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Devotional for the week – 28 December 2009 Sermon Title: Prepare The Way For The Lord There was no frantic shopping, no hanging up of lights, no wrapping of presents. The preparation for the first Christmas, which took place over 2000 years ago, was a preparation for the arrival of the gift of God to mankind. John the Baptist was sent “to prepare the way of the Lord” (Luke 3: 4), to be the “a voice of one calling in the dessert” (Luke 3: 4). Even as he was preparing for the Lord’s coming, John was aware that his role was also to “prepare the way for the people” to “build up the highway”, “remove the stones” and “raise a banner for the nations” (Isaiah 62:10). With Christmas around the corner, many of us are, again, reminded that we are to fulfil the Great Commission – to reach out to the lost, not just in remote desert-like places, but wherever He places us – in the office or at home. The Need to Wise Up The fact is that over 1.6 billion have not heard the gospel and another 2.4 billion have heard the Word, but have not received it. To effectively reach out to them, we have to wise up, or in John the Baptist’s words, to “not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father'” (Luke 3: 8). If we are to be effective witnesses for Christ, we are not to be proud of our Christian “heritage”. Rather we are to “produce fruit in keeping with repentance” (Luke 3: 8). We need to begin from a position of humility - to repent of our pride in doing things our way and to admit that we need to set right our relationship with Christ; to allow Him to take charge of this mission that He has called us to. Only then can we be woken up to the plight of the peoples around us and to the many ways God has of reaching out to the lost – through media, through personal contacts or through prayer. Our duty is to listen to His voice and allow Him to reveal to us a particular way in which He wants us to prepare the way for Him. The paths that He leads us down may not be easy. There may be obstacles – administrative procedures that stand in our way, people who are resistant to the Word, others who seek to distract the lost – but our role is to continue to have faith. For He is in charge and He will open a way that “all mankind will see God's salvation” (Luke 3: 6). Relay the Foundation With a repentant heart comes a change in attitude – one that chooses to focus on others instead of ourselves. Instead of seeking gain for the self, "the man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same." (Luke 3: 11). We are also not to “collect any more than you are required to” (Luke 3: 13), nor should we “extort money” and “accuse people falsely”. Instead we are to “be content with your pay” (Luke 3: 14). Contentment in Christ, which arises through the realisation that He will meet our every need, prevents us from coveting or from storing up for ourselves. It, instead, allows us to share freely, to give of ourselves, to care for others. While it is true that we are to share the gospel to the ends of the earth, we do not have to look far to do that. In Singapore, one in 3 persons in our workforce is a foreigner, forming a base of approximately 99 different ethnic groups. They could be professionals, home helpers or workers in the construction industry. Some have broken lives, others have been exploited, mistreated, yet others suffer from a broken heart. Preparing His way means, moving beyond our comfort zones, reaching out to these people and sharing with them what we have, taking care of their needs, instead of seeing them as means for us to prosper. Yield to God There are so many ways in which we can yield to God to do His work. Besides personally spreading the gospel and tending to those in need, we can support those who champion the adoption of unreached people groups, who are involved in church planting movements and tent-making ventures. We can offer our help in Crisis and Disaster Relief efforts and support media that support missions. We also need to realize the importance of reaching out to the youths, the generations to come who have yet to hear His Word. Reaching out to them will also mean that they in turn will wise up, relay the foundation and yield to God. Prayer Response Lord, we love You. We know that there are many times when we choose to do things our own way and yield to our own selfish needs. However, You have called us into a love relationship, Lord - to care for others, to share Your burden for the lost. Help us, Lord, to refocus our lives, so that we may see things the way you want us to. Open not just our eyes, but our hearts too, so that we may share what we have with others, in order that they may know of Your love and accept Your Word. Help us live our lives so that we, too, may be able to prepare the way for You. In Jesus’ name, Amen. Devotional based on a sermon by Rev Juliette Arulrajah
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