It is a challenge that not many are prepared to answer.
And it was put to a congregation at Pilgrim Place, Christ Church.
Are you ready to meet your maker?
Preaching last Wednesday night under the theme Be Prepared, For The King Is Coming, visiting minister Elder Patterson Boyce told the congregation at Emmanuel Tabernacle that when God said something, He meant it.
Therefore His creation ought to be ready to meet Him on His return.
Boyce’s texts were taken from Revelation 22:12-13 and Matthew 24. As he spoke to the congregation on the last day of a four-night crusade, Boyce said there was more to being on Earth and in the church than shouting, dancing and spending time together.
“[Our time on earth] is actually about the Holy Spirit preparing us for Heaven and a future life with God.
In Matthew 24 Jesus was instructing His followers about what to do and what to expect. He was not trying to scare them into a relationship with Him or force their hand, but He was bringing a confirmation to His prophetic Word,” he said.
“God’s Word never fails. When God speaks, it happens. Throughout the Scriptures God is trying to get our attention for us to see that when He said something, He always brought it to pass.
“He warns us not to let anything that we hear from His Word slip; that’s why we need to pay special attention to what the Word of God is saying.”
Boyce added that when God “speaks of His second coming, it is a picture of what God confirms to be very good”.
He told his listeners that in whatever state a man was when he died, “that is the state in which he will spend eternity”.
“If a man dies unrighteous, he will be unrighteous still, and if he dies unholy, he will be unholy still. This life we live as Christians is too serious. God has [already revealed] that His coming is upon us. Why should any of us want to be left behind?”
At the end of His sermon, Boyce prayed that each member of the congregation and those without a saving knowledge of Christ would “prepare themselves” to meet Him when He returns.
The night’s service, presided over by minister Elder Trevor Simmons, was punctuated with special ministry in song by the youth and senior members of the church. This, plus lively and anointed worship and praise, made the night’s service even more special and meaningful.
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