He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the
prophet Esaias. - John 1:23
John was the cousin of Jesus. No doubt he had heard the story of his miraculous birth that involved an angel as well as hearing the story of his cousin’s supernatural birth involving the same angel and being created without a natural father.
I would say somewhere along the line as John was growing up, he wondered about it all. Was it true? Was there an angel that met his dad in the tabernacle? How was his cousin miraculously conceived in the womb? Perhaps the children of the naysayers mocked him and his cousin. Perhaps he heard the mockery and the lewd stories they told about his aunt Mary.
How do I know there were scoffers? There always have been scoffers nearby with hellish opions, offering their ideas when their thoughts weren’t sought out. There will always be jealous, carnal people standing by, ready to pounce on anyone reaching for God who is willing to be a vessel for
him to work through. I guarantee you there were rumors flying around in some circles concerning John and his cousin Jesus.
We hate to admit it but people's opinions affect us. We can shake it and go on but words still
pierce the soul. They can cause us to question ourselves as well. I’m sure John wondered at times, what it was he was supposed to do. “What does a voice crying in do? How does he act? What does he say? What exactly is it he was supposed to cry out?” Am I exaggerating, or adding to the scripture? Indeed not, I just know mankind and how we humans think and ponder.
Time came and time went and at around 30 years of age, according to scholars and Hebrew law
requirements for ministry, he began to preach. What is interesting is his daddy was a priest who worked in the temple. John should have by all rights and circumstances been a priest in the temple. He had the bloodline, the right people in the right places, but that calling made all the difference. That same spirit that the Bible said drove Jesus into the wilderness was driving John to the wilderness. It was the Spirit of the Holy Ghost.
People driven by the Spirit of God don’t always conform to traditional ideas when God calls them to perform his will!! I’m not talking about leaving the foundation of the doctrine, that is written in stone with blood, but I am talking about man's traditions and expectations. What would drive a man to forsake priestly garments and meats from the sacrifice for camels hair, locusts and wild
honey? What would cause a man to stand alone and begin to preach, “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!”
Some said he was drunk, others said he had a devil, some said he was mad. They finally ask him who
was he? Was he Elijah rose from the dead or the fulfillment of the prophecy that Elijah would come again? He replied, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness!”
In other words, I settled the issue. I have come to grips with my calling! It is not just a cool story
my mom told me growing up as a kid. It’s not just motions I am going through because I was told this is what I was supposed to do! This is who I am! This is my purpose! This is what I was sent to do! This is why I was born!!! This will probably cost me my life but, “Harod, it’s still wrong for you to have your brother’s wife!!” I am a voice, I am not an echo!! I have yielded to the Spirit inside of me that I received from birth and I'm in tune with the source.
If a person ever becomes a voice and not an echo, there is no telling what they will accomplish for God!! If they ever sell out to the Spirit and let it drive them to be what God has called them to be, God will use them in a mighty way!!
These people were doing wonderful works in the name of Jesus. They supposed he was with them. They supposed he was working with them and they had his favor. They never took time to get to the altar and check. The word “know” is a Biblical word that refers to intimacy. This group never took time to know the Lord and to walk with him in Spirit and in Truth as is recorded in John Chapter 4. I don’t want any surprises on judgment day. I want to know I’m holding his hand and he’s holding mine.
The reason we are seeing such a lack for the things of God in the world today, is something was lost in translation! Someone never connected with God and became a voice. The problem with being an echo is it will eventually lose its effects on the ears of those who hear it!!
Have you ever stood between hills or rocks and listened to your own echo? As a child, I thought it was cool! I would just keep yelling, “Hey!”, to just hear it over and over again. It eventually would phase out after a couple bounces of the nearby rock formations. That's what happens with the Gospel and a love for Truth why it lies in the streets as stated in Isaiah 59:14.
Somewhere a person has to cry out for God and revelation for themselves. Just because you had a praying grandma or praying mom, doesn’t mean you fell in love with Jesus yourself. You have to be a voice! You have to get connected with the source yourself! Every generation has to pick up the mantle and run with it! Too many people are being an echo, they can’t say like the Apostle Paul said, “I know him in whom I have believed!” That comes with time spent in prayer, seeking God and pouring out your heart to him!! Your soul is a sponge and you have to soak his presence up!! You can saturate your soul with power and revelation if you're willing to be driven by the Spirit!
Look at the results of John the Baptist. People were bypassing the temple to go into the wilderness, to hear this man of God. He was converting people and baptizing them. Why? They felt something when he preached. There was a ring of Truth to it! Something in their soul was saying, “Listen to this man!” The Spirit of God was drawing people to John to hear the voice of the one crying in the wilderness, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his path straight!” When he was preaching repentance, the bible says, “Then came Jesus!” Jesus has always showed up on the wings of a voice! The Lord shows up in the voice, not in an echo!!
The time will come when the voice will be tested. Right before his death, while John was in prison he sent messengers to Jesus asking, “Are you the Messiah?”
And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? Jesus answered and
said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. -Matthew 11:3-6
Jesus did not rebuke him, he simply told the messengers to go tell John about the Scriptures being
fulfilled. He knew John would arrive at the right conclusion when he heard the Scriptures being fulfilled. Then he went on to say concerning John;
And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings'
houses. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. -Matthew 11:7-11
Jesus declared John to be the voice and to be the one who prepared the way of the Lord!! God help us to desire the approval of God more than the praises of men.! Be a voice, don’t be an echo! It’s worth the price!!