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"I AM NOW READY" “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” (II Tim. 4:6-8) “As the LORD commanded Moses his servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua; he left nothing undone of all that the LORD commanded Moses.” (Jsh. 11:15) There’s a hymn titled Unfinished Task that starts out with the words If I carry the gospelTo the lost near and farI won’t stand empty handedAt God’s judgment barBut I dare not relaxUntil I’ve done all he askedThat I won’t leave behindAn unfinished task. The key words in that are the words “Until I’ve done all he asked,” just as we find in our text from Joshua where it says that Joshua “left nothing undone of all that the LORD commanded Moses.” It’s a matter of priority, first things first. No human being has ever left this world with no unfinished tasks. There are just too many things that need to be done and too many things that we want to do. For many reasons, none of us will do it all. We won’t even do most of the things that we plan to do, much less most of the things that we dream of doing. Things seldom go as planned even in the short term, so fulfilling specific long-term plans is next to impossible. Proverbs 27:1 warns us about placing too much stock in tomorrow, and Psalm 118:24 speaks of rejoicing and being glad TODAY. Jesus even exhorts us to go and work TODAY in His vineyard. Tomorrow might never come, so today is the time to take care of unfinished tasks. Paul said that he was “ready to be offered.” That’s like a sacrifice, and a sacrifice had to be holy and without blemish. In fact, he said that he was NOW ready, implying that he was not ready before. Paul couldn’t have made that statement in Acts chapter seven, because he had not fulfilled God’s will in his life. He had not done all that God had commanded. But many years later at the end of his ministry, he knew that he had lived for God and had done what God had commanded. So, he said, “I am NOW ready to be offered.” That is, as the years went by, Paul took care of essential business. He didn’t live a life of pleasure, but rather a life of duty, and he found that there was great contentment and joy in doing so. Paul made it a habit of meeting his obligations. Rather than postponing things and kicking the can of responsibility down the road, Paul went through the doors that God opened and kept a clear conscience. He didn’t worry much about the doors that God didn’t open. For the most part, Paul just lived life one day at a time and did what he could as God provided a way to do it. It's really quite simple, if you can keep the flesh from complicating it. I didn’t say that it’s easy, only that it is simple. Bench pressing 300 pounds or running a marathon is simple, but it’s also very hard to do. Could Paul have still reached more people with the gospel? Sure, he could have, but reaching everyone was not his calling. His job was to reach as many as God wanted, to seize regular opportunities to make Christ known, to not hide his candle under a basket, but to be open and public about Jesus Christ at all times. He did that and made himself ready to be offered. Could Paul have visited more churches, written more letters and strengthened more believers? Absolutely, but God didn’t open all those doors. Paul went through the doors that God opened, and, in doing so, like Joshua, he left nothing undone that God had commanded. Friend, that’s just how simple the Christian life is. We tend to make things complicated by opening our own doors, entering the doors of others, or sometimes running from every door in sight, but it doesn’t have to be that way. The Christian life can be very simple when we remain focused on the Lord and plough our own rows. Then I made up my mind that if I’m an INDEPENDENT Baptist, then it really doesn’t matter what others are doing or what they are trying to do. Most of the brethren are just copying one another and comparing themselves to one another anyway, so I started focusing on ploughing my own row, running my own race, using my own gifts, and pretty much ignoring everyone but the Lord. Looking back, I can honestly say that I am very pleased with what we’ve been able to accomplish for Jesus over the past quarter century. I have tried to lead our folks through the doors that God has opened, and I have tried to let others do the same. If I knew this to be my last day on earth, I wouldn’t have to shift into warp speed trying to complete any unfinished tasks. I don’t run behind. I run the race that is set before ME, not someone else’s race, so I live with a clear conscience that I am daily doing that which is my duty. One day at a time, I step into the field and plough my row. It’s not easy, but it’s simple, and it keeps me ready to meet my Maker at any given moment. Will I wish I had done more? Of course, as will everyone else, but I will not be an unprofitable servant who is ashamed of his life. I will be a profitable servant who made a serious effort to do his best for the Lord. It’s really not that complicated, unless we MAKE it complicated. Let me pass on to you three general categories of responsibility that all of us have, each of which might include many individual tasks to fulfill. But these are simple things that can remain simple, if we keep them simple and plough our own rows with God’s daily grace and wisdom. I. RESPONSIBILITIES TO SELF . . . . . “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” (Luke 9:23) The best thing that any Christian can do for himself is DENY himself. That’s when personal growth begins, when we tell self to drop dead and let the Lord do the leading. If I’ll just do that daily, then there remains great hope for my personal betterment. If I’ll just deny self and take up my cross, then there are a great many other things that might find fulfillment in my life, and no one else can do this for me. No one else can read and learn the Bible for me. No one else can maintain a healthy prayer life for me. No one else can confess and repent of any sin in my life. Either I do that for myself, or it doesn’t get done, and it never gets done if I refuse to deny self and take up my cross. If it doesn’t get done, then I’ll end up performing far less than my best, and I’ll be ashamed of myself at the Judgment Seat of Christ. I can grow and become a better person spiritually, but no one can do it for me. No one can carry my cross. If I wish to fulfill my responsibilities to myself, then it starts with Luke 9:23, acknowledging that self is no good and can only be made good by replacing self-will with God’s will. There are many other areas of improvement, such as personal health, personal habits, personal finances, education and work. These are all areas where the individual must take it upon himself to be a better and more productive person by bearing a cross and doing things the hard disciplined way instead of the natural carnal way. Rather than being lazy and waiting for your ship to come in, you just head to down to the harbor and figure out which ship best suits you and climb aboard. That’s personal responsibility where a man tends to his own business and seeks to regularly better himself by making wise and sometimes tough choices. If you don’t do it, it won’t get done, and you’ll stand in shame when you meet your Maker. If you want to be READY TO GO at any moment, like Paul, then take care of responsibilities to self. II. RESPONSIBILITIES TO OTHERS . . . . . . Then there are responsibilities to others. We could make it real complicated, but it’s really as simple as the golden rule: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.” (Mat. 7:12) Are you living daily by the golden rule. Are you treating others as you would want to be treated? It’s amazing how much smoother and more joyous life can be when that one little rule is followed. Folks, it’s not that hard to just treat people right and treat them as you would want to be treated. You don’t want folks holding grudges against you, so don’t you hold grudges. You don’t want people owing you money, so pay your debts. You appreciate acts of kindness towards yourself, so be kind to others. You don’t want people to gossip about you, so don’t you gossip. We’re talking about the second greatest commandment here: Love thy neighbor as thyself (Mat. 22:39). It’s very simple until you complicate it with human traditions and religious garbage. Keep it simple and stand with honor before your Maker one day. III. RESPONSIBILITIES TO GOD . . . . . . The second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor, but the first one is to love God. Jesus said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.” (Mat. 22:37-38) Well, if you love God, you’ll also practice the golden rule with Him, not just with man. God so loved the world that He GAVE His only begotten Son, yet the average Christian doesn’t tithe and doesn’t support missions. God so loved the world that He came into this world and preached the gospel so faithfully that it got Him crucified, yet the average Christian is a fifth amendment Christian who never says a word to anyone about Jesus Christ and never even passes anyone a tract! God so loved the world that He spent nineteen centuries inspiring some forty different men on three different continents to pen the words of the Bible, and some of them died for it, yet the average Christian has never read that Book through even once! Can I give you some advice? Can I help you to get ready to stand with honor before God? Here’s my advice: DON’T BE AN AVERAGE CHRISTIAN! Remember always that the very first commandment in your life is to LOVE GOD, and if you really love Him, then everything else will fall into place. It’s very simple, if you don’t complicate it and if you don’t let “the brethren” complicate it. Just LOVE GOD with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. If you’ll do that, then you’ll give what you’re supposed to give, you’ll witness when God tells you to, you’ll leave a tract when God tells you to, you’ll show up for worship without having to be pushed or pulled, and you’ll look for a blessing when you get there instead of something to gripe about! If you love God, you’ll remind yourself to pray and read the Bible instead of having to be reminded. If you love God, you’ll fulfill your responsibilities to God, and you’ll do so with joy and gladness. Loving God will take us above and beyond the call of Christian duty and will allow us to one day look back at a long row that we ploughed right and ploughed straight. You and I live in the sickest period the church has seen in the past 2,000 years. In fact, it even makes God sick (Rev. 3:16). Don’t be an average Christian. Don’t be a lukewarm Laodicean. Be zealous and fulfill your responsibilities to yourself, your responsibilities to others, and most of all, your responsibilities to God. The time of our departure is most definitely at hand, and it grows closer every day. Like Paul, may we be found READY, and, like, Joshua, may we not leave behind any unfinished tasks.