Introduction:
Procrastination is a major problem in the world today. It is always putting off what needs to be done or hoping to do tomorrow what should have been done yesterday. Procrastination is waiting for the deadline and not taking advantage of the time before the deadline forgetting that tomorrow may be too late. It affects both sexes and all age groups and can be fatal when it affects our relationship with Christ. We only deceive ourselves when we believe that there will still be enough time before our death or before Christ’s return to come to Christ. We want to think that we are in control of the future, but the reality is that we are not. We do not even know what is going to happen in the next few seconds. The wisest thing to do is to be ready for Christ’s return now since time waits for no man.
Step One: Be reconciled to God
a) All have sinned
We must be reconciled to God if we want to be ready for Christ’s return. In Adam “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23) and since “the wages of sin is death”, (Rom 6:23) every man is separated from God. Sinful man needs a Saviour and Christ died to reconcile us to God.
b) Christ paid the penalty for sin
Christ took our place and paid the penalty for sin. He bore the full judgement of God on sin for our forgiveness and “By grace we have been saved through faith, and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God”. (Eph. 2:8)
c) Christ died for our justification
Christ died for our justification. Justification to each one of us is “Just-as-if-I” had never sinned. “As one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men”. (Rom. 5:18) “Jesus was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our Justification.” (Rom. 4:25)
Illustration:
Christ died to give us eternal life and reconcile us with God. He saves us to have a relationship with God so that we can know Him, and His revelations about our status, future and His purpose for our lives. Many people however, instead of believing God’s revelations concerning their status and future, turn to so-called spiritual specialists who claim to have access to such knowledge. The search for this kind of knowledge from people with questionable character is a worldwide phenomenon. It is a very sad commentary on our day that many people, no matter their level of education, would believe almost anything even when it defies common sense. Many people are being asked to do unacceptable things which they willingly do just because the person claims to ‘be a man of God’ with spiritual eyes that can see into the future. Anyone can claim to be spiritual and have spiritual eyes but when this is not true, they only end up telling spiritual lies. Why are people so interested in knowing the future? It is simply because human beings want to be prepared for the future. But all they need to know that is of importance has already been revealed in the Scriptures.
Application:
Preparation for the future and for Christ’s return is to see all life’s experiences from heaven’s viewpoint as has been revealed in the Scriptures. Our preparation begins with coming to Christ and having an intimate relationship with Him.
Step Two: Be attentive to Christ
a) Study His word
The first thing Christ offers us when we come to Him is a relationship. In this relationship we must be attentive to whatever is of concern to Christ. We must study His word, listen to Him and follow His directions. We cannot claim to know God when we do not know His word and have no time to listen to Him.
b) Know His Will
When we pay attention to the things of God, we will know that He wants His Will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. “Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4) When we delight ourselves in the LORD, He makes His desires our desires so that what He gives us is what He desires for us.
c) Believe His promises
When we pay attention to the things of God, we will believe His promises. Christ has fulfilled many of the promise He has made and those He has not yet fulfilled will be fulfilled at the appropriate time. When the day of Pentecost had fully come, He fulfilled His promise to send the Holy Spirit. At the right time He will also fulfil His promise to return in the same way the disciples saw Him leave for heaven.
Illustration:
We are to have such an intimate relationship with Christ that we will have no reason to doubt His words. Abram had such a relationship and became the father of all those who believe. Abram knew God so intimately that he could recognise His presence, talk with Him and invite Him to a meal. When God told Abram, he was going to have a child in his old age, his condition and that of his wife said something else. God took him outside and told him to number the stars and then told him that his offspring would be so many. Of course, we know today that no one can count the stars because they were so many, but from that day whenever Abram looked upwards, he remembered the promise of God. He believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. God also changed his name to Abraham meaning “father of many”.
Application:
We must believe what God says and not what our circumstances appear to be saying. The word of God says Christ was made sin with our sinfulness so that we might be made righteous with His righteousness. As believers do we believe we are righteous?
Step Three: Be prepared for Christ’s return
a) A righteous life
Believers are the righteousness of God through Christ Jesus but we need to work out what Christ has worked in us to be prepared for Christ’s return. When our focus is on our righteousness by faith we will depart from sinful acts and lead righteous lives.
b) An obedient life
Believers are children of God and are expected to lead obedient lives. If we believe that Christ has delivered us from Satan and slavery to sin and brought us into His Kingdom as children of God, then obeying Him should be a natural response.
c) A life of faith
Believers are to completely submit to God as they prepare for Christ’s return. They can only do this through a life of faith. “The just shall live by faith”, and living by faith is to believe God and stand on His words. We forgive because we have been forgiven. We love because of His love and we give because God gave us all He had, His Son Jesus Christ.
Illustration:
The Lord has promised to return but are we ready for His return? Will we be doing what is expected of us when He returns? We are ready for His return when we submit to His Lordship and accept His love and grace to transform our lives. We are ready when we take His Word seriously and live godly lives that honour and glorify His name. We are ready when we make His priorities our priority, when we first seek His kingdom and His righteousness and not worldly treasures. We are ready when Christ finds us doing His will when He returns.
Application:
Are we living a life of faith and are we ready for Christ’s return? Will Christ find us obedient and faithful servants keeping His words, living holy lives and witnessing about Him when He returns?
Conclusion:
For very many people their understanding of future relates only to time and only a few people understand that the future extends beyond time and into eternity. An average person invests 10-30 years of his or her life preparing for a working life that will last at most 70 years. But that same person spends very little time preparing for eternity although the time we spend on earth compared to the time we will spend in eternity is but a moment. Our choices determine where we will spend eternity and it is the responsibility of every individual to make the right choices in life. Money, for instance, is a commodity we use in time but have no use for in eternity. You can take as many Cedis as you like to the US but you will not be able to spend it because the currency of the US is the dollar. Before you can spend your Cedis in the US you will have to convert it into dollars. We cannot even take any money with us into eternity but we can convert money into the currency of eternity here on earth. We do that when we use money to fulfil God’s purposes by bringing others into His Kingdom. There is no better way to spend our time as we wait for the return of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Personal Response:
Are you prepared for Jesus’ second coming? The first time He came it was to pay the penalty for sin. He will return to rule and reign as a righteous Judge. If we reject His gracious offer of salvation now, we will have to meet Him as our Judge at the time of our death or at His return. Let us not procrastinate today but make the right decision to serve Him to the praise and glory of Almighty God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
