Prepared… by Michael Pickford As we read the Bible, we find that God prepared many things. PREPARATION AND DISCIPLINE. When Jonah tried to run from God’s command, he ended up on a ship to Tarshish in a dangerously tempestuous storm. He finally convinced his fellow sailors to throw him overboard. We’re told that “The Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah” (Jonah 1:17). God used this fish disciplined Jonah. After the fish had spit him out upon land, Jonah was again told to go preach to Nineveh, and he did so immediately. God has prepared a method of discipline to be used in the church today for those who fall from grace. All social aspects of our relationship with them are to be cut off (Matthew 18:17; 1 Corinthians 5:11). The hope is that they will be ashamed of their sins and come back repenting and confessing (1 Corinthians 5:5; 2 Thessalonians 3:14-15). PREPARATION AND DELIVERANCE. God has made preparations for the deliverance of sinful man. After seeing baby Jesus, Simeon said to God, “For my eyes have seen your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples…” (Luke 2:30-31). God prepared a body for the Christ (Hebrews 10:5). Jesus used His prepared body to make the ultimate sacrifice so that we might have deliverance from our sins. “By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10). How Glorious! PREPARATION AND DESTINY. God has made preparations for the eternal destiny of all. Regarding hell for those who do not obey the Lord, Jesus said “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels’” (Matthew 25:41). Hell’s flames were “Prepared” for Satan and his rebellious messengers, but God will use them to punish the souls of rebellious people as well (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9). In verse 34 of Matthew 25, those on the right hand will hear “Come…inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Jesus spoke of His Father’s house containing many mansions, and He was going to “Prepare” a place for His faithful disciples (John 14:2-3). While hell is a prepared place for a perverse people, Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people. Are you prepared? Obey Today! (Hebrews 5:8-9; Mark 16:16).
Posted on: Fri, 19 Jul 2013 19:51:51 +0000
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