Do you want to sense the presence of Jesus more in your life? Would you like to see God’s activity more evident in the lives of your family members or the church you attend? What about the country? Do you want God’s attitudes and actions to be more present in America?
John the Baptist had a mandate from God to prepare the way for God’s rule in Israel. If we pay attention to John, we can learn how to prepare the way for the Lord to have a greater role in our lives.
In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.
This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,
“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
Prepare the way of the Lord;
make his paths straight.” (Matthew 3:1-3)
John had a profound answer for how we can prepare for the coming of God’s kingdom. Before we get to that, let’s remind ourselves that John’s talk about the “kingdom of heaven” is not another way of speaking about life after death.
Matthew’s reference to the “kingdom of heaven” is similar to other gospel writers’ references to the “kingdom of God.” Matthew was sensitive to the sacred name of God and substituted “heaven” for “God” to honor the divine name.
Let’s clarify another point about God’s kingdom. It is not a physical location or space, like an earthly government might have. In the words of Dallas Willard, God’s kingdom is the effective reach of God’s power.
One of my favorite illustrations of this occurred when Willard was leading a conference. A woman was sitting in the front row, and Willard reached toward her purse. He asked, “You don’t mind if I have this and look inside?”
She grabbed her purse and said, “No, I don’t want to give this to you.”
Willard responded, “This is an example of a kingdom. The purse belongs to her kingdom and not mine.”
When John the Baptist and Jesus declared the presence of God’s kingdom on earth, they were saying that God’s power had effectively reached the realm of human affairs.
The question for us is similar to the woman’s response to Willard’s actions. Will we allow the Lord to have what we believe is ours?
The way we prepare to have more of God’s presence in the lives of our families, workplaces, churches, and nation is to allow the reach of God’s power to influence us to a greater degree.
The word “repent” represents the surrender of our little kingdoms, so God’s power may have a greater influence over our attitudes and actions.
Just as Willard asked for the woman’s purse, God asks to take our attitudes, actions, possessions, time, and much more under the control of His will. Instead of refusing to allow this to happen, like the woman with her purse, we say “yes” to the Lord. This is the essence of repentance and the pathway to preparing the way for the Lord.
A Response is Needed
I doubt that the woman at Dallas Willard’s conference considered herself to be a rebel in God’s kingdom. After all, sitting in the front row of a Bible conference probably gets you categorized as a good church lady.
At the same time, she wasn’t ready to let Willard plunder her purse. I expect most female readers of my blog would be on the side of the woman.
When John the Baptist was baptizing by the Jordan River, many people were in attendance. The authorities on religious behavior were present. Rather than asking to look at their purses, John asked them to look into their hearts.
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
Therefore, bear fruit worthy of repentance, and do not presume to say to yourselves, We have Abraham as our ancestor, for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.
Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Matthew 3:7-10).
Like the Pharisees and Sadducees, I am also a religious professional. Some people call me “Reverend,” but they don’t know the state of my heart. People may assume that God has access to all of my life, but the question is whether that is true or not.
Like the men by the Jordan River, I may appear to be a devoted follower of the Lord. Like the woman at the Dallas Willard conference, I may seem to have all the trappings of walking with God.
The question we must answer is whether the effective reach of God’s power has touched all aspects of our lives. The way we prepare for the Lord’s presence is to repent.
Repentance involves changing our minds about who is in control of our lives. There is no area of our lives that is out of reach of God, who loves us and gave His Son for us.
In our videos on the Bible, Bruce Kirby speaks of continual repentance. I agree with Bruce. The best choice we can make is to keep adjusting our lives to the direction of the Holy Spirit.
As we do so, we can expect to see more of the Lord’s presence and power in our lives. This will affect not only us, but also the people who are closest to us.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 