Are You Ready?

LUKE 12:39-40 “ARE YOU READY?

A) The word that I want to emphasize in this message is the word “ready.”

* And the question that I want to ask you is this, “ARE YOU READY?”

B) To be ready is to be available, and this is the attitude which we as

Christians should adopt.

* We should be ready before the Lord – Prepared to do His will, and always

be available for Him.

C) The Greek word is “hetoimos” (het-oy’-mos) and means “prepared.”

* There are several questions I would like to ask in this message tonight .......

(1) ARE YOU READY TO MEET THE LORD? * v.40 of our text .......

* It’s important to read the context in which these words of our Lord occur

and go back to v.35-36 .......

A) Jesus is referring to His second coming.

* Let nothing be between us and the Lord when He comes.

B) Over and over again Jesus exhorts us to be ready to meet Him, whether

it’s by death or by way of the Rapture.

* In Matt. 25:1-13, Jesus gives the parable of the ten virgins.

* Five of them were wise and five of them were foolish ... (Explain)

C) Are you ready to meet Him? – Are you prepared?

* How do you get ready to meet Him? – By receiving Him into your heart and in

your life if you have never done that – Rom. 10:9-10, 13

* If you’re backslid, then you need to repent – 1 John 1:9 .......

(2) ARE YOU READY TO SUFFER FOR CHRIST?

A) In Acts 21:10-13, we read about a man named Agabus who prophesied

that the Jews in Jerusalem would capture Paul .......

* And they would bind him and deliver him to the Gentiles.

* This did not move Paul at all – He immediately said in v.13 .......

B) When you got saved, you immediately became a target for the devil.

* I can’t explain human suffering – All I can tell you is to trust Christ through it all.

* Let me give you some Scripture – 2 Cor. 12:7-12 ....... Paul’s thorn in the flesh.

C) 1 Pet. 4:12-19 ....... 1 Pet. 3:13-18 .......

* Phil. 1:29 “For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe

on him, but also to suffer for his sake;”

D) If you’re saved, you might as well be ready for the world to treat you

like a low down snake – Especially the religious crowd.

* The religious crowd are the ones who treated Jesus bad.

* They hated Him and they will hate us – John 15:18-19 “If the world .......”

E) But listen to what Jesus told us in Matt. 5:10-12 .......

* He told us to rejoice and be exceeding glad (jump for joy) when people treat

us bad because we will have a great reward in heaven.

F) The word “suffer” means, “To experience a sensation or impression

usually painful.

* Another word for suffer is “vex,” which means “to bring trouble, distress,

or agitation to, to bring physical distress to.”

(3) ARE YOU READY TO PREACH THE GOSPEL?

A) In a sense, all of us are preachers of the gospel.

* Our job and responsibility is to spread the gospel – Rom. 1:15 .......

* Rom. 10:14 “How then shall they call on him .......”

* The Greek word for preacher is “kerusso” (kay-roos’-so) and means,

“to herald as a public crier, to proclaim, publish.

B) The message will never go out if we don’t carry it out everywhere we go.

* The Lord is counting on us to get the job done – So don’t be silent.

(4) ARE YOU READY TO HELP THOSE IN NEED?

* Turn to 1 Timothy 6:17-19 .......

A) We ought to be concerned about others needs and be willing to help

them all that we are able to.

* 1 John 3:17-18 “But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth .......”

B) Are you ready to help others in need?

* Let’s look at the first church in Acts 2:44-45 “And all that believed .......”

C) If we’re not ready to help others, then where is the love of God

in our hearts?

* John 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye .......”

(5) ARE YOU READY TO DIE? * Heb. 9:27 .......

A) You might not want to die, but you better be ready to die.

* 2 Kings 20:1-11 ....... Hezekiah didn’t want to die, but he was ready to die.

* Paul was ready to die – 2 Tim. 4:6 “For I am now ready .......”

B) Paul couldn’t escape it – He was sentenced to die for Christ

and he was ready.