Prepare to Meet Your God -- Ajay Chakravarthy -- November 7, 2021
http://rlcf.church/media/sermons/prepare-to-meet-your-god River of Life Christian Fellowship 1306 N Lincoln Avenue Loveland, Colorado - 80537, USA
Summary
The sermon emphasizes the necessity of being prepared to meet God, drawing parallels between John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus and the church's role today. The speaker uses examples from the Bible—the rich young man, the people in Jeremiah's time, and the early church in Acts—to illustrate that merely asking about one's spiritual condition is insufficient; true readiness requires a willing heart to obey God's challenging counsel, whether pleasant or unpleasant.
Outline
The message in plain words, in the order it unfolds. Select a time to jump the video to that moment.
Do you want to know your true condition?Just as a medical biopsy reveals whether someone has cancer, God's word evaluates our true spiritual condition.
The rich young ruler rejects the diagnosisJesus told the young man who kept the commandments to sell his possessions, but he walked away grieving because he owned much property.Matthew 19:20–21
The people of Jeremiah ask for the truth but refuse to obeyThe people asked Jeremiah to tell them God's will whether pleasant or unpleasant, but when warned not to go to Egypt, they called him a liar.Jeremiah 42:3
Those who respond with repentanceIn contrast to those who rejected correction, the crowd at Pentecost and Lydia in Macedonia responded to God's word with open hearts and obedience.Acts 2:37–38
The firefighter and the saved personA firefighter pulling someone from a burning building may cause minor injury in the process, but the rescue preserves their life.
Serving God rather than seeking to please menPaul declared that if he sought to please men, he could not be a servant of God, and he wrote hard letters to the Galatians and Corinthians out of care for their eternal well-being.
Appearing before the judgment seat of ChristKnowing the fear of the Lord and that all must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, believers urgently persuade people to set matters right.2 Corinthians 5:10–11
Ambassadors for ChristBelievers act as ambassadors for Christ, begging people on behalf of God to be reconciled.2 Corinthians 5:20
The testimony of Adoniram Judson and Jacob EamesAdoniram Judson was influenced away from belief by his friend Jacob Eames, until the sudden death of Eames without faith left a lasting impact on him.
Preparing like the ant in the summerJust as the ant prepares its food in the summer and harvest for the coming winter, we must respond to God during the spiritual springtime and summer.
The harvest is pastThose who play with eternal matters like the grasshopper eventually face a time when the harvest is past, the summer has ended, and they are not saved.Jeremiah 8:20
King Belshazzar's writing on the wallKing Belshazzar delayed humbling his heart before God until the night writing appeared on the wall and his kingdom was numbered and ended.
Finding forgiveness through confessionWhen the speaker was a teenager, he stopped playing games with God, went into his room, confessed his sins, and experienced complete cleansing.
The highest court of the Lord JesusAbove all earthly courts is the court of the Lord Jesus, who told the woman caught in adultery that He did not condemn her, offering her true acquittal.John 8:7
