PREPARE YE

THE WAY

OF THE LORD

Malachi 3:1

John 1:6-8

John 1:19-27

PREPARE YE THE WAY OF THE LORD

Pre - pare ye the way of the Lord, pre-

pare ye the way of the Lord

What does it

mean to

“prepare the

way of the

LORD?”

To create a

favorable

environment

for Him to

come to you.

Micah named

the BIRTH

place as

Bethlehem.

(Micah 5:2)

Micah 5:2

“But you, Bethlehem

Ephrathah, though you are

small among the clans of

Judah, out of you will come

for me one who will be

ruler over Israel, whose

origins are from of

old, from ancient times.”

Isaiah

prophesied

the Virgin

birth.

(Isaiah

7:14)

Isaiah 7:14

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”

Psalm 22:16

foretold his

pierced

hands and

feet.

Psalm 22:16

“… a pack of

villains

encircles

me; they pierce

my hands and

my feet.”

Psalm 22:17-

18 foretold

he would be

stripped of

his

CLOTHING.

Psalm 22:17-18

“All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment..”

Psalm 31:11

predicted His

friends would

run away.

Psalm 31:11

“I am the utter contempt of my neighbors and an object of dread to my closest friends—those who see me on the street flee from me.”

Psalm 31:13

points to

the counsel

that put Him

to DEATH.

Psalm 31:11

“They conspire against me and plot to take my life.”

Psalm 35:11

said there

would be

false

witnesses.

Psalm 31:11

“Ruthless

witnesses come

forward; they

question me on

things I know nothing about.”

Psalm 34:20

told that not

one of His

bones would

be broken.

Psalm 34:20

“He protects all his bones; not one of them will be broken.”

Psalm 68:18

foretold His

ASCENSION.

Psalm 68:18

“When you ascended

on high, you took many

captives; you received

gifts from people, even

from the rebellious—

that you, Lord God,

might dwell there.”

Isaiah 40

predicted a

forerunner to

precede His

COMING.

He had a miraculous

birth, foretold by

Gabriel, to

Elizabeth,

previously BARREN.(Luke 1:5,7,13)

5 In the time of Herod

king of Judea there

was a priest named

Zechariah, who

belonged to the

priestly division of

Abijah; his wife

Elizabeth was also a

descendant of Aaron.

7 . But they were

childless because

Elizabeth was not

able to conceive,

and they were both

very old.

13 But the angel said

to him: “Do not be

afraid, Zechariah; your

prayer has been heard.

Your wife Elizabeth will

bear you a son, and

you are to call him

John.

He was set apart

by God to

announce the

arrival of God’s

Messiah. (Luke 1:15-16)

He will be great in the

sight of the Lord. He is

never to take wine or

other fermented drink,

and he will be filled with

the Holy Spirit even

before he is born. He will

bring back many of the

people of Israel to the

Lord their God.

He had a spirit

like ELIJAH’s(Luke 1:17)

He preached and

baptized in the

wilderness.

(John 1:28; 3:23)

He identified

HIMSELF with the

prophecy of

Isaiah 40:3.

He condemned

the religious

leaders for their

HYPOCRISY.

He pointed to One

who would

FOLLOW him,

“the Lamb of

God.”

(John 1:15, 29)

He cried out, saying,

“This (Jesus) is the one

I spoke about when I

said, ‘He who comes

after me has surpassed

me because he was

before me.’

(John 1:15)

The next day John

saw Jesus coming

toward him and said,

“Look, the Lamb of

God, who takes away

the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)

He was beheaded

by Herod Antipas

and Herodias for

condemning their

relationship.

He was acclaimed

by Jesus as “the

GREATEST man

born.”

Preaching the baptism

of REPENTANCE for

the forgiveness of

SINS. (Luke 3:3)

He went into all the

country around the

Jordan, preaching a

baptism of

REPENTANCE for

the forgiveness of

SINS.

Preaching confession

and repentance-

TURNING from sin.

(Luke 3:8)

Produce fruit in

keeping with

repentance.

Do we spend

as much time

and effort

preparing for

Christ’s RETURN?

Recognize the

reality and

seriousness of SIN

and God’s wrath

that is promised for

those who REMAIN

in sin.

All of us have become

like one who is

unclean, and all our

righteous acts are like

filthy rags; we all

shrivel up like a

leaf, and like the wind

our sins sweep us

away.

(Isaiah 64:6)

For all have

sinned and fall

short of the glory

of God.

(Romans 3:23)

For the wages of

sin is death, but the

gift of God is

eternal life in Christ

Jesus our Lord.

(Romans 6:23)

Repent, BELIEVE in

Christ for

forgiveness, and be

baptized as a sign of

your initial change of

life and LOYALTY.

Deal with

UNCONFESSED sins

in your life by

confession to receive

forgiveness and and

cleansing. Don’t try to

DENY, cover or

EXCUSE them!

Whoever conceals

their sins does not

prosper, but the

one who confesses

and renounces

them finds mercy.

(Prov. 28:13)

Don’t CONTINUE in

your sin. Turn from

your sins and grow

in righteousness.

Evidence the FRUIT

of repentance!

Prepare as an

engaged woman

prepares for a

MARRIAGE, by

purity, faithfulness

and devotion.

I am jealous for you

with a godly

jealousy. I promised

you to one husband,

to Christ, so that I

might present you

as a pure virgin to

him.

(2 Cor. 11:2)

Prepare ye

the way

of the Lord!