Isaiah 35:8 “And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.” (Page)
Could this be any plainer? “The wayfaring men”…those just passing by, not thinking of staying;
“though fools”…if they are not instructed in God, or His Word…..yet, they shall not err therein…because this way is clearly seen.
The Lord makes His gospel the same way. Plain enough, so that those who want to know His Way, can.
And He sends His preachers and teachers to awaken, to His way.
Luke 3:4-6 “As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;
And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”
This was John the Baptist’s ministry….to make a way for the Lord Jesus. To prepare the hearts of the people, so they could hear what Jesus was saying.
You see when the Holy Spirit comes within the heart of every believer, He begins to put our lives in order. His due order. That is “make His paths straight”.
He begins with light. All things are manifested in the light, so the Holy Spirit begins by enlightening us, to what we are in ourselves….and what we have in Christ. (Ephesians 1:17-19 “…the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know…”)
Then He begins to mold and shape us: here is where the highway begins…for when a regular highway is built…it is built up out of the fields and waterways, so that it is easily seen. So it can be taken to the destination.
The Holy Spirit fills in the low places in our lives:
Are we lonely? Are we depressed?
Are we overcome with the cares of our lives?
Do we blame God?
These are “low” thoughts of God, and the Holy Spirit comes, and deals with the reasons for them, within us….giving peace and guidance in their place.
Psalm 40:2-3 “He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a Rock, and established my goings.
And He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord”
Hebrews 10:22-23 “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for He is faithful that promised;”
Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean unto thy own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.”
The Holy Spirit shows us “every mountain and hill” to be “brought low.”
These are the high places of pride.
These can be mountain-like for some; or hill-like in others. But we all have pride, for it is a sin we inherited from Adam.
(Remember Eve was tempted to sin so they could “ be like God”. [Genesis 3:5-7]
One of the sins which Adam got when he rebelled against God, was pride.
He immediately tried to “cloth” himself. Shame for being naked, caused him to rebel even more, and look for that which would cover him before God.
This is pride, for pride is presumption….thinking we can do for ourselves, without God. He couldn’t, so he tried to hide, instead.]
God refuses the proud:
Luke 1:51-52 “He hath showed strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.”
James 4:6 “But He giveth more grace. Wherefore HE saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”
But God is near those who know they need Him, and come to Him:
Isaiah 57:15 “For thus saith the High and Lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, Whose name is Holy, I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive of the heart of the contrite ones.”
The “crooked ways” shall be straightened out:
Titus 3:1-2, 8 “But put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work.
To speak evil of no man, be no brawlers but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men.
This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to all men.”
And the “rough ways” shall be made smooth:
2 Timothy 1:6-7 “Wherefore I put thee in remembrance, that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
1 Timothy 6:12 “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.”
I believe that every Christian, like John the Baptist is called to “Prepare the way for the Lord”.
Not in the wilderness of Judea; but in there own lives, in their own set of circumstances; that others may see clearly “the Way” to Christ Jesus.
[Whether to be saved or to be restored to Christ]
Isaiah 35:8 “And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring man, though fools, shall not err therein.”
We are to manifest the highway we have taken, and as much as we can, lead others to Christ Jesus our Lord, too.
Preaching, Teaching, and Notes 