Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
Matthew 24:44 (ESV)
I have had a few bad days in my life (this is an understatement). A lot of these bad days involve vehicles and problems with the operations of these vehicles. These operational problems are often magnified by my laziness to prevent them from happening. The story of a few of these days goes something like this:
I was driving my car and I realized that I was driving on a flat tire. These things happen. I jack up the car, put on the spare, and continue about my day's business. A week later, the spare tire was still on my car. One of my other tires went flat. I already had the spare on my car. I ended up pushing the car close to a mile to a service station. There I was told that due to riding on the spare for such a length and moving the car so far on its rim. That I would also need an alignment and a new rim in addition to two new tires.
Here is where the bad days could have been prevented: 1. These two tires were 35,000 mile tires. I had put twice that many miles on them when they went flat. 2. Instead of addressing the problem directly, I caused more problems by driving on the spare for longer than was wise. 3. This all ended up costing me much more in the long run in terms of time and money than if I would have addressed them up front.
In the September 2011 edition of the Sabbath Recorder, it announced the Conference theme that God has chosen for us, “Are You Ready?” This has confirmed in me and many of you (thank you for your Spirit led encouragement) that God is ready to mightily move amongst Seventh Day Baptists and is even now preparing us for the work that He would have us do as agents of His Kingdom. This theme is God's challenge to us that we should get ready to be a SOLD OUT, NO EXCUSES, WILLING TO DO ANYTHING SHORT OF SIN people in order that we might save some of the people God has in our cities (1 Corinthians 9:19-23).
We have such little time on this planet (that is NOT our home). We don't know how many days our lives will number (but God has them numbered.) Most certainly we will not know the fixed day for holy judgment (although many have and continue to try to fix a date). What we do know, from the parables of Jesus found in Matthew 25, is that those who are prepared for our Lord's glorious coming will be happy that it has arrived. Those who are not ready will dread His return. So Are You Ready?
The key to being ready is being prepared. Is our preparedness for the coming of Jesus a priority? Or, like in my story above, are we being lazy and selfish with the stewardship of our resources so that our lack of preparation has an eternal cost?
Faithful men have been showing us how mankind and God work hand in hand in the preparation of a spiritual harvest. While God was preparing judgment for the world in Genesis 6, Noah was preparing to save some of God's creation. While God, through the prophets, were preparing people for their Messiah, Jesus was preparing to become a missionary to our culture to accomplish God's rescue plan. While Jesus, the God-man, was preparing His disciples for His death and the coming of the Comforter, the disciples were preparing to lead His bride, the church. God is preparing Seventh Day Baptists and the people in their communities for spiritual harvest. Are You Ready? to be prepared for your church to participate in the growth that God will bring?
The problem with our preparedness for Christ's return is that our timing is off. We are either too anxious for it and expect it soon or we become too complacent as if it will happen much further in future. The true way to get ready for His return is to look forward to it and live as if this life is an investment for Him (taking risks; see Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25). Stewardship of earthly resources is great but stewardship is not hoarding or petty decision making. A building, a building fund, what kind of music is played, and your committees won't matter when Jesus returns. These things are important but not eternal.
Before our Lord and Savior returns, we need to get ready for revival and growth. There are some lessons to take away from my mistakes mentioned in the story that can help us as we answer our challenge, Are You Ready?:
1. The tires were twice past their regular life span. If there was some regular inspection of the tires, I would have seen that these tires had no tread and needed replaced before a bad day begins. A lot of our churches are having bad days because they will not do an inspection to see what is outdated and no longer works or what can be done to be ready for where God is taking them next.
2. The problem I had needed immediate attention. It was not taken care of immediately. More problems followed. Part of being prepared is not putting off problems to another day. Those problems will still be there. Address any problems immediately and stop blaming time or money or put your excuse here. Visitors to your church, and more importantly Jesus, are not interested in your excuses as to why we are not ready for them.
3. Lack of preparedness costs more in the long run than being ready. It generally ends up costing more money, time, and emotion to address issues later than sooner. The costs could really add up as well because when we are dealing with the bride of Christ the costs are eternal.
Are You Ready? for God to bring His Kingdom growth into Seventh Day Baptist churches. If yes, share what God is doing in your churches to facilitate and prepare for this growth. If not, are you spiritually, relationally, financially, and actively ready for your church to grow?
Please continue this conversation with me this year. Join me as we continue to pray for the revitalization of existing churches and the planting of new ones. Contact me with your questions, comments, concerns, and prayer requests. Let's get ready for what God is doing and partner with Him as faithful servants.
Email me at: john.j.pethtel@gmail.com
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