A Voice of One Calling

 

    Isaiah 40:3

A voice of one calling "Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert."

    We, the born again, are the voice. Like John the Baptist, who prepared the way for his cousin Jesus Christ, we cry out still today, "Jesus is coming! Prepare your hearts to receive Him!" 

     The wilderness is the area where the unbeliever dwells, just as the unbelieving Israelites remained in the wilderness instead of entering Canaan (Numbers 14:21-35).  

    There are no crooked inroads to salvation through Christ Jesus. There is the Way of Holiness (Isaiah 35:8), a strait and narrow (Matthew 7:14) old [ancient]path (Jeremiah 6:16) which leads to Zion, the mount of God. 

    We are all sinners. We start out that way because we are born with a sinful nature. But when we reach the age of accountability, where we know the difference between what is right and what is wrong, we become accountable for our beliefs and our lifestyle. 

    When we believe that JESUS CHRIST IS LORD and listen to The Holy Spirit of God Who has been given to the believer as a Guide and an Advocate, we become God's people, a holy nation (Romans 10:9-13; John 1:12,13; John 14:16,17; Acts 1:4, 5:32; 1 Peter 2:9). We have left the wilderness of unbelief and entered into the promised land. 

     But nothing in this promised land is ours for the taking: we must do the work God has given us to do; and do it joyfully and wholeheartedly. After all, we have the best Boss in the whole universe!  And He has given us a Partner who not only works with us but intercedes for us with our Employer. 

    So, we cry out, "Prepare yourselves to receive Jesus Christ! Repent of your sins. Throw yourselves on the mercy of the court and ask Jesus to come into your hearts, ask for and receive His Holy Spirit, Who will help you lead righteous and holy lives. Jesus is Coming! Jesus is Coming for us! Be ready. Be wise."

    When the unbelieving heart hears The Name of Jesus Christ and refuses to repent of their sins, they remain in the wilderness of unbelief and they will die in their sinful state. They will never know the joy and wonder of being loved by God; never experience Grace poured out upon their open hearts. 

    When the unrepentant heart dies in its sins, there are no more opportunities to believe in Jesus Christ. Once a person is dead they cannot be prayed out of hell and into heaven. The only Bridge between heaven and hell is Belief on The Name of The LORD JESUS CHRIST and it must be walked when we kneel at the cross, see Jesus and repent, which simply means to confess our sins and turn away from doing those things. It is impossible to repent once you're dead. 

    Again, we cry out, "Prepare yourselves to receive Jesus Christ! Repent of your sins. Throw yourselves on the mercy of the court and ask Jesus to come into your hearts, ask for and receive His Holy Spirit, Who will help you lead righteous and holy lives. Jesus is Coming! Jesus is Coming for us! Be ready. Be wise."

WE ARE THE VOICE  - study playlist

Sweet Thunder

When was the last time you talked with God? Would you know His voice?

John 12:28 & 29 Father, glorify Thy Name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spoke to Him.

This passage tells me that if you don't know God, you won't recognize His voice when He speaks to you. Thunder is loud. Thunder tends to scare people or make them nervous. Thunder rattles the air and shakes the house. Thunder leads the way for the rain to follow. If you don't know God, then when He speaks to you, which direction will you go, when you look for Him?

1 Samuel 3:7 Now, Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord revealed to Him. Twice before this in verses 4, 5 & 6, when God called Samuel by name, Samuel went to Eli thinking that Eli had called him. But when Eli finally understood that God was calling Samuel (verse 8), he told Samuel to go back and wait for God to call him again (verse 9), but to respond to God's call. 1 Samuel 3:10 And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant hears. Imagine lying down in your bed, asleep, and hearing someone call your name. Not yelling, not searching you out, but standing near your bedside and calling your name. Softly and tenderly saying your name.

Sweet thunder.

To me it is the voice of Someone who loves me calling me by my name. To another it is the sound of thunder, shaking the heavens and scattering the crowds. To me it is the voice of Love whispering in my ear. To another it is just noise. To me it is gentle, even in reprimand. To another it is loud and scary.

Sweet thunder from God.

When a crowd of people, say like at a football game, cheering for their team, it is a thunderous sound. Imagine this thunderous cheering coming out of heaven. John heard it. Revelation 19:6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of many thunderings, saying , Aleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigns. {ooooohhhh, i just got Holy Spirit goosebumps. i sure look forward to that day}

Sweet thunder to God.

So, I ask again, Would you know God's voice if you heard it?