Mark - A Forceful Entrance *Read text Mark 1:1-81. THE MESSENGER- 3 WITNESSES1. Isaiah 40:3 – “A voice of one crying out: Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert. 4 Every valley will be lifted up, and every mountain and hill will be leveled; the uneven ground will become smooth and the rough places, a plain.5 And the glory of the Lord will appear, and all humanity together will see it, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”2. Malachi 3:1 - “3. Malachi 4:5 – “Look, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome Day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.”ELIJAH & JOHN2 Kings 1:8 “He had a garment of hair and had a leather belt around his waist.” The king said, “That was Elijah the Tishbite.”Mark 1:6 – “John wore a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey.John 1:19-21 – “Luke 1:13–18 – “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And theLord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant inwhom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. 2 But who can endure the day ofhis coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers'soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refinethem like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD.”"And this is the witness of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levitesfrom Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" And he confessed, and did not deny, and heconfessed, "I am not the Christ." And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" And hesaid, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No."“Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wifeElizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy andgladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he mustnot drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother'swomb.16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will gobefore him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”2. THE MESSAGEHow do you prepare the way? Matt 11:11-24 – “Nestle-Aland Greek Interlinear - 'And from the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of the Heavens is forcibly entered, and violent men, seize it.Break through Message - Repent – not feeling sorry – it is a change of mind 2 Cor. &:10 – “Make the Low high - the crooked straight prepare ye the way of Jehovah’s salvation - You can’t do it – but you must be ready – repentEsau- Gen. 27:35 Esau sought the blessing with tears found no repentanceHeb. 12:17 - “For you know that later, when he wanted to inherit his father’s blessing, he was rejected because he found no opportunity to change his mind, even though he sought the blessing with tears.”3. THE VOICEThe wilderness is always equated with sin and Satan in Scripture. – a voice not an echo – your testimony His blood and a spent life.A Voice not an echo - In the Wilderness of sinIsaiah 43:19 – “William Barclay - Liquor sales dropped 40% Shreveport, Louisiana and sales of Bibles rose 300% after a Billy Graham Crusade. In Greensboro, North Carolina it was reported that ‘ the entire social structure of the city was affected.’Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no onegreater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater thanhe.12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has sufferedviolence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied untilJohn, 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.Micah 2:13 – “The One who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will breakthrough the gate and go out. Their King will pass through before them, the LORD at their head.”Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret,but worldly sorrow brings death.”Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.Wilderness the place of proving – from the wilderness to Jerusalem.John Baptist preached - And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.
