Be Prepared
Notes
Transcript
Be Prepared
08-21-2022
Intro -
Welcome
This morning we look at another one of Jesus’s Parables
The title for Todays message is Be Prepared
And maybe when we just said you sang the Lion Kings Be Prepared
Or maybe you were a Boy Scout and know that is the Boy Scout Motto
But be prepared
Be prepared for what you might ask and I am so glad you did
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
So let me ask you are you prepared
If Jesus came back today are you prepared
See when you think of being prepared right
Often times we think of our future or we think of trips
If you have ever taken a long trip there has to be planning to go along with the trips
If you ever go on a mission trip with me there is some planning that goes into it
We took a trip to the Wilds and the Columbus Zoo and there was a lot of planning that had to go in so the trip would be good right
And I understand this side of heaven in a fallen world you can’t be prepared for everything
Like when we took our trip to Columbus we were to pick up the rental car the day before we left at around noon, no car
We checked I think at 5 and still no car
At 7 we started to panic a bit right we are getting ready to take this huge long road trip and still no car
Finally at about 9pm they called and the car had just come in and was ready for us to pick up
At the 5pm mark we started to make other plans so that we were prepared in the event the car was not ready
IF you are a planner this is your jam, you are my people
If not that’s ok you are still my people
When we talk about planning
For you younger people I am sure you have heard some of the older people in your life talk about planning for your future and for retirement
Most jobs are full of people you can talk to about preparing for a future and retirement
And the younger you are they always tell you put away as much as you can
Well when you are younger you are not making much if anything and especially now with prices the way they are it is so difficult to be prepared but somehow someway we find a way right
Because we understand that is a smart move
Another thing we do great at preparing is for kids
If you have had kids you know there is a lot of stuff you have to buy before the baby comes, there are classes you have to take before the baby comes
To ensure you are prepared for the baby, they keep you in the hospital and make sure the baby is strapped in safely before you leave
And we gladly go about preparing for the baby right
It is something in us that almost compels to get ready for the baby
In case you didn’t know I am a planner
I have been so engrained that you need to do what you can to be prepared right
The 5 P’s of planning
Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance
5 The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, But everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty.
The wise plan ahead
The unwise just allow things to happen and you have to deal with the fallout
The wise are rewarded with abundance for their planning
The unwise are rewarded with their poverty because of their lack of planning
To be prepared is to take into account of what is coming right
Jesus is coming
1 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 “Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. 3 “For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. 5 “Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. 6 “But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 “Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 “The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 “But the prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 “And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. 11 “Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ 12 “But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.
So this morning as we look at this text we will see how it is for everyone this morning
It was custom at weddings for the bridegroom to have a party at his house and then go to the brides house and get her from her parents and then bring her back to his house
Then they would exchange vows
In this account it does not say who’s house they were going in to but it was most likely the mans house because after the door was shut the celebration began
As part of the ceremony the bridesmaids would sort of light the way to the celebration for the Groom and for the Bride
On the surface we see those who are not prepared do not get to go in and celebrate
Those bridesmaids knew how this would go and still there were some of them who were not prepared
In the end those who were not prepared were not able to go in and attend the celebration
In the end those who are not prepared for eternity will not be able to spend eternity in heaven with Jesus
Those who are not prepared for eternity will spend eternity in hell
Let that sink in
Their is also something in there for the church
That we had better be prepared to share Christ with people
That we need to be using the Word of God to point people to Christ
But we cannot use what we do not know or what we don’t have
And if you do not know the Word of God you may not know Christ
I am not saying you have to have so many verse memorized before you can go to heaven or that you have to have the books memorized
There will be many church people who claim to know Christ but do not actually know Christ
It is a difference of the head knowledge of Christ and the heart relationship with Christ
For most of us we do some sort of planning right others do it better than some and some still have a ways to go in learning and growing to be better prepared
So why is with the things of this world we do great on planning but when it comes to eternity and for sure 100% thing we struggle to be prepared
Jesus is coming back Fact
7 Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.
That is a fact
For those who are prepared you will spend eternity in heaven and for those who are not prepared
For those who do not know Jesus will spend eternity in a real place called hell that is a fact
8 dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,
That is a fact
That those who do not know Jesus in their heart will spend eternity in hell
BUT
There are things we can do to be prepared right
9 “But the prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’
Right this second there is still time to do something about it
You can run the alter and cry out to Jesus
You can turn from your sin this morning and trust Jesus to be Lord of your life
You can do that this morning and you can be a new creation and you can be free from sin this morning
You can seal your name in the book of life and spend eternity in the presence of Jesus if only you will be prepared
How you become prepared church is simple
Repent
Repentance is to turn the other way to stop what you are doing and go in the opposite direction
If you are here this morning and do not know Christ personally you are running away from Christ
You may think you are a good person and not doing anything bad but your best is like filthy rags
The only thing that can make you clean and pure is Christ
So to repent is to flee from sin and turn to Jesus
Believe
To believe is to do just that
To believe that Jesus is in fact the Son of God
To believe that Jesus did in fact die and was raised 3 days later
To believe that Jesus is who he says he is and did what he said he would do and will do what he said he will do
That is what we can do to be prepared for eternity right
We do such a great job with everything else what stops us from doing it when it comes to eternity
There are people who will go to hell because they are not prepared to meet Jesus
And the scaring thing is this
We do not know the day or time
36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.
We do not know when Jesus is coming back
We do not know when our time is up on this earth
Now I get it in the what if world you like to live in it would be great right
You would know exactly when Jesus is coming back or you would know when your time is up on this earth and right before you would be able to make a decision to repent and trust Jesus
But that is not the case
You and I are not promised tomorrow and we do not know when Jesus is coming back and we do not know when our time is up on this world
When I went to the ER on Dec 8th, I can remember the doctor asking me if they needed to intimate me is that ok and then he asked me if I had a will
For a split second in that moment I went wow that is not good I really miss my girls
Then the lady started poking me trying to take my blood and then put an air compressor in my mouth to help me breath
But in that moment I was not concerned with where I was going
My Lily on the ride home Randi began to question if I was going to be ok and my Lily said yep either way dad will be ok, either he will be physically healed or he will be in heaven with Jesus
Why because I have done what I need to do to prepare my self for eternity
Have you
As we come to a close this morning
Are you prepared for eternity
If you answer to the question
Why should I let you into my heaven
Other than because He
Because Jesus died for my sins
Then you are not prepared for eternity and you will spend it in hell separated from God
If that is you and you want to be prepared this morning I would invite you to the front to speak with someone and they can open up the Bible and show you this morning how you can repent from your sin and trust in Jesus this morning
Or maybe you are here this morning and you already have a relationship with Jesus but because of sin your life you are not living like
I would invite you to the front to repent and run back to Jesus
Or maybe you need to spend sometime in prayer at the altar
Or maybe there is a decision of church membership you need to make or another decision
The altar is open