Lets Be Ready

September 12, 2023

Pastor Cheryl Jackson

Luke 12:35-40 Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not. 2 Peter 3:1-15 (8-15) But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment. Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness. And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight. And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved. Sometimes I think that we need to refuse our feelings but at the same time I think that we would be hardened, or be unresponsive, unsensitive, and uncaring to the people around us. But because God has given us his Spirit, we're learning not to live by how we feel but by what we know of the one who created the world and all there is in it. Scripture reference 2 Corinthians 5:7, Ezekiel 36:25-27 We have received the nature of God the very nature of Christ and as we abide in the truth that nature emerges more and more. We begin to bear much fruit because we believe the Lord. Scripture reference John 15:7-12 What does all this have to do with the talk today? We are hardened by the situations and circumstances of our lives, which means that we will not hear the Lord's voice, we will not be caught up in the clouds with him, because the cares of this life have crowded our hearts and minds. If we're going to be crowded let us be crowded with the love of God that shows mercy to the unmerciful. Here is a good resource https://www.gotquestions.org/please-God.html