Prepare! (part 2)

by Christine Dawson

4. He who PREPARED for us, calls us to be PREPARED for Him.

Our culture calls us to excellence with no discipline. God’s Word says the opposite.

Ezra 1:5 We can prepare to “go up”. Ezra came out of bondage (Ezra 7:6-10) Verse 10 says: “For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.” We are to seek, to do, and to teach. We are to give ourselves in diligence to seek God’s Word, to do it, and to teach it. Our authenticity comes from this. Preparing our hearts (as in this verse) means “to set, or to secure” our hearts. To seek means “to beat down a path”.

2 Corninthians 8:11 says: “11Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have.” We need to FINISH THE WORK, so that the compassion to complete it will match the passion to begin it. If the enemy can’t get us to quit in our faith, he’ll try to get us to quit in our works.

Deuteronomy 17:18-19 The law was to be handwritten

5. Those who are mightiest in batlle have PREPARED for it.

Judges 6:2: “ 2And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.”

We can prepare for defeat. We will insulate ourselves from people who will call us out or who we are accountable to. We dread things and speak defeat over them.

Joshua 7:13: “13Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the LORD God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.” They were to leave things there, but take the land. But they didn’t obey. The reason for our defeat is that we are hanging onto things that we really shouldn’t have in our midst.

2 Timothy 2:20-21 says: “20But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. 21If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.” We can make a decision to be different.

Psalm 23:5 says: “5Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.” We can live in the intimacy of Christ in the midst of the enemy surrounding us!

Read John 19:28-34…. It was the Day of Preparation, which was from 6pm Thursday, to 6pm Friday before the Sabbath. God’s day moves from darkness to light. A special Sabbath was one that fell over a Feast.

Hebrews 10:5 says: “5Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me.” He put on a body.

6. God PREPARED a body for His Son as the consummate offering.

It had to happen so that mankind could be redeemed. I can go through a difficult time as long as I know Jesus is with me.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 says: “24Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.25And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.26I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:27But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”

We need to figure out where our “race” is headed. We will be ‘punching the air’ if we are not in God’s Word. We need to get our eyes set on who our real enemy is, and fight him.

Mark 15:42 ”42And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath,”

Article submitted Saturday, August 27, 2011 & read 114 times.

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