Preparing the Way for the ONE

Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation…(NKJV)

            God promised His people that He would send a Savior to free them from bondage. The bondage that they thought God was speaking of was the harsh oppression of the Roman Empire. But this was not the type of captivity that God was meaning. God was speaking of the enslavement to sin and its devastating consequences on mankind. God wanted to have an eternal relationship with His people where they would never be separated from Him again. Isaiah 59:2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. (NIV) However, the Jews did not understand this fully, but God sent a man to prepare the way for the Lord. Mark 1:2-3 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.’ ”

            There was an elderly couple, Zechariah and Elizabeth, who loved God and carefully followed His commandments. They did not have any children because Elizabeth was infertile, but God was about to change their situation. An angel appeared to Zechariah, who was busy doing his priestly duties, to tell him that he and his wife would have a son and his name was to be called John. This would be no ordinary child, but he would be filled with the Holy Spirit from birth and would prepare the way for the Lord. Luke 1:16-17 Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous – to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (NIV)

            After the revelation from the angel, Gabriel, Elizabeth became pregnant and was grateful to God for giving her a child. Luke 1:25 “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.” (NIV) Gabriel had given strict instructions to Zechariah that John was to never have any type of fermented drink. He was to be holy unto the Lord for he would be a prophet to the people to prepare them for the Savior to come. Luke 1:15 For 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 from birth. (NIV) It was important for his parents to be obedient to God in the raising of their son, John. He was to do a mighty work for the Kingdom of God and be a voice crying in the wilderness.

Luke 3:3-6 ⁽³⁾ He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁽⁴⁾ As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. ⁽⁵⁾ Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. ⁽⁶⁾And all mankind will see God’s salvation.” (NIV) What Elizabeth had once seen as a disgrace because of her lack of ability to have children, was actually a setup by God to bring glory to His name, and prepare the way for salvation to be offered to all.

            The Apostle Paul lets us know that we are to wear the helmet of salvation. It is only because of Jesus coming down to earth that everyone has an opportunity to be saved. Our helmet guards our heads, so that the devil cannot enter in. He constantly wants to remind us of our past, but Jesus’ salvation has made us were we cannot be penetrated by the enemy’s weapons of war. Revelation 12:10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. (NIV) As long as we are fully dressed in the armor of God, we can defeat the enemy. Being that we are in the appropriate attire, will allow for us to be protected from head to toe. The devil will be underneath our feet where he cannot break our Spirit in Christ. Romans 16:20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. (NIV) Be the warrior that God has called you to be by wearing the helmet of salvation for which Jesus willingly gave His life that we all may be saved. Victory is a promise through the salvation of the Lord.