SUCCESS FAVORS THE PREPARED

PROCLAMATION

“Neither I nor my brothers nor my men nor the guards with me took off our clothes; each had his weapon, even when he went for water.”  Nehemiah 4:23 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

Chapter three of The Bible Book of Nehemiah reveals how the Israelites were assigned sections of the wall to rebuild. (Nehemiah 3:1-32)  The priests and the people went to work rebuilding sections of the wall as they were assigned. Some of the people were assigned to rebuild the sections of the wall which was near their homes. (Nehemiah 3:10)  Chapter four recounts the opposition they encountered while rebuilding the wall. Their enemies said that they would sneak up on them and kill them to stop the work on the wall. (Nehemiah 4:11)  Some of the men worked while others stood by armed with spears, shields, and bows and arrows.  In some cases, men did work with one hand and held a weapon in the other hand. (Nehemiah 4:16-18)  They kept their weapons with them at all times and slept fully clothed. (Nehemiah 4:23)

APPLICATION

There is an old saying, “Stay ready so you won’t have to get ready.”  Preparation beforehand is always better than waiting until the last minute to get ready.  In this case they stayed ready for battle.  Today, however, we need to be ready for and stay ready for the coming of The Lord. The Bible says, “… be ye also ready …” because we know not the hour or the day when The Son of Man will come. (Matthew 24:44 and Luke 12:40)  We need to humble ourselves, pray for forgiveness, and turn from our sinful ways before Christ returns. (2 Chronicles 7:14) 

WE SHOULD MAKE PREPARATIONS BEFORE OUR DEATH

PROCLAMATION

“David said, ‘My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for The Lord should be of great magnificence and fame and splendor in the sight of all the nations.  Therefore I will make preparations for it.’  So David made extensive preparations before his death.”  1 Chronicles 22:5 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

After the prophet Nathan told King David that The Lord God said that he would not build a house for Him but that his son Solomon would build it, (1 Chronicles 17:1-14) David began to prepare for the building of the temple. (1 Chronicles 22:1-5)  Then he charged Solomon to build a house for The Lord. (1 Chronicles 22:6-16)  Afterwards David ordered all of the leaders of Israel to help Solomon build the temple. (1 Chronicles 22:17-19)   

APPLICATION

Most of us will never build a temple for The Lord, but we are all going to die, and we should make preparations for our death.  This includes more than buying our gravesite and casket.  It is also more than making out our last will and testament to make our final wishes known to our heirs.  In addition to getting our affairs in order and getting right with The Lord, we need to talk to, teach, and instruct our family members regarding their salvation and their work for The Lord.  “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)  And, whatever we do or teach, we should do it to the best of our ability. (Ecclesiastes 9:10)  We should not wait to do this until we think that we are about to die.  Since we do not know the day or the hour when we will be called from labor to reward, or when Christ will return, (Matthew 25:13) we need to start this preparation now.  Let’s get ready now so that we will be ready whenever that time comes.

Know Why You Have Hope

"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.  Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.  But do this with gentleness and respect ..." 1 Peter 3:15 (NIV)

In his letter to the believers the Apostle Peter said that they should always be ready to answer anyone who asks them why they have the faith and hope that they have.  

We need to be sure of what we believe, and we need to be prepared to explain our reason to anyone who asks us about it.  "Praise be to The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead ..." (1 Peter 1:3)  "Through Him you believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him, and so your faith and hope are in God." (1 Peter 1:21)  This is what we believe, and this is why we believe it.  It is not about what we can get out of it, it's all about Jesus and what He did for us.