Get Ready Right Now! | Pastor Eoin O'Sullivan

And John would recall it as he's saying, repent for the kingdom of his hand, that the crooked places shall be made straight.

How do we know what straight looks like unless we get back into the word of God and know what truth is?

Otherwise, we'll just be listening to the algorithm that keeps reinforcing that evil is good and that good is evil.

But can I tell you today, if we go into God's word, we will recognize that we cannot live in a time where we continue to embrace what is opposite and rebellious against God in his way to the city?

We are so glad you joined us.

Our mission is to reach the law by raising fully trained disciples that are empowered by God to impact their world.

We pray that you are challenged and encouraged as you listen to this week's message.

The title of the message is Get Ready Right Now.

Get ready right now.

Matthew chapter 3, verse 1 and 3 says, In those days, John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Matthew 3:1

John had a message before the first coming of Christ.

He was paving the way and preparing the way for the Messiah who was going to come and lead people into all through truth and begin to come and head towards Calvary and head towards the cross and the resurrection and the payment for sin.

And John was the forerunner saying, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

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 path straight.

The prophet Isaiah.

This is recounted in Isaiah chapter 43 and 5.

Isaiah 43 · chapter mention

Here's the full context.

It says, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill brought low.

The crooked places shall be made straight, and the rough places smooth.

And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

The glory of the Lord shall be revealed.

I have one pursuit in my life that I may see the glory of God.

That's my pursuit.

It's my pursuit for this church.

It's my pursuit for this service.

It's my pursuit when I preach.

It's my pursuit with my life.

I want to see the glory of God.

I want to have that same heart of Moses.

I don't want to just I want to see all of you, God.

I want to I want to have the heart of David despite what may have come, may have may have gone the ups and the downs of life.

God, Lord, I just I want to I want to know you.

One thing I've desired that my seek, that I may be found in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.

The gaze upon the beauty of the Lord.

I don't know if there's anybody else here in this place, but your heart's desire is God, I want to see your glory revealed, oh God, in my generation, in my time, in our hour.

And certainly, God, we need us.

Certainly, we need it at this hour, and we need it at this time, the glory of the Lord to be revealed.

Now it's very simple when I look at this.

The prophet Isaiah has been given a message that John is going to proclaim under the banner of repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

And he's going to be saying that the low places must be lifted high, the high places must be brought low, those crooked or bent places need to be straightened out, and those that are rough space places need to be smoothen out.

And then the glory of God shall come back.

I believe he's coming back.

I don't know the day.

I don't know the hour.

You don't need to buy a book by anybody that thinks that they've predicted the date to be January 4th or whatever else date that they think it's going to be.

The Bible tells us that he's going to come like a thief in the night, and nobody knows the day, or nobody knows the hour.

But there's a proclamation, prepare the way of the Lord, because the kingdom of God is at hand.

Now, this proclamation would have been known because kings that would travel from one place to another would have had a herald that would go before them and literally call out, prepare the way for the king, prepare the way for the one in authority, the royalty who was coming behind me.

And there would have been a preparation of low places being lifted up, uh uh high places being brought low, crooked paths being made straight, and rough places being made smooth.

In other words, they were going to give the easiest possibility for the king to make his way to the his destination.

Whatever it would take to bring that into place would be that proclamation.

There seems to be happening now.

As a student of what's happening in the Capital C church since my early teens, I have noticed there's been a shifting happening in the message.

In the influential message, not just here in our nation but around the world.

It seems like the message of motivation has run its course.

It seems like the message of prosperity has run its course.

But there is a message that is now coming through, that's cutting through, that is this repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.

Get ready.

Jesus is coming back for his church.

We can't play games with God.

We can't play games with church.

We can't play games with silly ideas anymore.

It's very simple.

We need Jesus.

We need the Lord.

We need the Holy Spirit.

We need everything that He's got for our life.

We don't need half-truth.

We don't need sculpted out pieces of scripture.

We need Genesis to revelation.

We need the full measure of his anointing on our life.

Give us all that God has to offer us.

I'm coming up on five years of being here a senior pastor, and I've got five tips for anybody that wants to pastor church.

You want to know my five tips?

I need Jesus.

I need Jesus.

I need Jesus.

I need Jesus.

I need Jesus.

And that's it.

I need him.

That's all I got.

I need Jesus.

And you know what?

You want five tips for your life?

You need Jesus.

You need Jesus.

You need Jesus.

You need Jesus.

You need Jesus.

You can tell you're plus one, you're plus whatever.

You're fired.

There's nothing else.

Don't say that to anybody next to you this morning.

That wouldn't go down so well.

The disciples were wondering, Jesus, when will the end come?

In Matthew 24, there's that famous account of Jesus telling his disciples about what to be looking out for.

As a time would be drawing close to an end.

He said there would be famines and pestilences, there would be earthquakes, nation would rise up against nation, wars and rumors of wars.

It would just seem like the five o'clock news or the six o'clock news, what we watch every night, right?

But the thing that we must realize is that there has been wars and rumors of wars for 2,000 years.

There's been pestilences, there's been famines.

But there's an important piece in Matthew chapter 24.

Matthew 24 · chapter mention

Jesus would say these are the beginning of the birth pains.

Now I know that I believe we've got a uh a few gynecologists that come to the church here.

And and I've I've particularly when Dervla or middle child, when Dervla was set to be born, we were in the hospital and there was no doctor on site to deliver the baby.

The nurses and the midwives were there.

And so as it got closer, the contractions were getting closer and closer together, and it was clear that this baby was about to come.

And I'm asking the nurses, I'm like, where's the doctor?

And they're like, he's gonna come, he's gonna come.

The doctor, he, the doctor's gonna come.

And I and and then I began to panic.

I'm like, where is he?

He's gonna get here.

I'm not delivering this baby.

We need the doctor.

And literally, it was like two minutes to the baby to Dervla coming, uh uh uh coming, and and this this doctor uh swoons into the room.

He was like Trevor Lawrence with two seconds to go, ready to throw that touchdown.

Like, I'm here, and and just comes in and delivers that baby.

It's amazing though, isn't it?

Isn't it amazing that there's things in life that seem like they're really far away, and then before you know it, they're right there upon you.

There, and I don't know if it's just an aging thing.

The more I get old, it seems like time is moving faster and fast.

Is that an aging thing?

Can you it just seems like everything's just coming, it's just moving faster and faster.

There's a promise in scripture that Jesus is coming back for his church.

He's coming back.

I'm sure when Noah was building the ark, he looked like a fool until the heavens opened up and the rain began to fall.

I'm sure John the Baptist must have looked foolish in the wilderness calling people until verse 13 of Matthew chapter 3, when it says, Jesus then came unto John.

Matthew 3 · chapter mention

There comes a moment.

There comes a moment.

Now I don't know if it's Jesus coming back for his church in my lifetime.

I would not be surprised if it was my lifetime, and certainly not if it was in my children's lifetime.

I believe it's getting close, really, really close right now.

But this is what I do know is I want to see the glory of God.

I don't want to, and I know I believe we can see the glory of God.

We don't have to wait till next year.

We don't have to wait till gas prices go down or gas prices go up or this happens or that happens.

No, the message is get ready right now.

We want the glory of God in our midst.

Hallelujah.

Four things.

Four things is ascribed that John is to preach.

The valleys are to be exalted.

In other words, there's things that are low that needs to be lifted up.

There's some expectations that have fallen that need to be arisen again.

There's some faith that has come low that needs to rise again.

And I understand it.

Sometimes it's hard to believe God for miracles when you seem like you're just making it through week by week.

But I want to remind you today and just encourage you in the faith today that our God is a miracle-working God, that our God is a healer, that our God still is a redeemer, that our God is still a restorer, our God is a God of grace.

Any anybody remember the old hymn, Love lifted me?

Anybody remember that hymn?

Love.

I don't know if you know that one.

You know that one talk.

Well, maybe the one at the end if you still know it.

I might be putting you on the spot right there.

Love lifted me.

You know, religion wants to always remind you how low you are, your faults, your failures, all of those types of things.

But the gospel is good news.

The gospel wants to lift you, the gospel wants to raise you, the gospel, the gospel wants to give you grace, grace, oh, amazing grace.

Oh, I'm so excited about grace.

The more I live, the more I'm excited about grace.

The more I walk with God, I'm not becoming more confident in the flesh.

I'm beginning to realize my only hope is the amazing grace of Almighty God.

I'm not swayed by any person.

I recognize all people have fallen short of God's glorious heaven.

My hope is that there is a God that goes into the pit and pulls people up and sets their feet upon a rock.

A rock that they can stand on a high place.

The prophet Micah in chapter 7 was saying, When I fall, all my enemies, don't rejoice over me.

I shall rise again.

I thank God for everyone that's fallen in this room today.

By the grace of Almighty God, you shall rise again.

Grace will be your testimony, mercy will be your testimony, heaven will be your testimony.

Oh, I'm not staying here.

I'm going with him.

When he calls this church, I'm going yonder, wherever yonder is.

I don't know exactly where it is.

I'm just going yonder with him.

Lotta sweep by and by.

Isn't that what we say?

Maybe I got that wrong.

The little places need to be lifted up.

He shall set me in a high rock, and my head shall be lifted up above all of my enemies.

In heavenly places.

The resurrection is God's declaration that the valley doesn't get the final word.

The low places must be exalted.

Number two, that the mountains shall be brought low.

Not only is God able to raise up the lowly, but he's also able to bring down the prideful.

We're living in a generation of pride.

We're living in a generation where we think we can live independent from God.

We're living in a time where we talk about my truth, my body, my choice, my this, my that.

You don't have anything, sir.

You don't have anything.

You if you have it, God gave it to you.

If you have breath in your lung, every breath that you take is the mercy of Almighty God.

Who do we think that we are?

That we have a right to anything.

We gotta be careful that we don't allow our ability to be competent in whatever we do, become independence from God Himself.

No, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ was Lord.

In fact, the writer of Colossians says he's disarmed principalities and powers and he has triumphed over.

In other words, he's brought the high things and he's brought them down.

Paul says in Romans 16:20, and God, the God of peace, will crush Satan under your feet shortly.

Romans 16:20

I want to remind us, church, today, our battle is not with people, our battles is with principalities and powers.

The enemy wants us to look at each other.

Oh, what a tragedy to look at each other.

We should look to God Almighty, who's the one who keeps us, who sustain us.

He wants us.

No, the Bible actually instructs us that we're to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind, and to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Faith, hope, and love, these three remain, but the greatest of these is love.

Listen, I thank God for this nation.

I pray for this nation.

I I I have my opinions and I have my thoughts on things that are happening in our nation right now, but I'm also compelled by scripture that I'm called to love my enemies.

What a mandate, what a trial, what a difficulty.

I don't know why certain things are happening, but I know that God's called me to reach the Muslim, God's called me to reach the homosexual, God's called me to reach the broken, God's called me to reach, He's called us to send out.

Oh, He's called us to send out, church.

Oh, every high thing must be brought low.

I'm just gonna go through this.

The crooked places must be made straight.

That's the battlefield of our mind, I believe.

The enemy wants to get into our thought life.

Because if he can get into our thought life, he can get into our direction.

The image that we were created in, as we're talking about on Wednesday nights, if he can get into our thought and he can begin to bend us this way and bend us that way.

See, everything God created is good, isn't it?

Everything God created is perfect, it's sin that corrupts us, it's sin that Ben said, God created sexuality, God created sex.

Can I get an amen in the house this morning?

It's sin that corrupts us.

God created marriage, sin corrupts it.

God creates authority, sin corrupts it, God creates worship, sin corrupts it.

It bents it out of shape.

And the prophet Isaiah is recalling it, and John would recall it as he's saying, Repent for the kingdom of his hand, that the crooked places shall be made straight.

How do we know what straight looks like unless we get back into the word of God and know what truth is?

Otherwise, otherwise, we'll just be listening to the algorithm that keeps reinforcing that evil is good and that good is evil.

But can I tell you today, if we go into God's word, we will recognize that we cannot live in a time where we continue to embrace what is opposite and rebellious against God and His ways.

And better than that, God can strain us.

God can break break make those crooked places and he can make them straight.

He said, I will go before you and make the crooked places straight.

Lord, there should be a prayer within us, Lord, align me again.

My thinking.

Come on, everybody, my marriage, my priorities, my finances, my relationships, my private life, and my public life.

Oh, God, make them straight again in your presence.

Because the king is coming very soon.

It's time to get ready.

Right now, church.

Finally, every rough place shall be made smooth.

Oh, we don't like this one.

Trust me, you don't like the rough places being made smooth.

This is this is the the rough place is me and you.

There's some smoothing that needs to take place.

Don't look to anybody else right now.

Just look right at me.

Don't be don't be looking at the person next to you.

There's some things that need to be smoothing out.

There is some there is still a bit of Egypt still left in all of us.

A little bit of the world left in all of us.

And sometimes we go, God, use my life.

And God's like, I'll use your life.

But first, I'm gonna have to take you like Joseph.

I'm gonna have to put you in the pit.

I'm gonna have to have you betrayed by your brothers.

I'm gonna have to have you falsely accused.

I'm gonna have to put you in prison.

And then maybe just one day, by an obsecure, unanticipated way, I'll bring you right into the calling of God upon your life because I'm doing something in you.

Hallelujah.

Ministry would be great without the people, somebody once says.

All of creation is doing what God told it to do, except for me and for you.

Humans have been the problem from the very beginning.

No wonder David said, What is man that you are mindful of him?

Oh, what is it, God, that you would choose to have grace and mercy towards us?

Yet God has loves us, he loves people, he uses people.

Listen, if you feel like you are being uh uh there's some difficulties and uncomfortability in relationships with others, you just say thank you, God, for your grace in in my life.

So the next time your boss comes in and he's rubbing you up the wrong way and things are uncomfortable and it's difficult and it's hard.

You say, Thank you, God, for your grace in my life, that you're making me more like Jesus in this workplace by putting this person so I can die to my flesh and look a little bit more like you.

Oh, the joy of the Lord is still my strength.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

The rough places be made smooth.

Oh, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed.

I want the glory of God.

God, do whatever you want to do in my life.

Oh, God, raise up the places, Lord, that have become low.

Take down the pride from my life.

Oh, God, make the crooked places straight.

Oh, God, won't you smoothen out those places that have become rough?

I'm believing that God, if I can play on those words, that He's gonna smoothen out some areas that have been rough in your life for a long time.

Yeah, sorrow endures for the night, but there is a joy that comes in the morning.

I believe in a resurrection, I believe in a God of God that conquered dead hell in the grave.

I believe that we have a great hope.

I believe we're going through to the other side.

I believe that destruction and dismay and discouragement is not a portion, but hope, love, and faith, these are our portion, and we're going all the ways with Jesus.

Wherever he would have us.

You know the song Little.

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