ARE YOU PREPARED TO MEET YOUR GOD?

Amos 4:12

 
 

Introduction: Amos was a herdsman that God used to warn the people of Israel to get right with Him.  God tells the people plainly what to expect and He brought judgment upon them but the sad fact is found five times this phrase: “ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.”

      Many people are at the crossroads of life.  Today they may hear the call of God to be saved but they turn a deaf ear or plainly reject it or decide to wait until tomorrow to heed it.  For too many, they wait one day too late.  God’s spirit will not always strive with man.  The same sun that melts the wax also hardens the clay.  The same Word of God that makes your heart tender to the Lord will one day harden your heart by your rejection of the Lord and His call.

      Throughout the Bible we read messages with the theme of “Repent or Perish”.  Most people chose the latter, which is to perish.  Today I want to get real personal.  I am going to deal with lost people and saved people.  I want to burn this thought in your mind: “Am I prepared to meet God?” 

I.  SINNER, ARE YOU PREPARED TO MEET GOD?

      Let me give several reasons why you should be prepared to meet God.  Also I will give several reason why you may not be prepared to meet God.

A. Why should you be prepared to meet God?

      1. It is because of the command of God.

                              Acts 17:30

“And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commented all men every where to repent”

                              2^nd Peter 3:9

“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us–ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

                              Luke 13:3, 5

“I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”  “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”

      Like a river running through a valley, there is a thread that runs through the Bible that says man must repent and be saved.  The first word of the Lord to Jewish people after four hundred years of silence was a message of repentance from the mouth of John the Baptist.  After Jesus was baptized and He preached the same type message. 

      A lifeboat will save no one unless they get into the lifeboat. God has commanded everyone to prepare to meet Him by getting into the lifeboat of the Lord Jesus Christ and ask Him to save him or her. 

                  John 1:12-13

“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

                        2. It is because of the conditions of a sinner.

                                                Romans 3:23

                              “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”

      Pastor Harry Ironside asked a man if he was sure he was going to heaven. "No, I can't say that I am," the man answered, "but I would like to be." "And just why do you want to be saved?" Ironside responded. "Do you realize that you're a sinner?"  "Yes," the man replied, "but I'm not what you would call a bad sinner. In fact, I'd have to say I'm a rather good one." Think of it--a good sinner! That's a contradiction in terms! Sin is sin, and any transgression is bad enough to separate us from a holy and righteous God for all eternity.

                  Isaiah 59:2

“But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.”

                  Isaiah 64:6-7

“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.”

      We all stand in need of the saving grace of God. It makes no difference how few sins we may have committed, or how respectable we may be in the eyes of others. Until we are willing to admit our guilt, we are just as lost as anyone else, no matter how good we may appear to be.

                        3. It is because of the consequences of sin.

                                                Revelation 20:15

“And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

      The pain of hell will be for eternity. There will never a day or a moment without awful, terrible pain of the eternal fire of Hell.   In fact, just some of the names of hell should us to fear what lies ahead.  Let give you a few but time will allow us to look at all of the passages. The Bible calls hell the lake of fire, the bottomless pit, a place of everlasting burnings, a place of torments, a place of everlasting punishments, a place of outer darkness and no rest.  It will be a place where they gnaw their tongues, a place of blackness and darkness and place where their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched.  These are just a few descriptions of the place where the end of the consequences of sin is felt and seen forever.

                  Hebrews 12:29

“For our God is a consuming fire.”

      These are the reasons why a person should be prepared to meet God.

2. What keeps us from preparing to meet God? 

1. For some it is because ignorant of what lies ahead of them.

                                    Hebrews 9:27

                  “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment”

                  Hebrews 10:31

                  “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

      Death is that appointment that all men, women, boys and girls have.  That is part of the reason for a message like this to awaken sinners to the fact that all die one day.  One of the hardest things to sell is life insurance.  It should be called death insurance because no one can correct on it unless someone dies.  People don’t like talking about dying.  It is not a normal subject for around the supper table.  But nevertheless, everyone is going to die.

      2.  For some it is because they are too proud to read the Bible or listen to a preacher.  They may say, "I am an Atheist or an agnostic".  Or they may even say that he or she is a good person.  Or they might even pull the religious card.  But all these must meet God.

3. For some it is hard to do so today because in this country society is very hard.  We see only a very small few who today are serious.  Satan is very active keeping people busy with the good life such as sports, leisure, entertainment, money and such.  But we must be prepared to meet God.

                  C. How can we be prepared?   It is simple.

                                                John 6:37

“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”

                        Romans 10:13

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

      Today you can make that preparation to meet God.  You ask the Lord Jesus to save you from your sin and come into your heart today. 

II.  SAINT, ARE YOU PREPARED TO MEET GOD?

                                                2^nd Corinthians 5:8-10

“We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”

      Are we prepared to meet God and give the account we have now to Him?  What are we going to have to confess before God?  What are we going to have to give an account? The following are five areas that we will give an account.

A. We will give account of every word we speak.

                              Matthew 12:36

“But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.”

      Christians will give an account for every idle (useless) word spoken. We fail to appreciate how powerful our words are and how wicked our tongue (James 3:5-6) Christians should learn how to "hold their tongue." To many times we speak without thinking; we complain without considering; we discuss without knowing. We are going to give an account for every idle word that we speak. We should think about what we say and consider the effects of what we say before we speak.

B. We will give an account of our lives lived.

                              1^st Timothy 5:24-25

“Some men’s sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after.  Likewise also the good works of some are manifest beforehand; and they that are otherwise cannot be hid.”

      How does a Christian have their sins go "before to judgment" and why do some men’s sins follow after? The verse also says that the good works of some are manifest beforehand for others to see, but when God reveals everything at the judgment, nothing will be hid. Again we must consider the difference between our standing and state. There is no condemnation in your standing — you cannot lose your salvation; however, there is condemnation in your state.

C. We will give an account of our stewardship.

                              Luke 16:1

“And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.”

      Who are the stewards of God today? It can only be Christians. Paul tells us: “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful” (1^st Corinthians 4:2). This is the only usage of the word required in all of the Church Age epistles. God gives us one requirement today…faithfulness! Faithfulness covers every aspect of the Christian’s life — church attendance, giving, praying, witnessing, etc. Faithfulness covers every aspect of the Christian walk. God does not have to say a lot — He expresses volumes in simple truths.

      What type of steward are you?  Are you a good steward of the word of God? Are you a good steward of men’s souls?  We fail to grasp the eternal consequences of our actions.  We do not fear the day when we will stand in judgment.

D. Those in positions of authority will give an account.

                              Hebrews 13:17

“Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.”

      I must give an account of the messages I preach.  I will give an account of the decisions I make for this church.  I will give an account of how the church money is spent.  At the Judgment Seat of Christ, I want to give an account that brings great honor and glory to our Lord Jesus Christ.

                  E.  We will give an account of our witnessing.

                              Ezekiel 3:18

“When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.”

      God will require us to give an account of our faithfulness in warning the lost of their sinful condition.  Can you make the same statement as the Apostle Paul?  He made the statement that he was pure from the blood of all men.  I know I have passed up opportunities to give the Gospel to others.   

Conclusion:  Today we have explored this thought of preparing to meet God.  Are you prepared to meet God?  If you would die right now, are you prepared to meet God?  Sinner, you are not.  You have passed up the greatest gift ever offered to man and that is salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

      Saint, are you prepared to meet God with what you have done for Him since you were saved?   One reason why we have no real joy in our lives is the fact we are not prepared to meet God.