A Voice in the Wilderness

A Voice in the Wilderness

John the Baptist was described and indeed described himself as a voice in the wilderness.

Isaiah 40:3 describes him thus – “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”

Then in the Gospels, he is described again

Matthew 3:3 “For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:“ The voice of one crying in the wilderness:‘ Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.’”

Mark 1:3 ““The voice of one crying in the wilderness:‘ Prepare the way of the LORD ;Make His paths straight.’”

Luke 3:4 “as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:“ The voice of one crying in the wilderness:‘ Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.”

Then Jesus asked the crowds about John

Matthew 11:7 “As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?””

Finally, John said of himself

John 1:19-27 “Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”

Then they said to him, “Who are you that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” He said: “I am The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Make straight the way of the LORD” as the prophet Isaiah said.”
Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. And they asked him, saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
John answered them, saying, “I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.”

As you can see, the Word of God has quite a lot to say about voices in the wilderness. So – what then is ‘a voice crying in the wilderness’?

Although John denied being “The Prophet”, he was nevertheless A prophet – and people were as afraid of prophets then as they were in Samuel’s day and as they are today. In Samuel’s time, when he went to Jesse’s house to anoint David, he was met by folk whose knees were shaking and with the words, “Do you come in peace?” He was feared as both prophet and judge. In Jesus time, John was regarded as an ‘odd-ball’ – but an odd-ball whom the religious establishment feared. They really did not understand who he was or what he was saying. Today we find that, because most churches do not operate in the supernatural gifts of the Spirit, they regard prophets in much the same light and understanding as psychics and mediums. Really!! How many times have we been asked to tell people about their future?? Countless times. We always answer that we only can tell them what the Lord tells us to tell them and this gets a reaction ranging from sheer disbelief to downright disappointment.

So to call a prophet ‘a voice in the wilderness’ is about right within the confines of today’s view and understanding of what a prophet is and does. Yet I still wonder why that is so?? Is the church at large so fearful of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the prophetic in particular? If so – why?? It is all quite biblical – see 1 Corinthians12 & 14 just for starters. If it was false or damaging then it would never have gotten into God’s Word. Demonstrably, it did not cease in the first century with the passing of the apostles. Jesus and the Holy Spirit will be ‘with you always’.

I find it simply amazing to hear stories of pastors apologising for a move of the Spirit in their services or meetings as being “not usual in this church”. What are they afraid of – apart from their big tithers of course?

The Church needs the prophetic, the voices in the wilderness, right now more than at any time in the past 2000 years. Look at the signs of the times (Matthew 24:3-44 plus Mark 13 & Luke 21) Look at Matthew 16:3 “ . . . . You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.” Look too at Amos 3:7 “Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.” The real problem is that "Preachers are heralded and prophets are hounded." (Leonard Ravenhill.)

The trouble is that prophets are human too and they need to be able to deliver even the hardest Word from the Lord in love. 1 Cor 13:1 “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.” The easy, ‘good news’, word is very easy to deliver as it pleases the hearer. The trouble with most churches is that they have never been exposed to real prophecy and they neither know how to handle or discern it, nor how to use it in love. Prophets, too, need to learn how to be a true “voice in the wilderness” – to receive and deliver a Word from the Lord and then stand back having completed their job!! They seem unable to allow people to ‘discern’ what they are saying. Too many try to force acceptance of that which they are saying when that is the job of the Holy Spirit. It is a job He does better than we can ever do so why do we try to ‘help’ Him?

God help me to be the kind of ‘Voice in the Wilderness’, maybe even in the mould of John the Baptist, or Elijah, or Isaiah. I said ‘in the mould of’, not ‘like’, or even ‘as good as’. I will settle for saying only what the Lord tells me to say. I hope I do that all the days of my life.