Ready? Get ready now...

Are you ready?

Matthew 22:1-14.

Jesus also told them other parables. He said, “The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son. When the banquet was ready, he sent his servants to notify those who were invited. But they all refused to come!
“So he sent other servants to tell them, ‘The feast has been prepared. The bulls and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the banquet!’ But the guests he had invited ignored them and went their own way, one to his farm, another to his business. Others seized his messengers and insulted them and killed them.

“The king was furious, and he sent out his army to destroy the murderers and burn their town. And he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, and the guests I invited aren’t worthy of the honor. Now go out to the street corners and invite everyone you see.’ So the servants brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike, and the banquet hall was filled with guests.

“But when the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing the proper clothes for a wedding. ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how is it that you are here without wedding clothes?’ But the man had no reply. Then the king said to his aides, ‘Bind his hands and feet and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

“For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Jesus had said this parable before to the Israelites. The kingdom of God is like a prepared banquet, and we are called to attend the feast. Are you ready? Are you ready to experience the glory of God? Are you ready to carry the glory of God? Are you the chosen ones? I hope we all are ready.

Now, let us read Acts 28:26-27.

‘Go and say to this people:
When you hear what I say,
you will not understand.
When you see what I do,
you will not comprehend.
For the hearts of these people are hardened,
and their ears cannot hear,
and they have closed their eyes—
so their eyes cannot see,
and their ears cannot hear,
and their hearts cannot understand,
and they cannot turn to me
and let me heal them.’

It is kinda sad that some people will never understand the glory of God. They are unwilling to accept the truth, even if they see with their own eyes. This is what happened in Jesus's time, it also happens now. Hope none of us are the ones who are unwilling to accept the truth.

It's time to get ready!

James 5:13-18.

Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.
Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops.

It is now the time for us to get ready to become the carrier of glory of the Lord. Let us pray, let us sing, let us support each other in love. Believe the power of your prayer, God hears! Have child-like faith!

Next, James 5:19-20 tell us that:

My dear brothers and sisters, if someone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back, you can be sure that whoever brings the sinner back will save that person from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins.

Some of our beloved ones might be already "away" for a long time. It is time to bring them back, show them LOVE. They are all previous in Lord's eyes. All of them are apple of His eyes. He loves them just as He loves you. Don't forget to get them ready as well. We are all one family.

Get ready if you are not yet ready!

James 4:3-10.

And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.

You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. What do you think the Scriptures mean when they say that the spirit God has placed within us is filled with envy? But he gives us even more grace to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say,

“God opposes the proud
but favors the humble.”

So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.

Some of us who are reading this are not yet ready for the Lord. Some of us still pursue worldly desires. Some of us still easily fell and fell again. So, God is good, we ought to humble ourselves before the Lord, and He will lift us up in honor. Let us fully TRUST in Him, not on our own understanding, not in our own past experiences, only Him and Him alone. Isn't He is still loving us, what do we need to worry about our desires. We should put Him first in our lives. We know that God loves us and will provide us whatever we need, even whatever we desires, so don't worry.

Let us read 1 Peter 1:13-16.

So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”

Do we live a holy life? If not, it is now time to start be holy. We must be holy because He is holy. Holiness is not set of rules to follow. Holiness is Christ-likeness. Let us learn to be obedient children of God, and don't ever pursue evil desires again. We need to get ready... for the time is running short. We don't want to left behind in God's Holy Spirit movement.

Let us continue reading 1 Peter 1:22-25.

You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart.

For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God. As the Scriptures say,

“People are like grass;
their beauty is like a flower in the field.
The grass withers and the flower fades.
But the word of the Lord remains forever.”

And that word is the Good News that was preached to you.

I believe many of us have already believing in the Gospel of Lord Jesus Christ. So, we must start living like children of God. We ought to learn to love each other sincerely. For everyone who loves are from God. Remember, the greatest commandment is to love God, and love others like ourselves, period.

Give thanks.

Psalm 9:1-4.

I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.
I will be filled with joy because of you.
I will sing praises to your name, O Most High.
My enemies retreated;
they staggered and died when you appeared.
For you have judged in my favor;
from your throne you have judged with fairness.

Let us praise the Lord! Let us praise Him for all the marvels He has done! He had triumph over the enemies who accuse us and tempt us day and night. Let us praise and give thanks to Him, and remember every good deeds He had done to our lives, every single day.

We need to be matured, spiritually.

Psalm 115:1-2.

Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
but to your name goes all the glory
for your unfailing love and faithfulness.
Why let the nations say,
“Where is their God?”

We know that our God is real. But, why many people wouldn't believe in us? It is because some of us still not yet ready to carry His glory. We need to get ready.

In Hebrews 5:11-14 Paul says.

There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen. You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.

Some of us still not yet being able to recognize what is right and what is wrong. Therefore, we need to grow up. We can't just stay on our circumstances for too long. The wind of the Holy Spirit is ready to blow, but are you ready to soar in the wind?

Hebrews 10:16-17.

“This is the new covenant I will make
with my people on that day, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds.”

Then he says,

“I will never again remember
their sins and lawless deeds.”

But need not to be worry. Lord will never again remember our sins and lawless deeds, after we repent. Be strong! Lord can help us to get ready. We need to be fully dependent on Him. Lord loves everyone of us. So, be strong! Let us all get ready for the wind of the Holy Spirit.

God bless you all, my beloved brothers and sisters.