JFCM CALAMBA

20 March 2011

PRACTICED PREPAREDNESS
Matthew 24-25

Introduction
Why do people buy pre-need plans. Why do they buy insurance policies for education,
for accidents, for theft, for fire and even for their own burial?
All these are based on the feeling of the need to be prepared for such eventualities. We
like to be prepared for anything that may come. It is therefore the height of folly for
people who have insurance policies but who do not prepare themselves for the greatest
event of all “the Coming of the Lord”. In the text that we will study today, the Lord
Jesus are giving His disciple some lessons on preparedness – for His coming. He instructs
them on how to prepare and keep prepared for that day. Let us read Matthew 24:42-44.
and learn from the Lord Himself on how to prepare ourselves for that great day.

CQ: How should we prepare for the Lord?

BY WATCHING CONSTANTLY (24: 42-44)

The enemy of preparedness is presumption. Many Christians live as if the Lord will not
come anytime. They seem to presume that there will be a time to get ready once they
know He will come. Thus they are deceived and lied to.

1. The Lord will come like a thief in the night

By design the Lord did not make known the day nor the hour of His coming. He
purposed for His people to wait for Him constantly. He will come unannounced,
when He is least expected by this world. Christians however are expected to be
ready.
2. There are two comings of the Lord
We believe that there are actually two comings of the Lord in the bible. He will
come for His saints before the Tribulation and will come with His saints to rule
after the tribulation. There are no signs to be fulfilled before the Lord comes for
the saints. The rapture itself is a sign for the Second Coming of the Lord.

• He will come for the saints (1Thes 4:13-18)

• He will come with the saints (Jude 14-15)

Illustrate guards who sleep on their jobs. These are responsible and are held accountable
when something is lost or is broken into during their watch.

BY HAVING THE RIGHT PRIORITY (24:36-40)

This section describes the people at the time of Noah. He built the ark for seven years and
preached to the people to prepare themselves for the coming judgment but nobody
listened to Him. They were busy with the pursuits of life that they were drowned when
the flood came, they were caught unprepared. We can be ready by living our lives
responsibly. What should we be responsible for.

1. We are to live humbly

The Lord does not expect us to stop living normally just because we are waiting
for Him. His coming will be like the days of Noah. What was it like in the days of
Noah? Was it wrong to eat, drink and get married? By all mean, NO. It was
wrong only because people only thought of themselves but not God …or Noah.
Their priorities were toward self-satisfaction: eating, drinking and marrying.
These were the main preoccupations of people at the time.
What would be the equivalent of these today? The root of all this is love of self
more than the love of God.
2. We are to live consciously (40-41)
Externally, there was no difference between the two men in the field or the
women grinding. It is the coming that will expose that one is prepared while the
other is not.

Illustrate the insufficiency of Sunday religion. We cannot confine God to two

hours on a Sunday and believe that we done our duty to Him.

BY LIVING RESPONSIBLY (45-51)

The best way to prepare is to get busy with whatever the Lord entrusted to us. Our lives
are simply stewardship trusts from the Lord Himself. He expects us to be faithful in
fulfilling our duties and making the most of this life.

1. We should be responsible for our positions in life (24:42-45)

All of us are given responsibilities in this life. What has the Lord put you in-charge
of? How are you using this to prepare for the Lord? How we use them shows our
readiness for the Lord.
Illustrate positions in family, work, business, community etc.

2. We should be careful with our resources (25:14-30)

What are we doing with our resources? Are we using them to enrich ourselves only or
to enrich others? Are we supporting our church, our missionaries, our ministries? The
Lord expects us to multiply for Him not for ourselves.
Illustrate the use of resources money, house, cars, influence etc. How are we using all
these? Are we supporting the work of the Lord with our resources or are we spending it
all on ourselves.
CONCLUSION
Illustrate the extra plate on the table eats – a case of practiced preparedness.

Christianity is not about a set of beliefs or songs or prayers. I am not suggesting that we
rely on our good works for our salvation but good works are the natural fruit of natural
Christianity. It is not just religion. It is life and it is practiced in life, not just inside the
church but outside as well. We are challenged today to use everything in our lives to get
prepared for the Lord. Preparedness is not an option. The Lord expects such from
everyone who believes. Let us make the decision today to live our lives consciously –
that we will be prepared for the Lord by living our lives as faithful stewards of everything
He has entrusted to us.

Date Preached _ 13 September 2009

Preacher: Pastor Dione Garraton
Source: Mario Pingol/Preaching 2009/Basic Christianity/June 14,2009