June 3 Wed PM
Mark 1:1-2 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 As it is written in theProphets:
“Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,
Who will prepare Your way before You.”
The beginning of this passage is explaining that Before you see the ministry of Jesus, you will see the ministry of John the Baptist. 2 different ministries, 2 different men. Jesus raised the dead and healed the sick. John didn’t do any miracles. But his ministry was a ministry of preparation. He had to get the people ready for the ministry of Jesus. Preparation means to make ready beforehand. Before you see the
Mark 1:3 “The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make His paths straight.’ ”
Return to the agenda of the Lord. Because the people had their own agenda and had been living out their own lives. John comes along and is preaching a message of repentance. Repentance in loose terms means, turn from doing your thing and do God’s thing. You must be honest with yourself and ask, “Am I doing what God wants me to do?” God has an agenda. There are things He wants to do, but He has to use us to do them. It’s going to be hard for God to use you if you don’t set your affection and thinking upon God and what He wants to do. If you do what God wants, He will take care of you, even in an uncertain economy like were experiencing now. If you’ve got your heart in the right place you won’t have any worries when things are uncertain. God wants to bless people beyond their wildest imagination. He will but the motive has to be Him and His agenda!
God sent a prophetic ministry to prepare the people for the first coming of Jesus. It will be the same way again before the second coming. There will be another prophetic ministry that will rise up. Not just an individual, but a ministry focused on preparing the people. It will bring people face to face with how they’re really living.
Mark 1:4-5 John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. 5 Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
Confessing their sins = making adjustments
Everyone on planet earth needs to make adjustments. What’s the biggest adjustment that every person needs to make? They need to humble themselves. Be clothed with humility every day. To confess your sins, you must admit. Admission of wrong is not always easy. The man that you see in the Old Covenant that God used to shake the world, was the most humble man on the planet. Moses. God used him more than anyone in the Old Testament because of his remarkable humility.
John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
Every day you must have the attitude: Apart from God I cannot accomplish or produce anything. Without Him I’m not smart enough, I don’t have the talent or abilities. I am totally dependent upon God. That’s humility. Pride says, “I’ve got this.” To repent you have to humble yourself. Wherever you are in your life, it’s because of choices you’ve made. Pride blames others for wrongdoing. Pride won’t pray. Pride says, “God, I don’t need you.” Every time you go into prayer, pride dies.
Mark 1:7 And he preached, saying, “There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. “
Mightier! If God’s people will prepare themselves, a mighty outpouring of the Holy Ghost is coming! It’s only coming to the prepared ones! It’s not too late! Don’t miss it! You must prepare!
Mark 1:35 Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.
How prepared am I? How much have you been praying? That’s your gauge. If you’re not at the place where you would drop everything to do what you know the Lord wants you to do, you aren’t ready. There are things God needs you to do. But if you’re not at the place to obey, you’re simply not prepared. Don’t put your preparation and prayer off until tomorrow! Neglect brings regret! There’s nothing better you can do for you and your family than get prepared. Don’t be slothful about it!
“The biggest battle you will face in life, is your daily appointment with God. Keep it, or every other battle will become bigger and look more impossible. “ - Zacharias Ravi
“The men who have done the most for God in this world, have been early on their knees. He who fritters away the early morning, its opportunity, and freshness, in other pursuits than seeking God, will make poor headway seeking him the rest of the Day.” --E. M. Bounds