Preparedness

Today in Discipleship 101 i am led to expound on the concept of Preparedness/Readiness.

A strong characteristic of a disciple is that they are always ready for kingdom work.

They have said to God:

Isaiah 6:8 BSB

8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying: “Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us?” And I said: “Here am I. Send me!”

And so they are prepared for certain eventualities.

What these eventualities are i will share in just a moment but first let us make sure we know what it means to be ready in the biblical sense.

Are you ready?

In the NT there are actually 3 Greek words, each with remarkably different roots and meanings, all of which are at least once, translated into English all using the same word “Prepared/Ready”.

In fact, these 3 words are quite famous, being used at the Roman Olympic games.

A phrase we still use in English today:

On your Marks; Get Set; Go!

That 3 phrase starting tradition began as a 3 word starting tradition.

And each word add a powerful layer into what biblical readiness actually means.

1: Prothymia (On Your Marks)

Pro-the-mea: Readiness of spirit ie eagerness

2 Corinthians 8:19 BSB

19 More than that, this brother was chosen by the churches to accompany us with the offering —the gracious gift we administer to honor the Lord Himself and to show our eagerness to help.

This word is often translated as Eagerness or Willingness.

It speaks of being ready in our spirit.

In fact, prothymia is a compound Greek word:

“Pro” - Fore

“Thumos” which means a shout.

So Pro-the-mia literally means a Fierce shout from your spirit before the actual task.

2: Hetoimos (Get set)

Het-imos: To be actually fit for the task.

Luke 14:17 BSB

17 When it was time for the banquet, he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’

In English we have a saying: Always use the right tool for the job.

This is the very essence of Het-imos.

Its not just that you are willing, but that you are also actually CAPABLE.

Now there is a potential for misunderstandings here so let me explain:

By capable i do not mean “self sufficient”.

When it comes to the work of the Kingdom, none of us are “capable” of this task on our own:

2 Corinthians 3:5 BSB

5 Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim that anything comes from us, but our competence comes from God.

Rather by capable or competent it means that: God’s gifting s and our diligence meet regularly.

Let me illustrate: God has gifted me the ministry of the Pastor and preaching.

So given the fact that God has gifted me to preach, does that mean that i just turn up with a sermon, open my mouth and let God do the rest?

Well, no. Not even close.

When i have written a sermon, i then speak it out loud. I will even “rehearse” the sermon.

I will notice a poor explanation, a needed illustration, extra scriptural support or inclusion.

Then on the Sunday i poor myself out to the church, ending in utter exhaustion, often resulting in me not speaking for the rest of the day and even on Mondays.

Why?

Why do I put so much “human effort” to a task that I am already gifted in?

Because willingness, though vital and beautiful, is NOT always sufficient for the task.

Why else would the bible says:

1 Corinthians 3:2 BSB

2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for solid food. In fact, you are still not ready,

Notice that even some Biblical Truths are not given to them even though both Paul and them are “willing” the Corinthians are simply not actually ready.

3: Ephistemi (Go)

Epi-stemi: To be available.

2 Timothy 4:2 BSB

2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction.

This is the final step in Biblical Perpetration.

Your Spirit is willing.

Your talents are exercised.

Now you must actually be available to God.

Things we must be ready for:

Now that we know what it means to be ready, what are the things, the eventualities, the potential possibilities that we must be prepared for?

Turns out the Disciple is kind of like a “Kingdom Prepper”.

Have you ever seen those doomsday preppers?

They live every day in preparation of WW3.

So they identify real possibilities and then prepare for those potentials.

No water - so they dig wells.

No electricity - so they install solar and batteries.

No supply chain - so they stockpile foods

A disciple lives the same way.

However, its not the collapses of society the disciple prepares for.

The disciple has been told by God of various, potential possibilities that we may encounter and we are specifically told to “prep” for those scenarios.

So: What must be be ready for?

1: The second coming

Matthew 24:44 BSB

44 For this reason, you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect.

I think it goes without saying but the number one future event that we are told again and again to be ready for, to prepare for is the Lord’s Second Coming.

2: To Punish disobedience

2 Corinthians 10:6 BSB

6 And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, as soon as your obedience is complete.

This one seems very strange but as we will see is a vital part of discipleship.

take out plank in own eye first.

To do good:

Titus 3:1 BSB

1 Remind the believers to submit to rulers and authorities, to be obedient and ready for every good work,

First of all: What is a “good work”?

A good work is any work done in such a way that it exults God.

ok but why must we “be ready”? Cant we just decide on the day?

This verse, i really believe, is speaking of God’s agency in the lives of His people - AS HE USES SOME OF HIS PEOPLE TO HELP OTHERS.

God, though perfectly capable of “sign type” miracles can manifest His answer “ex Nilo” as it were - The plain fact is that God more than not uses people to accomplish his purpose.

What that means is that at least 2 people need to interact: One with a need and one with the satisfaction of that need.

Now The one who is in need is aware of the situation, but often times the other is not.

So they need to be ready for that moment when God reveals His use of us to help others we are ready!!!

To defend our faith

1 Peter 3:15 BSB

15 But in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give a defense to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that is in you. But respond with gentleness and respect,

That word “defend” in the Greek is Apologia - its the word we use to name the subject of Apologetic.

Althouigh it unfortunately sounds like the word apology, geopolitics is not at all an apology.

Apolog is the legal term used to describes an accused persons defense.

Every Christian should be able to defend:

The Deity of Jesus.

The Inspiration of the Word.

The Necessity for Christian Fellowship.

If you cant: Dont worry -= You will.

And finally:

To share the faith

2 Timothy 4:2 BSB

2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction.

Sharing the faith and defending the faith are often 2 sides of the same coin.

But what is being highlight here is specifically The presentation of the Gospel in an Evangelistic settings.

Can you actually share the Christian faith further than “Jesus loves you”?

My personal favorite way to share the gospel is the Roman Road.

Dont know it? Dont worry....

Conclusion: