(Taken
from the Walking in the Footsteps of Jesus series.)
“It is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I
will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way. A voice of one
calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for
him.’”
Mark
1:2-3
Hundreds
of years before his birth, Isaiah prophesied the coming of John the Baptist and
described his mission. John’s mission was to prepare the way for Christ; to
awaken a nation that had spiritually fallen asleep.
For
over 400 years, since the days of Malachi, the nation of Israel had not heard
the Word of the Lord spoken through a prophet. John’s emergence on the scene
wearing a camel’s hair garment coupled with his brazen message garnered the
attention of the people. And what was his message?
“And so John came baptizing in the desert
region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
Mark
1:4
Every
great spiritual awakening begins with a deep commitment to repentance. Charles
Finney was an American Presbyterian minister and a leader in the Second Great
Awakening. He has been called The Father of Modern Revivalism. He was once
quoted as saying:
“Revival is a renewed conviction of sin
and repentance, followed by an intense desire to live in obedience to God. It
is giving up one's will to God in deep humility.”
Finney
recognized, like John the Baptist that the path to spiritual awakening begins
with repentance. Walking in the footsteps of Jesus begins with a spiritual
awakening in each of us; beginning with repentance while focusing on the person
and the power of Christ. John the Baptist declared:
“After me will come one more powerful
than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I
baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Mark
1:7-8
Repentance
frees us from the bondage of sin, so that we can be awakened to pursue the abundant
life offered to us through Jesus Christ.
Pastor
Scott Burr
http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/
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