Preparation

By BALA SAMSON

http://www.worshipjesusministriestrust.org/

https://balasamson.wordpress.com/

Luke 1:17 “And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Two Black Hawk helicopters got ready with a SEAL (US Navy’s Sea, Air, Land Teams) team of 23 operators, an interpreter, a combat dog named Cairo and took off on a mission to Abbottabad, Pakistan to capture al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. The operation was meticulously planned and rehearsed. As the two Black Hawks reached their destination, the first chopper tried to land in the courtyard, it suddenly lost altitude and the tail of the craft clipped one of the compound walls. The pilot buried the nose in the mud to avoid disastrous crash, this quick, thoughtful action saved lives, the seals got off the downed chopper. Admiral McRaven, who was leading the charge of this challenging mission of capturing the terrorist said, ’We will now be amending the mission. We have a helicopter down; nevertheless, my men are prepared for the contingency.’ The officer was well prepared with alternative plans! A minute later he ordered the SEALs waiting in another helicopter to get to Abbottabad. The SEALs team successfully captured Osama Bin Laden, who was killed during the attack on May 2, 2011! Admiral McRaven announced to the White House, “EKIA” (Enemy Killed in Action). The key to the successful operation was their meticulous preparation for unforeseen events and emergencies!

Are you prepared for the ‘sudden calamity’ that might pounce on you, is my question to each one of you today? The predominant job of John the Baptist was ‘to make ready a people prepared for the Lord!” Many have not cast off God; yet in this they do evil, that they prepared not their life to face the onslaught of the evil forces that would come against them. I went to pray for a bride the day before her marriage, I was told that she had gone to the beauty parlor for a ‘bridal trial’ that was would take minimum two hours. I stayed with them that night and I told the bride that she should wake up early the next day, so that we could all pray together for the Hand of God to be upon the wedding events – sadly, none woke up, I was left alone to pray. The bride said that she had to wash her hair and get prepared for the beauty parlor, so she sat with me for a rapid prayer session, that ended with ‘bless me Lord’, not many would even do that, though. Finally the ‘most-sought-after-lady’ came to do the make-up for the bride at home; reverentially people made way for her and she vanished with the bride into a private chamber. The wedding was at 5 pm but both of them did not open the door till 3 pm; frantically when I opened the door to remind them of the timing, I was terrified when I saw the bride! Seriously, I was shocked to see the transformation – the bride looked miserable with over make up. Let me tell you the dramatic ending of the bridal make-up catastrophe, the bride groom looked at her at the church and was petrified, he said, ‘immediately wash your face.’ This is what would happen when you ‘prepare’ excessively for perishing things and forsake God! Caveat!

A) PREPARE FOR ETERNITY RATHER THAN PROSPERITY:

Jesus explains the folly of covetousness wonderfully in a parable found in chapter twelve from the book of Luke. When the ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully, he shrewdly planned to build and prepare a bigger store room and stuff it with the proceeds of his business and when he happily basks in the glory of his success and prosperity, Jesus looked at him and said, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?'