One Voice

Posted On December 26, 2021

“Behold, I am sending My messenger before You,
Who will prepare Your way;
The voice of one calling out in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
Make His paths straight!'”

Mark 1:1-3 NASB

“No one can come to Me unless the Father who has sent Me draws him.
And I will raise him up on the last day.” 

John 6:44 MEV

The “voice of one calling out in the wilderness” was the voice of John the Baptist. He came to prepare the way for Jesus. But why? Why didn’t Jesus just show up and announce Himself? My study Bible explains that John the Baptist cleared the way for Jesus because people who don’t know Jesus must first be prepared to meet Him. Jesus said that no one can come to Him unless the Father draws them. So we as Christians are often charged with calling out to others and preparing them to meet Christ. Here’s how we can do this:

“We can ‘prepare the way’ by explaining their need for forgiveness, demonstrating Christ’s teaching by our conduct, and telling them how Christ can give their lives meaning. We can ‘clear the road for him’ by correcting misconceptions that might be hindering people from approaching Christ.”

The Chronological Life Application Study Bible

This sounds overwhelming, but we can be confident that if God gives us a mission, He will equip us to carry it out. He made us to be perfectly suited to our assignments, and Scripture reassures us that God will provide everything we need to do His work. (See, for example, Matthew 6:33, 1 Peter 2:9, 2 Peter 1:3, 2 Corinthians 9:8, Philippians 4:13, and Philippians 4:19.) The Holy Spirit will give us the right words to say when we need them (Luke 12:12). We just have to be willing to be His voice.

“Someone you know may be open to a relationship with Christ.
What can you do to prepare the way for this person?”

The Chronological Life Application Study Bible

One Voice

“I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

Luke 3:16 ESV

John the Baptist prepared people to meet the promised Messiah by preaching repentance. He also rallied the troops with His powerful words and got them ready for the battle that was coming. Jesus is not what everyone was expecting in a Messiah. Neither John nor Jesus was popular with the leaders of that time and new believers needed to be strengthened to face opposition. John was tasked with being the voice that prepared the way.

The sound of one voice can be powerful. Here is one of my favorite examples of this: the president’s speech in the movie Independence Day. In this sci-fi action film, aliens have invaded Earth and mankind must fight for survival. Here is the scene just before the big battle . . .

Okay, so early Christians weren’t fighting aliens from space, but this clip is not too far off from what we face now. Those of us fortunate enough to live in countries where Christians are not persecuted (and I realize that some of my readers are not so fortunate) do not have to fight against human opposition but against evil forces of darkness:

“We aren’t fighting against human enemies but against rulers, authorities, forces of cosmic darkness, and spiritual powers of evil in the heavens. “

Ephesians 6:12 CEB

Christ won the big battle against Satan and his demons when He died on the cross and rose again three days later. Satan is defeated, and he knows it, so he is trying to take as many of us down with him as he can. And he fights dirty. He lies to us, he preys on our vulnerabilities, and he kicks us when we’re down. His goal is to keep as many of us from making it to heaven as possible. For those of us who are already saved, his goal is to keep us knocked down and out of the way, unable or unwilling to do God’s work. So even though the battle is won, we still have to fight. We have to fight to save those who do not yet know Christ. We have to fight for our Christian brothers and sisters who face human persecution. And we have to fight for ourselves so that Satan will not stop us from being effective soldiers for Christ. This is an ongoing fight for all humankind.

The good news is that we’re not in this fight alone. The president’s speech in the movie clip above filled the young soldiers with hope and courage to fight because they knew the president himself was about to climb in a plane and fight right alongside them. Our all-powerful Creator and King came down to Earth to fight for us. Christ already gave His life to save us, but He’s still right here with us, fighting alongside us every day. This is what we celebrate at Christmas. This is the awe-inspiring, rallying cry of John the Baptist and of Christians everywhere:

“God has landed on this enemy-occupied world in human form.”

C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Voices Two

“A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.”

Ecclesiastes 4:12 NLT

The Holy Spirit lives inside every believer, helping us and strengthening us for the fight. But God also gives us the gift of other Christians. When we call out to others to follow Christ, we not only help them, but we also help ourselves. God created us to be in fellowship with each other and gave us all different gifts. When we join together, we are stronger.

“Jesus looked ahead to a new day when he would be present with his followers not in body, but through his Holy Spirit. In the body of believers (the church), the sincere agreement of two people in prayer is more powerful than the superficial agreement of thousands because Christ’s Holy Spirit is with them. Two or more believers, filled with the Holy Spirit, will pray according to God’s will, not their own.”

The Chronological Life Application Study Bible

I have to admit I don’t know much about military strategy, but I do have experience with music. One thing I often say when I am asked to sing is that I prefer to sing with someone else rather than alone. Two voices singing together are stronger than one, and they complement each other with their harmony. Three voices, even more so. The same is true in our spiritual battles. When we join together with other believers, we can accomplish more than we could alone. And, from a personal perspective, I find the resulting “music” much more interesting and beautiful to listen to.

“Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.  For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

Matthew 18:19-20 NIV

All of Us

” . . . and on this rock I will build my church,
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

Matthew 6:18 ESV

If one voice is strong, and two or three are stronger, the sound of all of us is a force to be reckoned with! In fact, Jesus said that the “gates of hell” cannot stand against it. We are His Church. That gives us great power against evil forces. Let’s use it! Those of us who are able to do so freely should be grateful. I am sure our Christian brothers and sisters forced to stay hidden because of the countries in which they live would love to stand up with all of us and raise their voices, but they can’t for fear of imprisonment or death. So let’s do it for them! Let’s stand up and sing together. Let’s shout! Not in fear and anger, but in praise to God. This is how we come before God to get our marching orders. This is how we defeat the enemy.

C. S. Lewis said that this is how God makes Himself known to us: He can only reveal Himself as He really is to people who are “united together in a body, loving one another, helping one another, showing Him to one another. For that is what God meant humanity to be like; like players in one band, or organs in one body. Consequently, the one really adequate instrument for learning about God, is the whole Christian community, waiting for Him together.” (C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity)

We are meant to be part of Christ’s Church. This is how we help each other learn about God and about His will for us individually and collectively. God wants everyone to be saved, and He wants everyone to know the truth. He equips us for battle so that we can do this important work. It takes all of us.

“I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. . . . This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.” 

1 Timothy 2:1,3-4 NLT

One Voice

“May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Romans 15:5-6 NLT

One voice is strong. Two or three are stronger. The sound of all of us is unstoppable by the enemy, but only if we are united. The gates of hell cannot prevail against us, but we have the power to defeat ourselves or render ourselves useless in the fight. We must always remember our mission to lead others to Christ. If we are using our voices to shout at others in anger instead of call them to us in love, we are doing much more damage than the enemy ever could. And he knows it.

If we let the enemy distract us with minor problems, selfish wants, hurt feelings, pride, insecurity, judgmental rants, or anything else, we become ineffective soldiers for Christ. This is the danger we all face. This is how Satan operates. He infiltrates our thoughts and emotions and whispers lies. He fills us with doubts. So we must put on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18) every day and be prepared to fight these attacks. We must stay connected to our Commander through prayer and study the battle plans in His Word. And we must remember that love conquers all!

“Jesus’ great desire for his disciples was that they would become one. He wanted them unified as a powerful witness to the reality of God’s love. . . . Jesus prayed for unity among believers based on the believers’ unity with him and the Father. Christians can know unity among themselves if they are living in union with God; each branch living in union with the vine is united with all other branches doing the same.”

The Chronological Life Application Study Bible

One of the hardest things to do in a choir is to sing in unison, to sound like one voice. Yet, this is what we the Church are called to do. We must put aside our petty differences and be united in our common interest. December 25 used to be associated with pagan festivals, but not anymore. Now, we celebrate it as the commemoration of Jesus’ birth, our independence day. Jesus saved us from annihilation. He conquered death to give us eternal life. Now, He wants us to share the good news with those that haven’t yet heard that the battle is won! He doesn’t want us to let the enemy silence us. He wants us to stand up and declare with one voice: We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! Thanks to what Christ has done for us, we’re going to live on!

“The boots of the warrior
and the uniforms bloodstained by war
will all be burned.
They will be fuel for the fire.
For a child is born to us,
a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Isaiah 9:5-6 NLT

This week’s Scripture passages remind us that the sound of one voice is powerful. Let’s celebrate the birth of our Lord, our independence day, by sharing the good news with the world! And let’s pray for our Christian brothers and sisters who are forced to be silent. My husband, a U.S. Air Force veteran, once shared a Bible with a soldier in a country where Christianity was not allowed under penalty of death. This soldier had to hide his Bible in a secret compartment under his house. In honor of all of our brothers and sisters in similar places who bravely fight to serve Christ despite the risks, I have included a video of the song “One Voice” performed by the U.S. Air Force band. Let it serve as a reminder that we are all one family in Christ. May God’s peace be with you all.

“Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.”

2 Corinthians 13:11 NIV

References:

• Chronological Life Application Study Bible, New Living Translation. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. 2012.
• “Independence Day (4/5) Movie CLIP – The President’s Speech (1996) HD.” YouTube, uploaded by Movieclips, 10 July 2015, https://youtu.be/9t1IK_9apWs.
• Lewis, C. S. “Mere Christianity.” The Complete C. S. Lewis Signature Classics, Harper San Francisco, 2002, pp. 1-177.
• “One Voice.” YouTube, uploaded by The United States Air Force Band, 1 December 2018, https://youtu.be/Q41ctPLDHvU.

Images:

• People Silhouette featured image by Joseph Redfield Nino from Pixabay
• Wilderness Path image by Jeff Ramdass from Pixabay
• Man Silhouette image by Pexels from Pixabay
• Women Praying image by AndPan614 from Pixabay
• Group Prayer image by J F from Pixabay
• Nativity image by Jeff Jacobs from Pixabay