"Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour."
Good Morning my beloved,
We welcome you to worship in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's such a privilege to have you here with us today. We are so grateful for those of you who have been sharing the ministry website and social media platforms with all of your family and friends, God is really making an impact in the lives of others.Your faithfulness to God has brough
We welcome you to worship in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's such a privilege to have you here with us today. We are so grateful for those of you who have been sharing the ministry website and social media platforms with all of your family and friends, God is really making an impact in the lives of others.
finishing well, is a different matter altogether! May God continue to bless this ministry with faithfulness and endurance in reaching the lost.
Never before has the call to cultivate and maintain Christian integrity and faithful obedience to God's Word been more difficult and tested than it is today. God always speaks truth, and is faithful to keep His Word. God wants His people to keep His commandments, even when it isn't easy or life is not fair, our salvation is shaky and our hope is low. What does it really mean to be a Christian? In the simplest of terms, being a Christians means to faithful adhere in obedience to the teachings of Jesus Christ.
In John 14:15, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." Obedience is not easy, but in the end, it's worth it. Christ demands faithful obedience. We obey His commands, not because we have to, but because we love Him. We are enabled to obey His commands because we are born-again, empowered by the Spirit of God. When His children obey His commands, our Heavenly Father is glorified. 1 John 2:3 says, "By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments." Obedience then, is the assurance of our salvation. Psalm 128:1 tells us, "How blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,
Who walks in His ways."
Who walks in His ways."
Let us pray
Heavenly Father,
Father, thank You for Your Word. I pray that You'll bless our hearts with clarity and the understanding of Your Word, by the power of Your Holy Spirit, that no one would deceived, so that we may live out these truths and bring honor and glory to You. May we live every moment as if it were our last. Lord, help us all to be found faithful, alert, ready for Your return. Father, we pray for those who no desire for godliness, no hunger for Your Word, we ask You open their hearts, call them to repentance and save their souls, that they might not face the damnation of the unprepared. We ask and pray this in Jesus’ name for Your glory.
Amen
Today's Message: The Return of Christ: The Tragedy of the Unprepared Life
For over 2,000 years, the parables of Jesus have captivated thousands upon thousands of people. Jesus was a Master storyteller, He used compelling stories or parables which typically drew His hearers in, while He disclosed fundamental spiritual truths, using a familiar scene that were common to the region, to set up a contrast and make them easy to understand by those who sought to discover their deeper meaning and conceal their true message so outsiders. Since parables have lost their value in our culture today, and often misunderstood, the hearers think it is about other people until it is too late. By the time one recognizes a it’s meaning, even in a limited sense, and can no longer ignore it applies to him, he's typically already caught in the trap.
So let's look today at the parable of the Ten Virgins. This particular parable is a warning parable, taken from the Olivet Discourse, which are the Lord’s own words in response to the disciples questions, "Tells us when will these things happen and what are the signs of Your coming." Notice, He has said four times already, the time of His coming will be unknown, it will happen at a time when people least expect it. In this parable of the Ten Virgins, He continues the solemn
declaration of the uncertainty of the time of His return and of the
necessity of being prepared. The Second Coming of Jesus Christ is the greatest prophetic event in human history. You’re not going to know until it happens, it will be suddenly, like a thief in the night, so stay alert and be ready!
Open your Bibles to the twenty-fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew 25:1-13.
I invite you to follow along with me as I read these thirteen verses to you.
Let's open our hearts and our minds to see what the Spirit of God has
to say us today. Matthew 25:1-13.
"Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ And
while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came,
and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the
door was shut. Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour."
I'd like you to notice the opening word "then," it is important because it takes us to a time, it links this chapter with the previous on, chapter 24, where He has been speaking of the time when He comes to reward the faithful servant and to punish the unfaithful servant. This is a continuous sermon, there is no break in our Lord’s discourse. The point is, His Coming is inevitable and it can happen at any time.Whether a person believes it or not, doesn't matter, they cannot escape it.
Shakespeare once said, "Delays have dangerous ends." Man's delay has often his downfall. Douglas MacArthur once said, "In war all tragedy can be summarized in two words, ’too late.’" Weddings would have been very familiar to Jewish people, as in our culture, they are a big deal. Family members and friends all gathering together to join in the celebration of the most important moment in a couples new life together. Here, Jesus uses the illustration of a wedding, a bridegroom coming unexpectedly to get his
bride for that final hour when the wedding is consummated. This is a very simple parable with a very powerful message; it consists of four things, a wedding, bridesmaids, a bridegroom and then a warning, to teach us the necessity of being prepared for His return. Stay alert and be ready, because the window of opportunity will abruptly come to an end!
The word virgin here refers to young ladies, who were friends of the bride. They would have been the equivalent of bridesmaids in our culture today. They were to help create a celebratory procession between the homes of the bride and groom for this most special event. This would be like a wedding procession going from the wedding ceremony to the wedding reception. A Jewish wedding would be the most festive occasion in the village, which everybody would celebrate, family, friend and townspeople. The lamps or "lampás,"were torches that uses a wick saturated with oil. They to have their wicks trimmed and filled with oil, ready to light the way for the procession, the bridegroom had basically a year to get things ready while the bride makes her final preparations. Waiting and watching with her ten bridesmaids, waiting for her bridegroom, who could arrive at anytime. That is the scene Jesus is setting up with this parable.
Let's look at verse 1, "Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom."
It was a great honor to be considered to be part of the bridal party. The lamps were like a torch, on a wooden pole, they were stuffed cloth, and they would pour oil over the cloth and light the cloth. More oil would later need to be put on to keep them burning. Not be prepared to fulfill that honor, would have been considered very offensive to both the bride and the groom.
Verse 2, "Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent.
The foolish ones represent professing believers who claim to know the Gospel, that Christ is coming, yet they are unprepared at the time of His coming. In other words, they have all the outward marks of Christianity, they're joined the believing community, attending church, they appear to be true Christians
but in reality, they’re impious, godless, outside the family of God. The word foolish is the word "mōrós, from which we get the word moron. They're profession is false, not taking their responsibility seriously.
The five who were prudent, or "phrónimos," were wise, mindful, sensible. They were ready, prepared for the waiting for the Son of God to come and bring His kingdom. Outwardly, separating the true from the false is difficult, like the wheat and the tares, they're visibly are indistinguishable. Inwardly, they’re not alike at all.
Verses 3-4, "For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps."
They took their lamps, but there was no way to keep them burning, unless you brought a flask of oil. The meaning is clear, Jesus is warning us in this parable that there will be a many who look
like Christians, who associate with Christians, and who even think they
are Christians, who will be shocked to learn that they are not saved at
the return of our Lord. There will be those who appear to be Christians but are not. Those who outwardly make a profession of Christ but inwardly do not know Him, who claim to have received His grace are not always walking in the ways of the Lord. We can't see it, but there is a line that divides the true from the false. This theme is found all the way through the New Testament. What a devastating thought.
Verse 5, "Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep."
Christ’s delay in coming often causes people to become lackadaisical, He is patient because He wants those who will be save to be saved. They will be horrified when He shows up and realize that they have the opportunity to prepare. We must be prepared for Jesus' return, no one enters heaven because of their heritage, affiliation with a particular church or denomination. Our relationship God is individual, and personal. The number Ten in the Bible is the number signifying responsibility. It is not enough to be believe in Christ’s return, we must be ready for it. Both the wise and the foolish virgins were asleep, therefore, being asleep was
not the problem. The wise virgins prepared before they fell asleep. The foolish were caught unprepared. This parable is a call to inward preparedness, the foolish virgins are not reprobates, their profession had no genuine fruit, no desire to fulfill God’s will, but to satisfy the eyes of men. Wisdom and foolishness manifests itself in how prepared you are for Christ’s return. Don’t miss this very important point, outwardly, all ten of these virgins looked identical, inwardly five were ungodly, that’s how it will be with the people of God. There are churches everywhere, all over the world, that are filled with people who are not genuinely saved, unprepared for His return.
Verse 6, "But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’"
They all had their lamps to carry when the bridegroom came, I believe that this is a powerful reminder of the necessity of righteousness, as we wait and wait for the unexpected hour when the Lord comes. Remember, He is not speaking to His adversaries, nor to the crowds, He is speaking to His disciples, to take their responsibility to be ready very seriously, not to scramble to be ready at the last minute, for the unexpected time when He returns. Like the ten virgins in the parable, they didn’t know how long they needed to wait. There will be a generation, who will indeed be alive to see those signs yet will be startled by His coming. Many of them will deceive themselves by thinking they are ready, for the most important time in redemptive history. Most of us are asleep by midnight, not expecting Him to come so late. But notice verse 6 begins, "At midnight there was a shout," this is the announcement of His unexpected arrival.
In the book of Exodus chapter 12, we learn that the deliverance of Israel from Egypt took place at midnight.
Verse 7, "Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps."
When the shout came, "Come out to meet him," all ten virgin got ready so that they could light their shallow lamps. It was at that moment five realized they only enough to make their lamps burn for a while, their lamps did not sufficient oil to last throughout the entire night. They knew that He was coming, it was only a matter of when, they should have been prepared. This is the moment when the foolish, the unprepared, will realize their true spiritual condition. Knowing that the Lord is coming at an hour when no expects, they should have tested to see if their faith was genuine, but the didn't. We can’t borrow faith from someone else, we must not be lulled into complacency, distracted by the things of this world. To fail to prepare is foolish because of a failure to recognize your present need. No man intends on going to Hell. However, good intentions are not going to be good enough when the Lord comes. In that day, every hidden thing will be revealed, do something about it while you still can! How many times is our spiritual need overshadowed by our worldly interests, taking no thought of tomorrow, as far as our soul is concerned?
Verse 8, "The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’"
We can’t share our faith with people, no matter how much we may want to and no matter how desperate they are. We cannot save anybody, all we can do, is point them to the One Who can, Jesus Christ. Salvation is a non-transferable gift from God through the Holy Spirit, which must be received by every individual. It belongs to us, our own personal possession. Everybody has an equal opportunity for salvation, to be ready and get your own before the coming day of judgment, only the foolish will waste it.
Many will be like the optimist in S. E. Kiser's story about a man who stepped off the roof of a twenty-story building. As he passed the tenth floor, his comment was, "So far, so good."
In Luke 6:46-49, Jesus says "Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great." Throughout Scripture, Jesus tells many parables but it’s all the same message; be prepared and be ready.
Jesus dramatically illustrates the picture of unpreparedness in verse 9, "But the prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’"
Regardless of their intentions, the foolish gave no thought to preparedness. There is danger in being unprepared for the coming of Christ. If you're one to panic when your fuel gauge reaches empty, knowing that you needed to stop and refuel but delayed in doing it, then you'll understand the anticipation that the foolish virgins are feeling, waiting on the bridegroom to show up. Unfortunately, there will be many who will panic in the last minute when Christ unexpectedly returns. Too late to get things right, they will cry out for mercy. But it will be too late for the time of grace. The warning of being caught unprepared on the day Christ comes has now become a devastating reality, this has to be one of the saddest illustrations in all of Scripture. Are you preparing for your intended destination or are you idly waiting, drifting further and further away from the kingdom of heaven? For those who refuse to turn from their sin, I beseech you to heed this stark warning, in the following verses.
Verse 10, "And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut."
Though this warning is about His Second Coming, if will be no different if you die unexpectedly, when you will stand unprepared before God in judgement. Hebrews 9 says, "And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment." You better be ready to meet Him, because when the time suddenly arrives, your destination is unchangeable! Notice He ends verse 10 with "and the door was shut." The message is clear, when the door of grace is shut, and it will shut closed, in keeps those who are redeemed safely protected inside Christ, just as Noah and his family were protected inside the ark and it keeps everybody else out, with no time to repent, left to face judgment. As it was in the days of Noah.
In Luke 17:26-30, Jesus tells us "And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: they
were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being
given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the
flood came and destroyed them all. It was the same as happened in the
days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying,
they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed."
In the light of His return, are you ready? Or making preparation for the events of this life, what you will do when this service is over, where you will go to eat or maybe the week ahead or your next vacation.
There are some who debate over what the oil represents, many think it represents the Holy Spirit. I believe the oil best represents the necessity of being prepared with what is absolutely essential, true saving faith. Remember, on the surface, all ten virgins are outwardly appeared the same, the only difference was their inward preparedness when the bridegroom unexpectedly came at midnight. It has to mean the preparedness of being ready. That has been the theme of much of Jesus teaching.
Look at verse 11, "Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’"
There’s the last ditch effort to cry out in repentance. "Lord, lord," sounds familiar doesn't it? In Matthew 7:13-14, after Jesus taught about Enter
through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that
leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it." He said in verse 22, "Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord." There are many Christians who have a habit of reading the Bible, they have a habit of reading and saying their prayers and still lack true saving faith and the fruits of the Spirit.
It'll be too late, there's no second chances on that day. Their passionate cries will be met with the startling words of verse 12, "But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’"
I know this is not a popular message, but it's the revealed Truth of God's Word. Over and over and over again, our Lord warns us about the danger of being unprepared, He repeatedly call us to be ready for the unexpected hour of Hid return, since we never know when the Lord will come. No more than you know the hour when death will take you. Do not be caught up in the trap in the events of the fleeting world, be alert and ready for the day that will surprisingly come upon the earth and destroys all the ungodly. If you are caught off guard, unprepared, the door of heaven will be forever closed to you. Not everyone who has been invited, who carries a lamp is ready to meet with the Lord when He comes. The foolish virgins could have gotten oil before the bridegroom came, but not at midnight. Millions of people are self-deceived about standing with God, about their true spiritual condition, tragically by the time that many realize it, it will be too late.
That brings us to verse 13, Jesus concludes His parable with another warning, calling for us to be prepared for that unknown day. "Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour."
Jesus' warning is not a distinction between those who come for church services, and those who don't, it's really about those inside the visible church. That's the heart of Jesus' message, "Be ready, because once it's too late. You cannot enter!"
In Closing..
Today, I plead with both the sinner and the saint, don’t waste the
opportunities that you have today to prepare, there'll be no time to get
ready when He comes and there will be no escaping the day of judgement.
His coming marks the end of grace.
At the end of the day, there are really only two groups of people, regardless of their profession. Those who are ready and those who are not. I do not labor tirelessly, preaching the full Gospel to change your outward appearance, my only goal is to cause you to recognize your true spiritual condition, and to point you to Jesus Christ, Who can change not only your heart, but your eternal destination.
I promise you Jesus is coming again. The only question is, will you be ready for His return, or will He catch you unprepared? I pray it's not the latter!
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
Copyright © 2019-2023 All Rights Reserved
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
Copyright © 2019-2023 All Rights Reserved