jesus. And
in this, he talks about how when he was student
teaching in college, he had to go to this school
that was kind of in a rougher area of Montgomery.
He's student teaching there. He was a PE major,
so he was going to do a PE class. And he walks
in and he said like the first day before class
even started, some students started just fighting.
And that was just normal. And so he felt like
as the leader in the room, he needed to break
up the fight. And so he goes to break it up and
the teacher that he's student teaching under
kind of stops him and says, uh -uh, we do it
a little differently here. We let them finish
it. We've got a different way. And he realized
after that, that when he learned the way they
did things there, it made it so much easier for
him to connect and teach these students. I would
say the same is true for us when it comes to
Christ. If we will understand the way of Jesus,
It will make it so much easier to understand
his teachings. It will make it so much easier
to live out his commands. We have to first understand
his way. And so John comes to prepare the hearts,
prepare the way, so that when Jesus comes, we
can better understand what he is teaching us.
And I want you to notice, I wouldn't be a Church
of Christ preacher if I didn't mention that this
includes baptism. Luke chapter 3 verse 3 tells
us John was proclaiming a baptism of repentance
for the forgiveness of sins. And everybody says,
Amen. Then you look at Luke chapter 3 verses
15 through 17. John answered, I baptize you with
water, but he who is mightier than I is coming.
Again, John keeps pointing to Jesus. He says,
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and
fire. John makes it clear that he's not the point.
Yeah, I'm here baptizing, but it's not about
me. Yeah, I'm here preaching, but it's not about
me. Yeah, I'm here doing great things. It's not
about me. John also makes it clear that he's
not the destination, that this baptism that he
is helping them with is not the end -all be -all.
That this message of repentance that he's preaching
is not the end all be all. It is simply preparation
for the one who is coming. It is a preparation
of heart for Jesus to come in, for the Holy Spirit
to come in and change their lives. I would put
it this way. John is saying, I'm just the prep
team, but the varsity is coming. The greater
one is coming. The one who is far more capable,
the one who is far more qualified, who is far
more perfect is coming. Jesus is coming. And
when Jesus arrives, he himself is baptized by
John. We can't skip over that. Now, Jesus didn't
need baptism because Jesus was sinless. Jesus
never sinned. He was perfect, but he was baptized
by John. Even in his sinlessness, Jesus steps
into the dirty water, just like everyone else.
And I've never understood that. I asked the question
why, and as I thought about it a little bit more,
I think what I've landed on is this. Jesus steps
into the dirty water just like everyone else
because Jesus doesn't come to just tell us about
the way. He doesn't just come to teach and talk
about it. Jesus lives it out. He walks it. Jesus
goes down into the water. He rises again, and
when he does, Luke chapter 3, verses 21 through
22 says, the heavens were opened, the Holy Spirit
descended on him in bodily form like a dove,
and a voice came from heaven. You are my beloved
son. With you, I am well pleased. And I say all
of that to say, if we're going to follow Jesus,
we have to do Jesus things. And if Jesus felt
like he needed to be baptized, who am I to argue?
If Jesus felt like he needed the gift of the
Holy Spirit. Who am I to argue? Jesus clearly
saw something important in baptism, in repentance,
in living with the Holy Spirit on him. And so
he does this. And so I want to be just like Jesus.
I want to walk so closely to Jesus that people
look at me and they say, you smell like him.
And I don't know what Jesus smelled like. I don't
think they had really good showers back then.
So I don't really want to smell like him. It's
a figure of speech. But I want people to know
where Jesus has been, I have been because I've
been so close to him. And so what Jesus does,
I want to do. And so Jesus in this moment, he
hasn't performed a single miracle yet. He hasn't
begun his ministry yet. He hadn't preached in
front of thousands of people yet, but he pleases
God in his actions. And here's what God says.
You are my beloved son. God is already pleased
with Jesus before he ever does a single great
thing. And the only reason I can think of is
why. is because belonging to God comes before
performance. And if I belong to God, then I have
to know I'm loved by Him because I don't have
to. He doesn't have to claim me. He doesn't have
to look at me and say, that's my son, that's
my child. But I belong to Him before I've ever
performed a thing. And right after this, in Luke
4, verses 1 through 13, Jesus faces testing in
the wilderness. But I want you to notice, He
doesn't enter the wilderness empty. He enters
full of the Holy Spirit. Again, Jesus knew He
needed. the spirit. So when pressure comes on
Jesus, when he's tempted, when temptation shows
up, when compromises are offered by the enemy,
Jesus stands firm. He stands firm because he
was prepared. He was empowered for moments like
this. Preparation is proven when pressure comes.
When pressure comes, you know exactly what you're
made of. I heard a baseball coach say, you know
what kind of team you have after you lose your
first game. Because after you lose your first
game, you know how your team can handle being
punched in the mouth. I think it was maybe Rocky
Balboa that said, it's not about how hard you
can get hit, but how hard, or what is it? Not
about how hard you can get hit, but how hard
you can get hit and get up again. So you think
about the preparation is proven when the pressure
comes. I want you to think about it like this.
You never really know how prepared you are for
an emergency when everything is calm. You find
out when the power goes out. A lot of people
found out they were not prepared for their power
to go out recently. There's a lot of cold people
in places like Nashville, in places like North
Mississippi that are suffering because they weren't
prepared for that kind of danger. You realize
how prepared you are when the diagnosis comes
back. You realize how prepared you are when the
relationship is broken. You realize how prepared
you are when temptation shows up unannounced.
In those moments, you don't rise to the level
of your intentions. You fall to the level of
your preparation. And so John has come to prepare
the people so that when pressure comes their
way, they know exactly how to respond. And to
that, I would say. We have scripture to help
prepare us. The Holy Spirit is there to help
prepare us so that when pressure comes our way,
we know exactly how to respond. Are we responding
in the Jesus way? Because repentance isn't just
about what we walk away from. It's about what
we walk toward. The life that we choose to step
into and walk in. And baptism isn't just a moment
of forgiveness. It's a surrendered life that
follows. It's a life that says, I'm going to
live like my rabbi. And so here's the invitation
this morning. For the Christian, for the Christ
follower, for the disciple, I ask you this. Is
there anything in your life that is crooked,
that needs to be made straight? Is there anything
in your life that is keeping Jesus out, that
is blocking Jesus from having full rule and reign
in your heart, that is making it hard for Jesus
to instill his way in you? Not because you're
lost, but because you want to be prepared for
whatever it is that Jesus is trying to do through
your life. Because you don't want to be found
when he returns not bearing good fruit. Because
you don't want to be cut down. and thrown into
the fire. And for those who haven't committed
their lives to Christ yet, I need to say this
very clearly, and I want you to hear this. You
don't have to clean yourself up first before
you can be redeemed. You don't have to be perfect
before you can be saved. Jesus steps into the
dirty water with you. Jesus wants you to be a
part of his family. Belonging comes before believing.
When you come to him in repentance and in faith,
he doesn't shame you. He doesn't look at you
like a mistake. He doesn't look at you like a
disappointment. He does like God did to him.
When he gave his life to him, he says, you're
my son. You're my daughter. who I'm pleased to
have in my family. He calls you his own. And
so today, wherever you are, my challenge for
us is for today to be the day we begin walking
the Jesus way. For today to be the day that we
start living a life of forgiveness, that we start
living in the way of compassion, that we start
living in the way of peace, that we start living
in the way of generosity, of love, the way that
leads to full and abundant eternal life with
God. And so if you have been following Christ
for a long time or if you've never given your
life to him and you want to belong in his family,
all we ask. is that you lay your burdens at the
foot of the cross, that you allow the church
to be here for you, to walk with you. If that's
what you need this morning, and I think we all
need it, it's just a matter of if you'll do it,
we invite you to come as we stand and as we sing.