Prepare For Action Series

INTRO.- Prepare for action. Prepare for what? It could be anything.

ILL.- A man said: One morning I went out to start my car to go to church. I had a flat tire. Luckily, I had a spare tire. I changed the tire quickly and was on my way. But I didn’t think to drop the spare off to be fixed. I said, "I’ll get around to it."

Within five days I went out to my car to go to school. I had another flat tire. Only this time I had no spare! I had to roll it to nearest service station and wait while it was fixed.

When something breaks, fix it now. Some things need to be fixed right now!

It’s called preparation. Prepare for action. Prepare for breakdowns. Prepare for flat tires. In fact, it’s better to check your tires regularly and then perhaps you won’t experience a flat tire.

If a person keeps their car maintenanced, etc. then hopefully, it won’t break down in times of stress, bad weather, etc. And if a person keeps their faith maintenanced then it, too, won’t let them down in times of difficulty and stress. PREPARATION IS THE KEY.

ILL.- In the 1969 movie "PAINT YOUR WAGON," Lee Marvin plays a drunk named Ben Rumstead. During the closing scene, Ben Rumstead is standing in the rain on a muddy street talking with the proprietor of a local store. The store owner looks at the passing wagons, loaded with people and furniture moving out of town and says, "There are two kinds of people in this world. There are those who move on and those that stay. Ain’t that the truth, Ben Rumstead?"

"No, that ain’t the truth," Ben Rumstead replies, with a swagger enlarged by the half-empty bottle in his hand. "There are two kinds of people in this world. Them that is going someplace and them that is going no place. That’s the truth."

It’s true that some people are going somewhere and some are going nowhere. This is especially true spiritually. Many people are going nowhere spiritually.

There are "doers" and there are those who do little in regard to the really important matters of life. I don’t know if it is because they don’t care or perhaps they don’t think they can make a difference in their own lives or the lives of others. Either way, doing nothing will get a person nowhere and fast!

ILL.- The Boy Scout motto is what? BE PREPARED. Be prepared for what? For anything that might come our way in life. And to me, there is only way to be prepared and that’s in the Lord! To be prepared for anything that life throws at us we must be in the Lord and continually seek His will. OUR FATHER KNOWS BEST. The best place to be and the best preparation is in the Lord!

ILL. - Henry Ford: Before everything else, getting ready is the secret to success.

- John F. Kennedy: The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.

- Abraham Lincoln: If I had six hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend the first hour sharpening the ax.

- Someone said: You don’t have to lie awake nights to succeed. Just stay awake days. And I say, seek the Lord. That’s always the right way and the best way to prepare for anything life.

PROP.- Our text speaks of preparation for living a successful Christian life. Prepare what? 1- Prepare your mind 2- Prepare your body 3- Prepare your heart

I. PREPARE YOUR MIND

13Therefore, prepare your minds for action.

ILL.- A strong young man at the construction site was bragging that he could outdo anyone in a feat of strength. He made a special case of making fun of Morris, one of the older workmen.

After several minutes, Morris had enough. "Why don’t you put your money where your mouth is?" he said. "I will bet a week’s wages that I can haul something in a wheelbarrow over to that outbuilding that you won’t be able to wheel back."

"You’re on, old man," the braggart replied. "It’s a bet! Let’s see what you got."

Morris reached out and grabbed the wheelbarrow by the handles. Then, nodding to the young man, he said, "All right. Get in."

That old man Morris was a smart old buzzard. We all need the ability to think quickly and smartly. Wouldn’t that be great?

Prepare your mind. Thinking doesn’t get better unless we help it along. Our thinking doesn’t improve by doing nothing.

Right thinking doesn’t happen without thinking right. (Isn’t that brilliant?) Right thinking is needed. Two scriptures. Two examples.

Romans 1:27-29 "27In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. 28Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice..."