Ready for The King?

Mar 02, 2020 . 4 years ago

When you look around your house, would you truly say it is ready for a king to visit? Friends and family, I just returned from Thomazeau, Haiti where I served for five days with an organization called Live Beyond. While I was there, I experienced some of the most disturbing things I have ever seen. I saw people living in conditions we don’t even consider suitable for animals. I saw the thinnest, hungriest, and thirstiest group of people I have ever seen. I heard the stories of how the women don’t have value and are raped on a regular basis. I heard the stories of a voodoo priest poisoning her own infant granddaughter because the mother was going to church. I learned it is considered good luck to rape those who are mentally retarded. I served with humble servants who have given up the wealth and comfort they can easily have in the U.S. and now live full time in Haiti, providing medical care, education, and the gospel to many. I listened to a man tell me that I need to get ticked off when I hear about starving kids and women being raped. I was admonished to be a man that stands between the oppressed and the oppressor.

Beyond the poverty I saw and the atrocities I learned about, I saw firsthand that this place, this land, this house, and this kingdom is not in any suitable condition to welcome a king.

Again, I ask, is your house ready for a king? More importantly, is it ready for the KING of Kings?

Ponder this for a moment, for a king, what honor is due when he arrives in your home? You would absolutely without question focus your time, your thoughts, and your attention to his presence. Because of the king’s place of honor, you would stop everything and give him your respect while he was with you. Now, when this king does come, would you be incredibly disappointed if you did not have time to prepare? Without question, you would want to get your house ready so it is fit for the presence of a king. You would undoubtedly spend days if not weeks getting your house ready, cleaning it up, taking out the trash, replacing old and worn furniture, decorating with flowers, and preparing a feast. You would want the king to know he came to the right place when he arrived, that a lookout was waiting, and when he came into your house, he was welcomed and praised. What if there was a king who even kings bowed to in reverence? A king who made all the other kings want to prepare for months in advance to give the welcome he deserved?

What if the king sent you a message well before he arrived and said, “Be ready, I am coming home, I can’t wait to see you, and what you have done to prepare for my return.”

Would you be prepared for the king? If the king were to pop in for a surprise visit, what would you be doing? How would you want to be found? Would it be just as well for you if you were laying back, watching TV with a sink full of dishes, weeds growing in the yard, piles of dirty clothes all around and a complete disaster for the king to see? Would it even matter?

It does matter, and there is a king like that, the KING of kings. He is coming; he has proclaimed that he will. Matthew 24:36-51 tells us the exact time that Jesus returns is unknown, and it will not look good for any of his servants who are relaxing and being lazy when he does come back. It will be a surprise visit and let me just tell you, WE ARE NOT READY. Oh how I want to see Jesus’ face, Oh how I want him to end the suffering people are facing, it will be the most joyful, glorious, and epic sight to see the return of the King. How awful will it be for us if when he gets back, we are not doing anything more than we are doing now?

God forgive us and have mercy on us who call ourselves believers if he does come today because we have been standing by doing little to nothing for far too long.

Friends, we can make a change and make a difference. If all the Christians in the U.S. alone were to give 10% of our income to eradicate hunger, everyone on this earth would have a meal each day. When you are obedient to God’s instruction to feed and clothe those in need and give your tithe, you stand between the oppressed and the oppressor. All of you who are Christians reading this I challenge you right now to get angry about people starving, about sex trafficking of women and children, about the oppression the majority of people face. Get angry and do something about it. You were entrusted with resources to make a difference in the world, give a minimum of 10% back to God. Pray, pray, pray. Your prayers are necessary. And lastly, go. You do not need to ask God if you should give, pray or go; the Bible is very clear on what we should do. Go and do something. No more excuses.

I ask you not to congratulate me for doing good work while I was in Haiti, I already have been blessed. What I do ask is for you not to turn a blind eye to this message. Join with me in solving this problem. You may join with me by giving to LiveBeyond or other fiscally responsible organizations and praying for strength and provision for their ministry there. Please do not forget the people that are suffering or the people that are there full time serving.

When the King comes back, I hope you and I can be found working to end hunger, stop oppression, and make this kingdom fit for a King.