WHAT IT MEANS TO GET READY

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WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO “GET READY & TO STAY READY”?

Jesus tells us in Mathew chapters 24 & 25

Matthew 24:31 says, “And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

Verse 36. “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. 37 “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. 38 “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 “Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. 41 “Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.”

Be Ready for His Coming

Verse 42. “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. Verse 43. “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. Verse 44. “For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.

Verse 50. “the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, verse 51, and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

1. LEARN AND KNOW THE SIGNS, WELL. Don’t be caught unaware, study now.

Matthew 24:32-35 says, “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.”

2. KNOW THAT IT WILL BE SUDDEN. There will be no time to get ready, later. The time for preparation is now.

Matthew 24:36-41 says, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be. “Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. “Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.“

3. BE ALERT, READY TO RISE UP. You must be on guard, supplied and ready to defend.

Matthew 24:42-44 says, “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. “For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.”

4. BE FULL OF FAITH, WISE, RESPONSIBLE. You will either be put in charge of caring for yourself and others, or you will perish. Do not linger. Today is the day to prepare.

Matthew 24:45-47 says, “Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46“Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. 47“Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions.”

OR PERISH

Matthew 24:48-51 says, “But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’ and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

5. STAY READY, FILLED, ALERT. You must be supplied, filled, aware, alert and ready to go into the Kingdom of God. There is no second chance, despite what others are telling you. This is your one chance.

Matthew 25:1-13 says, “Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. “For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. “Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. “But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ “Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. “The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ “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.’ “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. “Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ “But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.”

6. INVEST YOURSELF. Spend your time, money and effort getting ready for His Return. When Jesus comes, He will settle accounts. You are either ready or you will be considered as a worthless slave and cast into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 25:14-30 says, “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. “To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. 16“Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. “But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. “The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’

“Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’

“And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. ‘And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’

“But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’

For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. “Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO TO BE READY

We are told that our first line of defense and our most effective offense is to trust in the Lord our God.

Next in order of priority is to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might and to put on the full armor of God, so that we will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:10-17)

FULL ARMOR OF GOD: Therefore, we are to take up the full armor of God,

RESIST IN THE EVIL DAY: So that we will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything,

STAND FIRM: Stand firm. Stand firm therefore,

PUT ON TRUTH: HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and

PUT ON RIGHTEOUSNESS: HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, and

PREPARE WITH THE GOSPEL OF PEACE: having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE;

FAITH: In addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

PRAY: With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,

HOW WE SHALL DO IT

Readiness and your response becomes a matter of faith, obedience to His Word, walking in His Spirit and speaking His Word.

This warning and explanation of what is coming, and what is upon us, is not to be taken lightly. Neither is it unintelligible. Christians MUST understand and DO what Jesus has told us. Or you will be left to suffer the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord.

Please, loved ones, if you have any questions, doubts or hesitancy, please contact me and let’s talk.

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

Although, the things I have listed below will not ‘save you’, they are some things we should consider doing while we expectantly await His Return to take us to our Eternal Home: