Advent Day 23 Luke 1:76-80

“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,... And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.” (Luke 1:76-80 ESV)

As we continue reading about how God fulfilled an ancient prophecy from the Prophet Isaiah, about the forerunner of the promised Messiah, we find Zechariah being “filled with the Holy Spirit” and prophesying about his newly born son, whom the Angel Gabriel said was to be named John.

Back at the beginning of this Chapter, when Gabriel spoke to the priest Zechariah about the miraculous birth of his son, he said that John would be “filled with the Holy Spirit while still in his mother’s womb.” God was working in John’s life from the moment of conception. Psalm 139:13 states, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.” God was involved with John’s life from the very beginning. God knew that John had a very hard but critical ministry to perform. He was to proclaim the coming of the promised Messiah, and to proclaim that Israel needed to repent of their sins, and to accept the promised Messiah, Jesus.

The Gospel of Matthew provides some excellent insight into the purpose of John’s ministry: “In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare( the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’”  Some 30 years after John’s birth, he was proclaiming in the wilderness all around Jerusalem, saying, “Make ready the way of the LORD…”, of course speaking of the coming Messiah, John’s cousin, Jesus. It had been some 400 years since a “Prophet of the Most High” had spoken to Israel. The last prophet inspired by God to speak to His people was Malachi, around 425 B.C., who spoke to the people of Israel about being faithful and returning to the Lord of their fathers. In Malachi 3:1, he speaks for the Lord, saying, “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me.” So, for 400 years, the people of Israel were eagerly waiting for God’s messenger, the Prophet of God the Most High, and many Jews believed that John was this messenger.

You see, days, years, and even centuries are not motivators to God. His time is not our time; God does not work on a 24-hour day or a 365-day year. We read in 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”. God's timing is right, and he gives people time to change their minds and turn back to their creator. 700 years since Isaiah’s prophecy about “making straight the way of the Lord”, or 400 years since Malachi’s “I will send my messenger” seems like forever to us, but not to God.

We read that God knows people’s hearts and knows if they are ready to receive the message from His prophet, the message about eternal life. God knows your heart as well. He knows the right time to answer your prayers, and the right time for you to hear of His saving grace.

How many years will you allow His clear message that He has provided a way for you to have everlasting life to go unheard? God has made it abundantly clear that you and all people need a Savior.

We cannot earn God’s forgiveness for our sins on our own. We cannot do enough good deeds to erase our sins and balance the scales of God’s judgment. God and God alone can and has paid the price to secure your forgiveness, to cleanse you from all your sins, to declare you righteous and holy. Whether it’s been 700 years, 400 years, 10 years, or just a couple of months, it’s all the same to God. It is His desire that you change your mind about His loving offer of Salvation and come back to your creator through faith in His Son.

Listen to “The prophet of the Most High,” to the one making straight the way of the Lord, listen to the message of John, and come to Jesus.

"Living in Grace is not about what I can do, but about what Jesus has already done!"

Advent Prayer Day 23

Father,

Help us to remember that our concept of time does not influence you and your perfect time. Help us to remember not to force circumstances to meet our timetable and to settle for our results, but to wait for your timing and your perfect plan.

Help us to remember that a day for you is 1000 years for us, and you are a promise keeper, on whom we can rely.

In Jesus' name, and for His sake, we pray, Amen.