21–Part 3: “For Those About to Rock”
January 17, 2020
Pastor Troy Brewer, OpenDoor Church, Burleson, TX
History of the 21 Gun Salute
In 1842, the Presidential salute was formally established at 21 guns. In 1890, regulations
designated the “national salute” as 21 guns and redesignated the traditional Independence Day
salute, the “Salute to the Union,” equal to the number of states. Fifty guns are also fired on all
military installations equipped to do so at the close of the day of the funeral of a President, ex-
President, or President-elect.
So I wanted to do a sermon on being prepared for anything and everything this year. It’s the
year 2021 and I couldn’t help but tie it into what I think is the perfect title for BEING PREPARED
AND READY: 2021 and a 21 Gun Salute.
Part 3 of the series called 21 is “For Those About to Rock” we salute you!
“There is always a prepared place for a prepared person.”
– Jack Hyles
“Depend on it, my hearer, you never will go to heaven unless you are prepared to worship Jesus
Christ as God.” – Charles Spurgeon
“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” – Benjamin Franklin
The Boy Scout motto of “be prepared” means “you are always in a state of readiness in mind
and body to do your duty.”
This is very much a KINGDOM THEME and mandate from the Lord.
Scripture tells us that we must always be ready to tell others the Good News. We must be
prepared as Paul writes in
2 Timothy 4:2 (CEB)
“Preach the word. Be ready to do it whether it is convenient or inconvenient. Correct, confront,
and encourage with patience and instruction.”
1 Peter 3:15-16 (CEB)
“When anyone asks you to speak of your hope, be ready … Yet do it with respectful humility.”
The idea of “being prepared” seems to surface from time to time in our daily lives. When a
health or financial crisis comes our way, we wonder if we have enough insurance and resources
to carry us. We stop and ask ourselves, “Am I prepared?”
We prepare for a vacation, a trip or a new job. We discover the need to be prepared in so many
places in our lives as we make plans for careers, marriage and retirement.
Some of us take the idea of preparedness very seriously, while others seem to get along fine
with less preparation.
John the Baptist came saying PREPARE!
AND WE ARE TO BE READY ALWAYS TO GIVE AN ANSWER FOR THE HOPE THAT IS
WITHIN US AS 1 PETER 3:15 SAYS.
PROVERBS 21 DESCRIBES THE PARTNERSHIP WE HAVE WITH GOD HIMSELF DURING
INTENSE TIMES OF WARFARE
Proverbs 21:31
The horse [is] prepared against the day of battle: but safety [is] of the LORD.
Ephesians 6:15
And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
YOUR FEET ARE COVERED IN BEING PREPARED TO HAVE PEACE.
THE 21 GUN SALUTE HAS HISTORICALLY BEEN A SIGNAL FOR PEACE.
- Early sailing ships were required to empty all their cannons before entering port as a way to
say “I come in peace.” These battleships had 7 cannons that chambered 3 cannon balls so they
fired off 21 guns. Because it took so long to reload, firing all their cannons was a signal that the
ship was vulnerable and would not attack. - A 21 gun salute has been used throughout western society to signal both sides in a battle to
lay down their weapons and clear their dead from the battlefield. It is a moment of peace in the
midst of chaos.
YOU NEED A PERSONAL PEACE REVIVAL.
PREPARE OUR HOUSE FOR PEACE.
Matthew 1:1-5
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 As it is written in the Prophets:
“Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,
Who will prepare Your way before You.”
3 “The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make His paths straight.’ ”
4 John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the
remission of sins. 5 Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and
were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
So let’s turn back the clock 700 years before John the Baptist to the prophet Isaiah and read His
prophecy about John the Baptist:
Isaiah 40:1-5
“Comfort, yes, comfort My people!” says your God.
2 “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is
pardoned; For she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.”
Double for your trouble in 2021.
3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the
desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places
shall be made straight and the rough places smooth;
5 The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the
Lord has spoken.”
KINGDOM PREPARING MEANS
• A change of priorities
• Repentance
• Conforming your life & circumstances to the promises of God
Be prepared to be hit with hard things and brace yourself with the presence of God.
You are not expecting an easy year with ideal circumstances and perfect responses.
I do not expect this year to be easier. I expect God’s presence to be more powerful.
Be prepared for God to so something amazing – just because He is good. Learning to rely on
the goodness of God because of His character is huge in the Kingdom/Expectancy.
Psalm 62:5 (NKJV)
My soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my expectation is from Him.
Romans 13:11
And that, knowing the time, that now [it is] high time to awake out of sleep: for now [is] our
salvation nearer than when we believed.