癤풞 Voice of One Crying Out in the Wilderness
(Mark 1:2-8)

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혻 According to the church calendar Christians celebrate the Advent for four weeks until Christmas. The Advent refers to the period when Christians praise the day of Jesus??coming to this earth and spend time with holiness. John the Baptist, the son of Zechariah the priest, called out in the desert to prepare for Jesus. In this way, we should all prepare for Jesus.
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1. Prepare the way for the Lord. (Mk 1:2-3)
혻 Prophets in the Old Testament expected Messiah to come soon and called out, ?쏱repare the way for the Lord.??We must also prepare for Jesus who will come as the king of peace, the Savior of humanity on this earth. In the past, as people made the way for the king to meet Him, so we have to prepare the way for Jesus. Yet, many people become their master and live in despair and anxiety, captured by their problems. However, when they look to Jesus Christ from themselves, then the cloud of despair will disappear right away. Fix your eyes high above. Live a life by doing your best for the glory of God day after day, preparing for Jesus??second coming.
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2. Repent. (Mk 1:4-5)
혻 John the Baptist cried out in the wilderness every day, ?쏳epent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.??During His public life Jesus??first message was also ?쏳epent.??Mt 4:17) Today the fundamental problem of Christians is that they don?셳 repent. In the case of the church that has many problems, there is no repentance but only blaming others and fighting. Korean churches must repent heartily, kneel down to God, and pray for repentance. They must turn from their wrong faith, kneel down, and repent wailing. They must repent of compromising with sin, not praying earnestly, not serving the Lord faithfully, losing the first love, and living with resentment and complaints. Then the tremendous grace of God will be upon them.
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3. Receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit. (Mk 1:8)
혻 After we repent, we should be filled with the Holy Spirit in order to live a life of pleasing God. We have to experience the baptism of the Holy Spirit of sinking in the river of His grace. On the day of the Pentecost, Jesus??disciples fully received the Holy Spirit that He promised as He ascended to heaven.(Ac 2:1-4) Likewise the disciples became the powerful witnesses of the gospel when they were filled with the Holy Spirit. The secret that we live a victorious life of faith is to receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes on those who repent of sin, long for Him earnestly, and pray. The fullness of the Holy Spirit saves us and brings a revival to the church.
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혻 I hope that you will become the saints who prepare well for Jesus any time by repenting of sin and being filled with the Holy Spirit at this time when all the churches are expecting the advent of Jesus.
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