In my last post, we saw how John the Baptist called his nation to prepare for the Messiah’s coming. We need to do the same in regards to the Second Coming of Christ.
Let’s continue looking at John’s message.
“‘Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all mankind will see God’s salvation.’”
Luke 3:5-6
This is one of those beautiful prophecies of Scripture. In many ways, John was ahead of his time. He spoke mysteries that not only applied in his day, but in ours as well.
In our vocabulary, valleys are sometimes called gaps or hollows. That’s very appropriate to where the modern church finds itself. Compared to the early church, we seem to have a few gaps in our experience.
I believe that right now God is in the process of filling in those gaps. Those who are listening to His voice are seeing the move of His Spirit. I can’t wait for the full-on outpouring of the Last Days.
In the same way, there are mountains – high places of pride – that keep us from following God’s will with all our heart. We rely too much on our experiences. We don’t expect the miraculous anymore. God needs to humble us so we can trust His Word no matter what’s going on around us.
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5
God wants a people who are willing to walk in His power, no matter the outcome. That means rejecting our exalted opinions, and embracing His Word.
Getting back to the verse in Luke, it’s interesting that the word, crooked, can also be used figuratively to mean disobedient. God has a path mapped out for our lives, but we choose to go our own way regardless of the consequences.
God is trying to get our attention. The Holy Spirit is tirelessly working to straighten out and level up our crooked and rough patches.
The goal is simple. The way much of the church is right now, it’s impossible for the world to get a clear picture of Christ and His salvation. They see our opinions, disobedience, bigotry, and worldliness. They conclude that if there’s an answer to life’s problems, it won’t be found in the church.
That’s an unfortunate and unacceptable situation. Right now, God is actively working on the course-correction for His people. You can choose to continue going your own way and be humbled. Or, you can submit to God’s plan, and see the truly miraculous take place around you.
In the next few verses, Luke 3:7-14, John ministers according to the Old Covenant. He talks about the works that they need to do to be acceptable to God. That’s not our ministry. We speak of the great salvation God has already accomplished in Christ.
But, in spite of the “works mentality” in his preaching, the Scripture records that crowds of people made the long journey out into the desert to listen to him. It’s sad that even with our message of hope, forgiveness and salvation in Christ, relatively few are being drawn to it.
We use the excuse that, “Society doesn’t respect the Lord anymore. That’s why they don’t receive the Gospel.” In actuality, there’s a bigger problem.
As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”
Romans 2:24
We need to change. We need to live in such a way that the world sees a difference in us. They need to see a higher level of living. Only then will they want what we have and be attracted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Question: What needs to change in order for us to more effectively portray the glory of God?
© 2021 Nick Zaccardi
The Spirit and the Word 