In the last two weeks, we have seen the need to be ready to preach and to be ready for action. To be ready to preach, we must first be ready to listen and ready to answer. To be ready for action, we must be ready to pray, to give and to work. Today, we’ll see that we must be ready to meet the Lord. To be ready to meet the Lord, we must be:
Ready to fly – Matt 24:44 – “therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.” I attended a youth conference in Marion, NC in 1988. Matt 24:44 was the theme verse. We said it many times until we had it memorized. I have never forgotten the words or what they say to do. Titus 2:13, “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.”
Dr. Ruckman replied to several questions from John Davis at Time for Truth News in England in the latter half of 2015. In reply to a question regarding his thoughts on life he wrote,
“I knew something back in 1949, which most Christians don’t learn even if they live to be a hundred years old: I’ve learned that the answers are NOT down here. They’re “upstairs.” People make fun of us and say, “You’re always talking about that ‘pie-in-the-sky’…” You bet your booties it’s “in the sky.” You say, “How do you know?” I’ve looked. And don’t tell me that Ruckman hasn’t looked; don’t give me that. When I was 28 years old, I knew that the answers were not down here. I knew all the problems; I just didn’t have any answers… I know where the answer is—it’s upstairs; it isn’t down here. There may be blessings ahead, or troubles ahead, or pain ahead, or whatever ahead; but I know one thing—“it ain’t down here.” My prayer in the morning is, “Even so come Lord Jesus,” and at bed at night it’s, “Even so come Lord Jesus.” I talk about it (in jest, of course) and kid people about it, but I want to ask the Lord when I get to heaven if He didn’t make a mistake in waiting so long. Now of course, I won’t know what I’m talking about, and He will know what He’s talking about and what He’s doing. He always knows what He’s doing. He is always right, and I know it. But there is one thing that God could not do: He could not come too soon for Pete Ruckman. I would say that if He came tonight it would be awfully late for me, because I’ve known all along that the answer was not down here. I knew that as an unsaved man. I must confess that sixty-two years of living with the Lord was a “sight better” than the twenty-eight years I lived for the devil. I still know that there is nothing ahead down here but hospital beds and graves for any of us. The best is yet to come, and it doesn’t come until He comes, or until we go to Him. That is my look on life.”
Ready to die – Lk 22:33 – Peter said to the Lord, I’m “ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.” In Acts 21:13 Paul was ready to die at Jerusalem. In Phil 1:21 Paul said, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” The he said in Phil 1:23-24, “For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.” It is needful to be here for those to whom we minister and for those of our family. However, it is “better” to depart and be with Christ. Therefore, in 2 Tim 4:6 Paul said, “I am ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.”
Conclusion: So, we always want to be ready to meet the Lord whether we meet him in the air or through the veil. Everyday and every hour, be ready to meet your Saviour.