Download Prepare To Meet Thy God! - Knollwood Church Of Christ

Prepare to Meet Thy God!
“I overthrew some of you, As God overthrew
Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a
firebrand plucked from the burning; yet you
have not returned to Me, says the LORD.
Therefore thus will I do to you, O Israel;
because I will do this to you, prepare to meet
your God, O Israel!“ {Amos 4:11,12}
The Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew
25:1-3)
Ten Virgins represent those who
are in the Kingdom of Heaven
Five wise
virgins
prepared
They knew what they
needed. They were
prepared and
watched.
Five foolish
virgins
unprepared
Thought they were safe,
until it was too late.
Thought others were
too zealous.
The Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew
25:1-3)
• Others can’t prepare for you
• Reminded of proper way to gain more
oil
– “And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us
some of your oil, for our lamps are going
out.‘ But the wise answered, saying, 'No,
lest there should not be enough for us and
you; but go rather to those who sell, and
buy for yourselves.’” {Matthew 25:8,9}
The Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew
25:1-3)
• Must watch and be prepared
• Must plan for the unexpected
– “Watch therefore, for you know neither the
day nor the hour in which the Son of Man
is coming.” {Matthew 25:13}
We Must Be Prepared
• “So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of
many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will
appear a second time, apart from sin, for
salvation.” {Hebrews 9:28}
• “Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me
only but also to all who have loved His
appearing.” {2 Timothy 4:8}
Unexpected Event
• “But as the days of Noah were, so also will
the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in
the days before the flood, they were eating
and drinking, marrying and giving in
marriage, until the day that Noah entered
the ark, and did not know until the flood
came and took them all away, so also will
the coming of the Son of Man be.”
{Matthew 24:37-39}
Proper Preparation—
Be in God’s Kingdom
• “Jesus answered and said to him,
"Most assuredly, I say to you, unless
one is born again, he cannot see the
kingdom of God.” {John 3:3}
• How can one be “born again?”
– “Jesus answered, Most assuredly, I say to
you, unless one is born of water and the
Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of
God.” {John 3:5}
The New Birth
Physical Birth
• Two agents
– Mother
– Father
Spiritual Birth
• Two agents
– Water
– Spirit
In both cases, both elements
must be present!
The New Birth
• “Or do you not know that as many of us
as were baptized into Christ Jesus were
baptized into His death? Therefore we
were buried with Him through baptism
into death, that just as Christ was
raised from the dead by the glory of the
Father, even so we also should walk in
newness of life.” {Romans 6:3,4}
Newness of Life—
A Child of God
• “For you are all sons of God through faith in
Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were
baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is
neither slave nor free, there is neither male
nor female; for you are all one in Christ
Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are
Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the
promise.” {Galatians 3:26-29}
Justification by Faith
Comes by Obedience to God
“Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,'
shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he
who does the will of My Father in heaven.”
{Matthew 7:21}
Noah
Abraham
Naaman
(Hebrews 11:7)
(Hebrews 11:8)
(2 Kings 5)
Justified by Obedient Faith
No longer under
the tutor…
Why?
Galatians 3:24-29
“For ye are all
children of
God…”
How?
“By faith in
Christ Jesus.”
Paul elaborates…
“For as many of you as have been baptized into
Christ have put on Christ.”
Justification by Faith
Comes by Obedience!
Must Be a Child of God to Be
Prepared to Meet God!
Are You
God’s Child?
To Be Prepared We Must Live
Faithfully and Watch
• We must live faithful lives
• The five foolish virgins were in the kingdom—
but they were not faithful
– “Do not fear any of those things which you are
about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw
some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and
you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until
death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
{Revelation 2:10}
Be Faithful and Grow…
• We must add to our faith…
– “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence,
add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to
knowledge self-control, to self-control
perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to
godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly
kindness love. For if these things are yours and
abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in
the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who
lacks these things is shortsighted, even to
blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed
from his old sins.” {2 Peter 1:5-9}
Virtue
• Moral duties
– “Pure and undefiled religion before God
and the Father is this: to visit orphans and
widows in their trouble, and to keep
oneself unspotted from the world.”
{James 1:27}
Knowledge
• Spiritual growth in studying God’s word
– “Be diligent to present yourself approved
to God, a worker who does not need to be
ashamed, rightly dividing the word of
truth.” {2 Timothy 2:15}
Temperance
• Self-control
• Christians must be able to master their
emotions and appetites.
– “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil
and he will flee from you.” {James 4:7}
Patience
• Contentment
• With what we have and the present
situation
– “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall
into various trials, knowing that the testing
of your faith produces patience. But let
patience have its perfect work, that you
may be perfect and complete, lacking
nothing.” {James 1:2-4}
Godliness
• Spirit of reverence—building on sound
doctrine (respect for God and His will)
• Spirit of good conversation (upright,
good living)
– “But reject profane and old wives' fables,
and exercise yourself toward godliness. For
bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness
is profitable for all things, having promise of
the life that now is and of that which is to
come.” {1 Timothy 4:7,8}
Brotherly Kindness
• Kindness toward our brothers and sisters
– “Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly
love, in honor giving preference to one another.”
{Romans 12:10}
• Kindness and goodwill toward all men
– “You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your
neighbor and hate your enemy.‘ But I say to you, love
your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to
those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully
use you and persecute you.” {Matthew 5:43,44}
Charity
• Love (agape)
– “And I have declared to them Your name,
and will declare it, that the love with which
You loved Me may be in them, and I in
them.” {John 17:26}
• The love God had for us
– “For God so loved the world that He gave
His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have
everlasting life.” {John 3:16}
Are We Prepared
to Meet God?
• “Therefore,
brethren, be even
more diligent to
make your call and
election sure, for if
you do these
things you will
never stumble.”
{2 Peter 1:10}
• If we continue to
grow in these
things, we will be
prepared
• If you are not a
child of God, you
can not even
hope to be
prepared.