Battle Cry - Rise Up!

Matthew 3:1-6 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2 and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'" 4 John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

I want to begin this morning with a statistic that is absolutely frightening. Only 4% of this current generation of youth has a personal relationship with Jesus. That is what Battle Cry is about. It is the decision on the part of believers to declare war on the culture that is stealing away these youth, filling their minds with perversion and lusts, with greed and envy, with every type of sin and imagination that exalts itself above God in our lives. The Battle Cry is a call to the local churches to rise up and proclaim the holy standard of Christ!

Ron Luce shared with us about John B., who serves to show us what is required if we are going to carry out this plan of attack. Consider for a minute this strange character we know as John the Baptist. Dressed in camel’s hair clothing, bound with a leather belt, he was eating locusts and wild honey. (Living on the bitter made bearable by a touch of the sweet) And John was not just strange looking – he was totally sold out for God. And I would submit to you this morning that if we are going to be effective in reaching this generation for Christ, we are going to have to be willing to become as sold out as John was, willing to be considered a freak for the sake of God’s kingdom.

Notice what was said here about John by the prophet Isaiah: (verse 3)he was “The voice. . .” The first thing you learn about being in a culture war is that the loudest voice wins. Consider, for example, the decision this week by CBS, a powerful media network, to fire their long-time employee, Imus. Now the record is pretty clear that Imus said some pretty stupid things, and CBS did what they thought was right—they placed him on two weeks of unpaid leave. But there were some voices (say voices) that began to say, it’s not enough. And the voices grew louder and louder. And because of those voices, some of CBS’s sponsors began to pull out. And because of those voices, this major network changed its mind and fired this man.

Now back to our main point, here. In a culture war, the loudest voice wins. And this got me to thinking—what is the church’s voice like? Are we a dominating, loud voice in our society? I would suggest that because of political correctness, because we don’t want to be considered freaks, we’ve allowed our voice to become a whisper. In an interview in Detroit, some of our youth were asked if what type of animal this move of God needed to be like. Some of our kids were there and got interviewed. And what did you guys say? (A Tiger) A ferocious, hungry, stalking tiger. But the church today looks more like tigger than a tiger. We’re bouncy, trouncy, bouncy, trouncy, fun-fun-fun-fun-fun!

Church we need to rediscover our voice! I want to go back to verse 3 again. John was a voice crying . . . He wasn’t just talking in whispers, he was belting it out at the top of his lungs. He was saying I have something important to tell you and I am going to make sure you hear. . . picture Ty Pennington, of Exterme Home Makeover, yelling through the megaphone!

So John was a voice, crying in the wilderness. . . Why is it appropriate to compare this culture to a barren wilderness? Consider for just a moment the statistics:

What was John yelling out there in the desert? 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.' I want you to consider why John was out there. He wasn’t preaching the Gospel; he was preparing folks to hear the Gospel message. Today the church does a good job most of the time proclaiming the Gospel, but we aren’t very good at preparing the way for those seekers who are not yet ready to hear and believe. Am I willing to pray for that person every day, to listen to them, to their questions and concerns without pushing my own beliefs or an agenda? Can I just be a friend and a voice of reason for someone who is full of There are a lot of paths that need straightened, a lot of preparation that has not taken place.

I’ve said it before, but it needs to be said again—we need to move people towards the cross; from -10 to 0 and beyond. God is looking for people who are willing to use their talents, their hands, their life, to be like John—a Jesus Freak who is preparing the way for the Kingdom of God to come in the lives of those around them. We need people who will rise up and move beyond the casual Christianity of our culture to be authentically empowered people who can join the ranks and join in the battle. The battle cry has been sounded. Will you answer?