Get the Road Ready for the King of Glory

John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus's first coming, like we need to to prepare for his glory in the new season, and on to his second coming. God's angels said that John would operate in the spirit and power of Elijah. Plus, John operated and spoke as Isaiah prophesied about his God-given ministry; so it will be similar to the one the Holy Spirit is calling us to. Let’s look at Isaiah’s prophecy—the one that informed John the Baptist’s ministry—to see what else we can learn:

(Isaiah 40:3-4 LITV) The voice of him who cries in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of Jehovah; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. (4) Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the knoll shall be a level place, and the rough places a plain.”

The Holy Spirit quotes this passage in the New Testament:

(Luke 3:4-6 EMTV) “As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying: ‘A voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the LORD, make His paths straight. (5) Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be humbled; the crooked roads shall become straight, and the rough roads shall become smooth; (6) and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”’

From this, we see that another aspect of the Elijah ministry through John the Baptist was to “prepare the way of the Lord.”

Some time ago, I was praying in the Sweetwater Creek nature reserve near where I lived. As I was walking, I felt the Holy Spirit whisper to my spirit, “kneel down.” Naturally, my fleshly mental faculty raced to the “Tree of the knowledge of good and evil: for reasons to disobey. My flesh protested, “But the ground is wet and muddy. This is a public place; people will see me and think I’m silly etc.” Thankfully, by God’s grace I denied ‘self’ and followed the Holy Spirit’s prompting. Suddenly I was aware of Jesus walking up to me and touching me—almost like the “knighting” of a knight. He said, “Go and get my people ready for my return.” Then he walked on.

Jesus was calling me into the Elijah-type ministry; he was calling me to operate in the spirit and power of Elijah to prepare the way for his return by getting his people ready. In effect, this call is to “prepare the way of the Lord.” I believe he is calling you to this too—beginning today.

At the time I knew it was a serious call, but I didn’t fully understand what it meant. Thankfully, in the above passage the Holy Spirit gives some detail of what he means by this. He describes a preparation similar to preparing and repairing local roads for the visit of a powerful [ancient] king. The list of things he says to fix is a picture for us of the things we need to correct in preparation for Jesus.

We need to consider both aspects of his coming here: first when he manifests in glory through the church and second when he returns triumphant as King of kings and Lord of lords. We need to prepare for both manifestations. Thankfully, what the Holy Spirit said through Isaiah describes the preparation needed for both.

As we look at what this passage means for us today, we will focus on his glorious revival through the church. Our preparation for this will also prepare us for his return.

As we said, the background of this passage is referring to a practice of their day. A herald would precede an approaching monarch who:

? Informed of the king’s coming

? Instructed the locals to fix up the roads

? Called the crowds to stand by to welcome, cheer and honor the monarch’s arrival

This is what this passage is calling us to do in preparation for Jesus’s glorious manifestation.

In the outpouring of his glory, God wants to manifest himself through his church in a demonstration of his love and goodness—in a way no one can deny. Jesus wants people everywhere to experience first hand his miraculous power; it is a clear proof of his goodness and love.

In preparation for this, his instruction to us is: “Prepare the way (path, road) of the Lord.” Which leads us to ask, “Where is it?” “Where is the road on which Jesus will travel to come into manifestation today?” To discover where this road is, it would be helpful for us to know where he is coming from to effect his glorious outpouring. “Is he coming down from the sky?”—No, that is how he comes when he returns to touchdown on the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4).

The road of Jesus’s entry:

To discover where and how he comes for a glorious outpouring before his “return,” we should first ask ourselves, “Where is his glory now?” “Where is the “place” from which it is hoped that Jesus’s glory will emanate?” If we can answer this, then we will understand the path he has to traverse—the path we need to prepare. Below are some passages from God’s word to help us discover and understand the answer.

(Colossians 1:27 EMTV) “To whom God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the nations, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

God’s presence, the Holy Spirit, is in us.

Christ—meaning the anointed one and his anointing—is in us. This is where both God’s and our hope of glory resides. While in us—before being demonstrated to the world—it is merely a “hope”; not a manifestation. If he can get his glory from inside us to the outside world, the hope will be realized, and his glory displayed. However, there is a path along which this glory has to travel to be manifested. The state of this path or roadway can either hinder or facilitate his emergence. This is why one of the ‘Elijah’ responsibilities is getting this road ready.

God wants to cover the whole earth with his glory.

(Numbers 14:21 KJV) “But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD.”

We note that he does not just want a trickle of glory to emerge—just enough for us to keep within the four walls of our church buildings. On the contrary, he wants a copious outpouring that will fill the whole earth with his glory. His hope for this rests on us allowing what is in us to come out.

(Habakkuk 2:14 KJV) “For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.”

The path for his coming into manifestation is the path from our innermost being out into our world. You could say it is the short distance from our heart to our mouth. This is the primary path that needs to be prepared for his return.

In some way, we probably all have an intuitive understanding of this—or at least some experience of it. When we sing praise and express worship in our meetings, when we confess scripture and preach the word, when we speak in tongues and prophesy etc., we often “feel” God’s glorious tangible presence.

Perhaps well-intentioned people have given us the impression that at these times God just “shows up.” While this is a possible translation of the Greek word often translated “manifestation,” in English it gives the impression that God just happened to appear by his own mysterious choice. Although he is always in control of his Spirit and glory, the truth is a little less fickle when we realize that God entrusted his glory to us by putting his Holy Spirit inside us.

God’s constant and consistent hope is that we will let his glory out. When we sang, confessed his word, praised, and expressed worship is when we released the “glory” from inside us to be what we ‘felt’ outside. Once we realize this, the mystery disappears and vision explodes. By simply obeying a few clear Bible directives, we are able to fulfill the “hope” God has of his glory covering the earth.

Today, are you sold out enough to God and his vision that you would lay down your life that is independent from him, so he can use you to show his glory? Will you give yourself over to getting your “road” ready for the glorious King of kings and his glory to traverse, from a “hope” hidden in your heart, to a reality manifested in our world. This will involve: pulling down all the proud lofty places, dropping all the “rough” talk, repenting from any crooked dealings or speaking without clearly articulating what God wants said, and renouncing self pity and depression by yielding to praise and continuous rejoicing:

(Psalms 34:1 KJV) I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

(Hebrews 13:15 EMTV) Therefore through Him let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, confessing to His name.

(Ephesians 4:29-32 NKJV) Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. (30) And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (31) Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. (32) And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

(1 Thessalonians 5:16-20) Rejoice evermore. (17) Pray without ceasing. (18) In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. (19) Do not quench the Spirit. (20) Do not despise prophecies.