PREPARING NOW FOR OUR FUTURE WITH CHRIST
Personal Spiritual Preparation
ACTS 16:25-35
Acts 16:25-35 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped.
28 But Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here!"
29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.
30 He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
31 They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved--you and your household." 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized.
34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God--he and his whole family.
35 When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: "Release those men."
INTRODUCTION: When we talk about preparing for our future with Christ, there are several levels where this preparation takes place. Preparation takes place on a personal level, a mutual level, and finally what I would like to call and emergency level. This morning, I would like to deal with the first part of our spiritual preparation in light of the return of Christ.
Good preparation involves two major things. We prepare for what we know is going to happen, and we prepare for what we anticipate is going to happen. As we go through this series, it is my goal to give us biblical information in both of these areas, and in doing this, help prepare us for eternity.
I SPIRITUAL PREPARATION FOR HEAVEN – SALVATION
A Salvation begins with a witness from believers
Romans 10:14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?
Romans 10:17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
1 Faith comes from the communication of the Word of God
a You need to hear the message of salvation in order to act on it.
b You need to communicate the message of salvation for others to act on it.
2 Personal spiritual preparation involves our own assurance regarding our salvation
a Involves a sincere evaluation of our own spiritual condition
1 Do I profess salvation?
2 Do I possess salvation?
3 Two are vastly different
a) The first one – profession comes from a sense of duty, obedience, or tradition to family or even myself.
(1) Of course I am saved, I am in church
(1) Of course I am saved, my whole family is
(1) Of course I am saved, I believe in God
All of these statements may be valid on there face, but they are not biblical on their face. Salvation is not based on what I am doing, or where I am, but on what Jesus did. So, right now, if you are sitting here and your basis for salvation is the fact that you are in church, you come to church, your family is a church family, you believe in God, you pray every day, or any of a host of other reasons, I want you to listen carefully to what I am about to say. Possession is different from Profession
b) Possession is based on what Jesus did for me on the cross when He died for my sins.
(1) I possess salvation when I trust Christ to get me to heaven, and not what I am doing.
(1) My salvation is not based on my actions, or the actions of anyone else but Jesus!
THE MOST IMPORTANT WAY WE PLAN FOR ETERNITY IS WITH REGARD TO OUR OWN SALVATION. ARE WE SAVED!?
Revelation 20:11-15 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Revelation 21:27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.
Compared to heaven, all that this world has to offer is trinkets!
SO, IN ESSENCE WE NEED TO HEAR FIRST, AND THEN BE HEARD!
B Salvation continues with a movement of God
1 God in some way prepares our hearts
2 The Bible says that God is not willing that any should perish
a God wants everyone in heaven
b Some are going to reject God’s message
c We do not have the write to determine who get to hear the good news and who does not
3 We need to be ready to respond to the movement of God in the life of another person
a A tragedy
b A need
c An event
4 The movement of God in the life of another is meant to, ….
C Bring a sense of plight
1 For the jailor it was the loss of the prisoners and his own faith
a Doors are open
b He was asleep
c Jail break
d His punishment -- death
2 For us it may be something different
3 But the end result is the same
a A sense of hopelessness
b A sense of emptiness
D Salvation Comes With Hope/Assurance
1 Assurance of Belief
a Salvation is a rational act
1 What must I do to be saved
2 Believe – Trust!
2 Assurance of Understanding
a The gospel was explained and understood
3 Assurance of Growth
a One of the fruits of genuine conversion is growth
b Reflected in desire to be baptized
c Reflected in desire to minister to others
NOW WHEN YOU LOOK AT YOUR LIFE – ARE YOU SPIRITUALLY PREPARED FOR CHRIST’S COMING? ARE YOU SAVED? DO YOU TRUST CHRIST AS SAVIOR?
II SPIRITUAL PREPARATION FROM SALVATION – SERVICE
A Ministry To Fellow Believers
1 The response to God’s Spiritual work in our lives
2 True believers cannot ignore the needs of others
a Our ability to meet those needs may differ
b Our desire to meet those needs is an equal burden
Romans 15:1-2 1 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2 Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.
Galatians 6:2 Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
B The Ability to Rejoice
1 Joy of Release
a Release from sin
b Release from death
c Release from condemnation
2 Joy of Possession
a We posses the forgiveness of Christ
1 The only one who could truly forgive our sin
2 Christ was the one we sinned against
b We possess a new life in Christ
1 Need to understand how powerful this is
2 Means I do not have to live according to my fleshly nature
c We possess a justification before God
1 Every time God looks at us, He sees us clean
C The Burden To Share
1 The church today is not burdened as it once was
2 Believers today are not burdened as they once were
Luke 12:42-44 The Lord answered, "Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? 43 It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns.
44 I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
a The Lord desires to find us faithful
2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
b We will all give an account to God as believers
c We will account for our faithfulness
So, are we ready? Are we prepared personally for the return of our Lord? Have we made a decision FOR Christ? This is our own Spiritual Preparation For Heaven? Have we prepared ourselves after salvation? This is our Spiritual Preparation in ANTICIPATION of Christ’s Return. Once we have made a decision for Christ, we need to become that joyful minister of Christ with a burden for those who have not heard the message that changed our lives!
