“Prepare!” (Ash Wednesday)

Scripture: Ephesians 4:7-13
1 Peter 1:13-16
Malachi 3:1-4

Ash Wednesday is the beginning of our time of preparation for Easter. But in all reality, preparation to live the Christian life must be much more than just that. Preparing for a life in Christ can not be a once a year event – it is a lifelong effort and a whole life commitment. And the call to prepare is not a new thing – it did not begin with Jesus.

Preparation was an integral part of Judaism throughout all of their history.
As abrupt as the beginning of the Exodus was for the people, their preparation was in the 10 miracles, concluding with the passing over of death. Did they miss the significance of those events – that God will go to incredibly great lengths to gain his people’s freedom, including releasing them from death?
After 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, which came about because of their failure to learn from all that the great Jehovah had done for them, and after experiencing the power of God in two miraculous water crossings, they found themselves standing before the gates of Jericho. The strongly defended city was blocking their way into the new land, but once again, God prepared the people to see his great power at work. The nation was told to parade around the walls once each day for 6 days, and on the 7th, they were to circle it 7 times, and when they finished, they were to raise up a tremendous shout – and we know the rest of that story - the city was theirs.
But even with one miracle coming after another, the people still struggled in their relationship with the Lord God Almighty. God sent messenger after messenger, prophet after prophet, and still the people tried to do it their own way, until the day came when their time of decision came to an end, and they were carried off into slavery – some to Assyria, and some to Babylon.

But the prophets were given a second message that the people also missed. The Lord knew that they were totally inadequate in faith, so the message was that he would soon send another to be His voice and grace and sacrifice and forgiveness and salvation for the people – if they would only listen to this One!

And still, they wouldn’t! And through the centuries, the message has been given over and over – Prepare for the coming of the Lord! And now the time to prepare has come to us.

Lent is a time to prepare our lives, not only for Easter, but for Christ’s return. But will we have the same problem in listening and following that the others have had for thousands of years? What is the lesson that we need to learn from them?
I don’t think that the issue is so much of unbelief as it is of not enough trust. I think that the vast majority of people believe that there is a God, at least in one form or another, but the depth of their faith is just too shallow and too restricted. They have listened to too many false prophets and have been lead away from the Divine Presence, and they have spent too much time doing “stuff” that they think will please God, and nowhere near enough time in preparing to meet him and welcome him in this life.

Read Ephesians 4:7-13

“become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” That’s the crux of the problem – we only want little bit of Jesus, we don’t want his fullness – we want just enough to get us by, but not so much as to make it inconvenient! And the gifts that Paul writes about are not for our benefit - they are to prepare us to be his witnesses, his messengers to the world.

The story is told of the man who got a permit to open the first tavern in a small town. The members of a local church were strongly opposed to the bar, so they began to pray that God would intervene. A few days before the tavern’s grand opening, lightning hit the structure, and it burned to the ground.

The people of the church were surprised, but pleased -- until they received notice that the would-be tavern owner was suing them. He contended that their prayers were responsible for the burning of the building. In a strongly-worded deposition the church denied the charge.

There was a hearing on the suit, all positions on the matter were given voice, and at the conclusion, the judge observantly remarked, “At this point I don't know what my decision will be, but there is one thing that I’ve learned: The owner of the tavern believes in the power of prayer, and these church people don't.”
--From The Prairie Rambler, June 1993, 6.

The church was prepared to pray, but not for the results! Their preparation was shallow and even hollow, and their faith suffered. They didn’t have enough of Jesus in their lives!

The Lord does all that is necessary to prepare us for a life in him, but it’s up to us to learn and grow from it! 40 years ago, rock operas became very popular, and one that tried to capture an inkling of faith was “Godspell”. Personally, it did a lousy job of faith expression, but it had a couple of song that speaks to our worship this evening. The first song is “Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord”. Anyone remember that? The John the Baptist character begins singing it, and the people begin to come dancing for joy, and as those words are repeated over and over, and it becomes a great big splash party in a public fountain – supposedly representing baptism.
The message was right on, but the people still didn’t understand what it meant because they were never told what it meant! That’s what shallow preparation is all about – it’s unrealistic and has nothing to do with the depth of faith that Christ is calling us to. Listen to what the Apostle Peter had to say about this:

Read 1 Peter 1:13-16

Is this about a faith that is shallow?
Is this about living in a “feel good - party mode”?
Does it have anything to do with self-determination or self-expression?

Certainly not! It’s about preparing ourselves for a “Christ Life” by surrendering all that we ever were, in favor of becoming all that we could ever be!

“Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord”, but prepare for him in depth and in truth!

Are we truly prepared for Action?
Are we fully prepared to accept Christ’s holiness for ourselves?
Are we willing to reject the “evil desires” of the world that once controlled our lives, and may even still have some control?

Satan would have us believe that this “preparation talk” is extreme overkill and totally unnecessary. Why in the world would a loving God expect so much from the people he loves? Why would he die for our sins, if he intends to condemn us anyway? Why would a powerful God have to destroy all that he created just to recreate it all over again? Why didn’t he do it right the first time?
It’s just too much! Satan would have us believe that “good enough” and “just enough”, that it’s plenty. Why put so much effort into something that is totally unnecessary?
But you know and I know that it is never enough, that it is only by grace through faith in Jesus Christ that it becomes enough!

Three apprentice demons were preparing to take their final exams on Earth. Satan appears before them, gives them his famous pep talk, and questions them about their plans to wreak havoc on the earth and ruin the people.

The first said, “I will tell people that there is no God.” Satan answered, “You will deceive only a few that way because deep down, people sense that there must be a God.”

The second apprentice spoke up and said, “I will tell them that there is no hell.” “ You will fool only a few that way,” replied Satan, “because deep down people know one day they will have to answer for their misdeeds.”

Finally, the third apprentice declared, “I will tell people that there is no hurry.” With that, Satan burst out with a laugh that rocked the foundations of creation. “You”, he predicted, “will ruin them by the millions.”
--As quoted in Paul J. Wharton, Stories and Parables for Preachers and Teachers (Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press), 48.

“Good enough” is good enough, and you have plenty of time for all the rest of that “faith stuff”. Take your time. It’ll be OK.
My friends, preparation for a life in Christ – either for the life that we live in the here and now, or in that new life that awaits us in eternity – can never be put off, and it is never “good enough”! We need to begin spreading the word now, today, tonight, that Jesus Christ is Lord and is Master of All! He will have the final judgment, the final say over our lives, and ignoring his call won’t even begin to be “good enough”.
The world will have us believe that the word of God is no more than an interesting collection of stories, myths, and fables, and while it is a good guideline for our physical lives, its message that a life in Jesus Christ is the only pathway to eternity is full of holes.
It doesn’t make sense – to the world
It is too restrictive – for the world
It is intolerant of what others believe – in the world order
There is no more validity in the Bible than there is in any other work of faith – as far as the world is concerned!

The Prophet Isaiah said to “Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord”, not “Immerse yourself in the way of the world”!

The prophets have carried this message forever, but the people of the earth still don’t want to listen. Hear these words from the Prophet Malachi:

Read Malachi 3:1-4

How many messengers does our world need? Prophet after prophet, servant after servant, witness after witness – even the Son of God himself has come to share the Father’s Word and Grace for the people.
And this world still isn’t prepared – not for the Lord’s first coming, not to learn from his teaching, not for his mercy, not for his death and resurrection, and definitely not for the day when he returns to judge the earth and all that is in it!

The prophet proclaimed “Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come”. Suddenly! No warning, no more 2nd chances, and the time of delay has passed. “But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire” The only one who can endure, the only one who can stand in the presence of Almighty God will be the one who has already been refined by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

And so the question must be asked tonight - Are we prepared? Have we accepted Christ’s refining redemption for our own life? Are we truly disciples of Jesus Christ? Or do some of us still think that there is no reason to hurry?

Remember that I told you that there are two songs from Godspell that have a purpose for our worship this evening?

“Day by day, day by day,
O dear Lord, 3 things I pray.
To see thee more clearly
To love thee more dearly
To follow thee more nearly,
Day by day. “

If you still believe that you have no need of Jesus in your life right now, that there is no reason to hurry, please just sit quietly for a moment, but I’m going to ask that the rest of this assembly, all who believe that we must be constantly in preparation for the Lord’s coming, on a “day by day” basis, to join me in singing this simple song as either your first time commitment to Christ, or your recommitment to Him.

Prepare ye the way of the Lord – day by day by day!