Preparation

1
Preparation

• The Ten Virgins
• The Rich Fool
• The Faithful and the Evil Servant

2
Time is of the Essence

• Jesus often stressed the importance of being
  prepared.
• God has given us time to turn to Him
• 2 Pet. 39
• 1 Thess. 51-6
• Are we using Gods gift of time to prepare for
  Christs coming?

3
The Ten VirginsMatthew 251-13

• All ten virgins knew that the bridegroom was
  coming.
• Though they were expecting Him, they did not know
  when He was coming.
• The foolish virgins had time to prepare (vs. 5),
  but they did not.
• When they finally heard that He was coming, they
  tried to get ready, but it was too late.
• Only those who had been prepared all along were
  able to enter in with the bridegroom.

4
Are You Ready for the Bridegroom?

• We all know that the Lord is coming, but we do
  not know when He is coming.(1 Thess. 52).
• We need to have made our lives ready
• We must have oil at hand before He comes.
• Repentance of sins, good works, spiritual growth.
• If we see Him coming, we will not have time in
  the last minute to prepare.
• We must be ready, and we must be watching for
  Him, lest He catch us sleeping and unprepared.

5
The Rich FoolLuke 1216-21

• The rich fool had everything a man would want in
  this life.
• He was rich.
• He had an abundancehad to make room for more.
• He was able to be comfortable for the rest of his
  life.
• But he was still found unprepared.

6
Are We Rich Toward God?

• To become rich requires the use of time, energy,
  resources, and sacrifice.
• Are we using these things to become rich toward
  God? (1 Pet. 410).
• Only fools think that our laboring on this earth
  is for self-comfort.
• Instead, we must labor for God and let Him take
  care of our wellbeing (Luke 1222-31).
• If we are too busy serving self, then we will
  have nothing in the Lord when He comes.

7
The Faithful and the Evil ServantLuke 1242-48

• The faithful servant is the one who serves as if
  his master is present.
• He is diligent to use the time and resources
  allotted to him by his master.
• The evil servant is the one who believes he has
  all the time in the world to do whatever he
  wants.
• He does not regard his masters wishes until
  absolutely necessary, but then it is too late.

8
Are We Being Faithful Servants?

• This parable is talking about people who are
  already servants in the kingdom.
• Evil servants feel that they have time before
  they need to get to work (vs.45-46).
• I have time to relax a little before I need to
  do anything.
• Vs. 47 I know what I need to do, Ill do it
  later.
• Vs. 48 I dont know, but Ill learn later.
• The faithful servant does his work immediatelyhe
  knows the Master could come at any moment.

9
ConclusionLuke 1235-40
Being prepared is not a matter of ability, but a
matter of desire and diligence.

• It will be a sad day when the Lord comes if those
  who know He is coming have not made themselves
  ready.
• Do we understand the value of time? That whatever
  time we have is a precious gift from God?
• Are we preparing ourselves now so that when the
  bridegroom comes our lamps will be burning, ready
  to receive Him?
• Will we be found watching, or will we be
  sleeping?
• Are we striving to be rich toward God before it
  is too late?