Doug Batchelor - The Ten Virgins

I am going to be speaking to you this morning on a familiar passage of Scripture it's the parable of the 10 virgins that you find in Matthew chapter 25 now this comes after the discourse where Jesus is talking about signs regarding his return and he emphasizes a number of points and helps us to view the second coming in a number of areas after he gives us some of these signs sort of his guidance and warning and this parable fits into that category now I know we read this during our scripture reading but I'd like to read through it again with you and then we'll do a little expose Ettore study as we talk about this very important parable that applies to us in our day then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened unto ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom five of them were wise and five of them were foolish we'll talk a little bit more about the wise and the foolish but I'd like to begin by talking about the Jewish wedding the Bible is really all about weddings if you think about it the first thing you see in Genesis is before sin enters the world God creates man and he says there's something missing and he creates woman from the side of Adam his bride is born and there's a marriage doesn't tell a lot about the formalities of the ceremony and the guests were probably the angels but the Bible begins with a wedding and then if you fast-forward to Revelation you've got the wedding of the second Adam - the church the church is the bride husbands love your wives even as Christ loves the church and so many of the parables of Jesus take place in the context of a wedding he's got the parable of the great king who had a wedding feast for his son and then you've got those were invited to the feast but they were too busy to come and I could go on on talking about the verbage of a wedding when Jesus said I go to prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you unto myself that's talking about the Jewish wedding because the way it worked is if there was a agreement between the families weddings were arranged and if the parents of the bride and the groom came to some mutual agreement then they would get permission for the groom and he would go to the bride and he would offer her a glass of grape juice if she took that and drink it that meant that she accepted it any of you ever been to a Jewish wedding and you've seen where they take a wine glass and they put it on the ground they cover it and they stomp on it and it symbolizes that nobody else's is to drink from this glass of wine again and that there has been some unison that actually comes from the ancient wedding in the Bible then again you remember where Jesus said are you able to drink the cup that I must drink it is this is the language of the wedding accepting the proposal then after she accepted the proposal he would go back to his father's house and he would prepare this wedding chamber this honeymoon chamber some of you remember that Jacob went into that chamber after the week of feasting and his father-in-law stuck Leah in there instead of Rachel and he didn't know until the morning and that was sort of a dirty trick but and I have mentioned before that when I get to heaven I need to ask him about that how he could not know he good morning but in any event so he would go and he would pick up his wife after the wedding chamber was finished he would pick up his wife and he would bring his best man with him and there would be a wedding party that came from the groom and the father's house they would retrieve the bride and the wedding party from the bride's house and he would bring her back and it was usually done in the evening because the days were often hot and they very seldom had their weddings in the winter and even here we have most weddings and what month June see you near that they are somewhat seasonal they say and so this was the context of the Jewish wedding so here he tells this parable that these virgins these bridesmaids are waiting for the wedding part now the bride has been picked up by the groom on the way back to the groom's house where there's going to be a feast this is the one that you also read about there with the feast of Jacob and Laban when he married Rachel and Leah and they were to join this procession and help illuminate the way and there was singing and musicians and everything they never knew exactly when it was happening have you ever been to a wedding that started late and while they're waiting for the groom to come back there's been some delay which is not uncommon after he picks up the bride maybe everything wasn't quite ready and on his way back there waiting in there waiting and this is delay now this parable is dealing with well let me just ask you what some of the symbols represent who is the bride Church of Christ who is the groom Jesus is the bridegroom Bible talks about blessed are those were invited to the wedding of the Lamb and these bridesmaids they're believers they are part of the wedding party five are wise and five are foolish you notice the Bible is very dogmatic about there being no middle road says you're with me or against me your light or darkness your wise or foolish talks about the foolish man builds on the sand the wise man builds on the rock what is it that separates the wise and the fool in Jesus theology both notice the similarities both know there's a storm coming both build a house one builds on the sand and he said he that hears these words of mine and does them is the wise man he that hears these words of mine and does not do them they both hear the words one is a doer of the word and one is only a hear that's what separates the wise from the fool you'll find it's not as different as you think in the parable of the ten virgins five were wise and five were foolish but I want I want you to notice that key to this parable is what happens during a scheduled delay now this is probably one of the most important parts of the message and I want to emphasize this Jesus has gone to heaven he said I will come again matter of fact he said I come quickly and many people have thought well Bible must not be true because it's been 2,000 years how can you call that quickly I guess compared to a billion years if you see things through God's perspective 2,000 is quickly right and if you consider the next thing you're aware of if you die in the Lord is the resurrection and your life is pretty short the Bible tells us all through the Bible that our lives are just like a vapor isn't that right like grass that springs up and dries it's very short and so in that sense even if you live a full life he comes quickly when he comes for you so to speak and so it is quickly but the literal coming of the Lord many think that it's been delayed well I want to tell you that God has said in his word that there is an apparent delay and that delay is scheduled let me give you a few scriptures that help illustrate that I think he's made it clear for instance if you look in Matthew 24 verse 48 just before the parable of the ten virgins if that evil servant says in his heart my master is delaying his coming Jesus is warning us that there would be a risk that some would think that he's late is nobody saying if that evil servant says it is hard my lord delays his coming and begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with the drunkards the master of that servant will come is he going to come he will come but he's going to come in a day when he's not looking for him in an hour that he's not aware of and he'll cut him in two and appoint him a point in this portion with the hypocrites and there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth and you almost wonder if when Jesus shared that parable if he was looking back to the experience of the golden calf you remember that story Exodus chapter 32 verse 1 Moses said I'm going up the mountain I'm going to receive the in Cardiff ID version of the ten commandments the Lord had spoken the law the people said all the Lord has said we will do he spoke it now most of said I'm going to go receive the written transcript and I will come back he didn't say when he said I'm coming back well 40 days and 40 nights went by and they didn't think it would take that long for God to write a contract and it says now when the people saw Exodus 30 to 1 when the people saw that Moses delayed tearing appeared to be late from coming down the mountain the people gathered together and we all know Moses as a type of Christ it appeared he was late what did the church what did Israel do when he appeared to be late they gathered together they said to Aaron come now make us gods that will go before us as for this Moses the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt we don't know what's become of him and they began to adopt the worship of the religions they had been saved from now is it just my imagination or is that happening again in this delay that God has always foretold would happen the restlessness of God's people spiritual Israel they're saying we've got to do something else because we're getting bored waiting and they're beginning to adopt the worship of the pagans I wish I had a better Amen than that for that point because that was a truth you just heard and what did Moses come back you notice it said in the parable Matthew 24 and when the master came master that servant came Moses did he finally come apparently late was he late did God say you know I didn't realize how long it was going to carve the ten commandments I hadn't prepared but did he come right on time he came when God wanted to sometimes the Lord tests our faith by delay he tests our love by delay first Samuel 13 children of Israel are preparing to go to battle with the Philistines under the time of King Saul and Samuel said before you go to battle I will come and I will offer sacrifice and intercede in your behalf Samuel was both the judge and the high priest of the nation at the time but it tells us in 1st Samuel 13 verse 8 King Saul waited 7 days according to the time set by Samuel but Samuel did not come to Gilgal and the people were scattering from him Saul and Saul said bring a burnt offering and a peace offering here to me and he the King he's not the priest he's not supposed to do this he offered the burnt offering now it happened as soon as he finished you notice he made a change in the worship style entity you see in a pattern here that was not supposed to happen that was not the way it was supposed to be done the priest of God anointed by God trained by God was supposed to be the one who offered the sacrifice not the politician and as soon as he finished samuel came did he come he wasn't late and what at Samuel say you can jump down to verse 13 and 14 Samuel said to Saul you have done foolishly you have not kept the commandments of the Lord your God which he commanded you for now the Lord would have established your kingdom Saul this was a test and you failed through impatience you took the prerogatives of the priests keep in mind there's another time in the Bible when King Isaiah Good King for the most part he went into the temple of God to burn incense he thought it doesn't matter king priests anyone can do it and God said no the Levites are supposed to do it and when the priest tried to stop the King he flew into a rage he said I'm just as good as you I can do it and leprosy broke out in his forehead and he became a leper does God care about how we worship does he have guidelines he wants us to follow does it matter is he particular and notice what Samuel says to Saul you've done foolishly you have not kept the commandment of the Lord for now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever God would have done with saw what he did with David and made a name for him forever but now your kingdom shall not continue you will no longer be king and the Spirit was withdrawn from Saul because during a time of delay he became impatient and he lost his faith during a time of delay the wicked servant said my master delays his coming and he began to eat and drink with the drunkard and live like the world during a time of delay the children of Israel became Restless and they began to worship like the Egyptians they'd just been saved from could history repeat itself is Jesus warning us in this parable when he said and while the bridegroom tarried now I've got a theory was really the bride that was tarrying but he was waiting for her and that how it works that's really he's going to pick up the bride so if he's late what's he waiting on second Peter that's right he waiting on the church second Peter chapter 3 verse 3 what does the Apostle predict will be the state of things in the last days knowing this first that scoffers will come in the last days mockers scoffers according to their own lusts they're not being driven by a desire to serve God but by their own lesson what do they say where is the promise of his coming all things continue as they were from the beginning he's not here yet he's never coming mocking the delay do you hear that happening now I don't think these scoffers are in the world have the people in the world always mocked the second coming I think it says there's going to be scoffers in the church that will say you know maybe this business about the imminent of the Lord you know we should just get comfortable don't make too much of it when you start hearing them say peace peace just get comfortable in the world that's when sudden destruction comes I think that God's people like those virgins they need to live in a spirit of expectation when seventh-day adventists cease to believe in the imminent advent of Jesus we're in big trouble it ought to be a defining influence and everything we think and say and do that Jesus said I will come again and we are immobilized by that we want to be ready we want to get the world ready because he says I'm coming back and when we cease to believe that it's a harbinger of bad things to come Habakkuk chapter 2 verse 3 I'm submitting to you that I think that this delay is scheduled you know when you travel by plane show of hands how many of you have flown commercially before I just come on Pizza I just want to see if you'll answer any question okay how many of you have noticed that sometimes the plane leaves late doesn't pull away from the gate when it said it's supposed to depart but you still managed to arrive on time have you ever had that experience I've many many times I've sat next to somebody and they're not used to flying and here it is 15 minutes late and they're finally pulling away from the gate and these dear people they say I guess that means we're going to arrive 15 minutes late I hope I don't miss my plane and I tell them don't worry about it they have scheduled a delay in the times that you've been given the time so you get for departure in for arrival include time at the gate taxi time and your descent and pattern time it is built-in and they can usually accelerate a little bit in the air and still get you their time it's when you've got the one hour delays you're in trouble but 15 minutes you don't really have anything to worry about it's part of a schedule it's built in the time in which we're living is right on schedule this apparent delay I told a lot of people it's on tape back during this y2k fiasco y2k was the mother of all false alarms and I'm still mad because some company talked amazing facts into upgrading our phone system so it when it all crashed during y2k I feel like we got ripped off nothing would have happened ask me how I feel and I told a lot of people did you think Jesus is coming December 31 1999 is that going to be the end I said no so now I'm worried about what's going to happen after that there was this millennial fever and I was concerned that in the delay afterward the church would get drowsy that's what you've got to worry about now before we get to the church sleeping let's talk about some more of the symbols here what does every one of the virgins have in their hand they've all got a lamp and what does that lamp a symbol of it represents the Word of God Psalms 119 verse 105 your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path is that plain that's a very plain symbol and if that's not enough proverb 6 verse 23 for the commandment then the commandment is the Word of God is a lamp and the law is a light the Word of God is this lamp it is a lamp unto our feet it's a guide for us but you know the Bible by itself without the Holy Spirit does nobody any good a lamp without any oil does not shine it just becomes a porcelain paperweight isn't that right and in the same way those the Bible in order for it to benefit you it must be read and then the Holy Spirit must illuminate your mind let's face it are there people out there to read the Bible that aren't safe are there critics of the Bible to read the Bible does the devil read the Bible will it save him so it must be read jesus said spiritually spiritual things are spiritually discerned and again Christ said the words that I speak to you they are spirit in life and without the Holy Spirit to illuminate the word what you're doing is you're walking out like walking around with a flashlight no batteries today's vernacular you've got a lamp and no oil doesn't do you any good nobody is illuminated by that now I've already told you what the oil represents what is the oil oil represents the Holy Spirit you can read in the book of Zechariah I want to give you scriptures for these Zechariah chapter 4 verse 3 he talks about the two olive trees that are by the throne of God also mentions this by the way in Revelation 11:1 at the right of the bowl and the other at the left you go down to verse six when he's defining this he said this is the word of the Lord is there a bubble not by my tour by power but by my spirit says the Lord that oil flows into the lamp and it illuminates it and olive oil was principally the oil that they used in their lamps and they use this in the temple I think it's interesting it's just a footnote can't prove it but some theologians insist that Jesus did not die on cedar tree wood lumber but he was crucified on olive tree that's interesting parallel if you think about it because Gethsemane where he wept in sweat blood was an olive grove it was an Olive Press and if he was crucified on an olive tree you might be thinking did they get that big go to our parking lot you can easily crucify a person on an olive tree that's why you know in the Bible it doesn't it sometimes refers to it as a tree they didn't use finely hewn lumber for their criminals they pretty much just hacked down a tree and nailed a person on a tree interesting to think about Jesus may have actually died on an olive tree as symbol for the holy spirit that's where the oil came from now the difference between the two of them is that you have reserved in thinking ahead preparation with one group they were preparing for a possible delay and the others were not now I've actually got a picture here that are taken from what Bible lamp so I want you to see this is actually a vessel that they use for holding the oil and you'll see there's a little wick trimmer this is a very old one that they dug up in the Middle East and you see the little wick trimmer they would take that hook that they've got hanging there by the vessel there on the left and they use it to pull the wick out and they could use it to adjust the wick and then that would there would be a cork that would go on that bottle and they kept a reserve of olive oil so if their lamp is like spare batteries if you're traveling for your flashlight if your lamp started to go dry you could dump some extra oil in and those are what the lamps look like and it was important to have a reserve I want to talk about an oil reserve for a second I thought it was interesting just this week they again said on the news oil prices have reached an all-time high I heard it yesterday $60 a barrel used to be $25 a barrel and you know at the pump it's going to show up soon too over the last five or six National Geographic magazines the cover article one was the end of cheap oil some of you may have seen that and the one most recently was talking about fuel looking for alternate fuel because they said you know that we're going to run out of oil and the leaders in the world we're so all dependent now they're beginning to wonder what are we going to do to power the world in generations to come will there ever come a day when these oil supplies are depleted well obviously there must be an end to it somewhere even if it is more than some people suspect it's important to have reserve for something important when I fly my plane it's one thing if you run out of gas in the car I've got a little idiot bill that goes off it's sort of annoying and in my cards nice it's got a little computer and it gives you an estimate of how many miles you have left I've never run out of gas because it's it's treating me like I'm a fool and I bill goes off you got 10 MA miles left he had five miles left then one time I got where it says you got zero left and I still made it to the pump I was running on hopeful fumes but in the airplane I've got a reserve there too you don't want to play with that you can't just pull over in park and sometimes it is deadly not to have a reserve some of you men know if you've ever ridden a motorcycle or one of these quads most of these motorbikes and I think even the jet skis and stuff they've got a little valve down there and you run your gas normal and if it runs out you'd flip it on reserve how many of you men - what I'm talking about you ever rode a motorcycle you know that only the men on the front row rode motorcycles evidently that's your a students I took off one time our cabin up in Colville oh we've got some of these quads and I just you know so I take off all the time I never worry too much about gas because it'll sputter and choke and then I always flip it on reserve and I Drive back home I always have enough there and reserve I never get that far away well one time after filling it up I forgot to flip it back to normal and I left it on reserve and I ran out on my reserve and I have a long walk and you remember at times like that how important it is to prepare a reserve when we fly as a family sometimes we're going strange places and we are depending upon the hospitality of others that are inviting us for our food I have learned to bring a reserve when you travel sometimes it's not there when you think it's going to be there and sometimes you can't eat it and you better have a back-up plan or you're just plain hungry now if in things like gas and food we think about reserve in flashlights batteries we think about reserve how much more important is it going to be to have a reserve of God's Spirit to get us through the delay at the end of time because if you do don't have it when you hear the bridegroom say are the friend of the bridegroom say behold the bridegroom is coming and this is Great Awakening and people are there's a great revival those who neglected to bring to store they're caught off guard now I want to talk about what that means and how to get it what does it mean now what separates the wise virgins from the foolish virgins it's some thought ahead and they prepared they had a deeper reserve it's like where Jesus says in Luke the wise man who builds the house he not only builds on the rock in Luke he says he digs deep till he gets the rock because if you build on the sand on top of the rock you're going to have the same problem as the foolish man you've got to get down deep Hebrews chapter 5 verse 13 there's a point here that I think is connected for everyone who partakes of only milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness for he's a babe but solid food belongs to those who are a full age that is those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil by reason of use I think one of the things that separates the wise from the foolish you know why the wise virgins are wise they probably had realized the danger of running out they had a reserve by reason of use are you you know you retain what you use if you read the Bible and you don't share it you forget it if you study doctrines and you don't share it you won't know how to defend it the best way for you to share with someone else a Christian choose is to use them God gives you the truth to use it he lessons of faith and all that instruction is not just a tickle your intellect it's to use it and I think one of the things that separates the wise from the foolish is the wise have used it before and so they're prepared then of course one of the characteristics of the foolish virgins outwardly they're almost identical aren't they notice the similarities says that they're all virgins do they all have lamb they've all got Bibles is it enough to have a Bible from the book Christ object lessons and this is on page 408 without the Spirit of God a knowledge of his word is of no avail the theory of truth unaccompanied by the Holy Spirit cannot quicken the Soler sanctify the heart have you ever gotten into a Bible study or a debate with somebody who evidently knew the Scriptures but they didn't have a Christian attitude that's not uncommon to have people know how to argue the Bible but they don't have Christ one might be familiar with the commands and the promises of the Bible but unless the Spirit of God sets the truth home the character is not transformed without the enlightenment of the Spirit men will not be able to distinguish truth from error and they'll fall under the masterful deceptions or temptations of Satan why didn't know I make it through the flood because he built a boat well that's part of it but you know why I say he made it how long was he on the boat about a year almost a whole Jewish year did God in part of preparing for the end oh and by the way was there a delay for Noah after he got on the ark he boarded the ark God shut the door in that seven-day delay but then the rain came you know one reason Noah survived there was storage they stored away food for themselves and also for the creatures and that's why they survived if Noah hadn't done that there'd be a whole lot more extinct species right now because I would have eaten him right but he stored away prepared for the storm and there's a storm coming God wants us to prepare alright now I want to get to Luke chapter 12 verse 35 let's put that one up talking about the lamps again jesus said let your waist be girded in your lamp trimmed and burning that's the belt of truth that Gerdes our waist and the belt is where you hang the sword of God's Word and your lamps burning now when how many of the virgins were sleeping what percent fifty percent hundred percent were the wise virgins saved come on you still with me I know it's getting warm don't go to sleep not now I'm going to talk about it you'll feel really bad because we'll get a camera shot of you right when I'm talking about the foolish virgins sleeping and they're going to get to do a zoom on you not to take that boom around there find someone sleeping for me I'll probably get sued better not do that but all of them actually slept you know what that tells me even God's people do Christians sometimes snooze at critical moments did the Apostles frequently fall asleep when they should have been awake here they are on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus and Moses and Elijah appear and what were the disciples doing Jesus took him up there to pray they drifted off to sleep when they should have been praying and again in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus said this is a critical moment watch and pray lest you enter into temptation and three times he came in he woke up up and said pray with me pray with me third time he comes he says he may as well sleep now the hour has come right three times they went back to sleep they kept hitting the snooze button on their alarm and you know what Jesus said the Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak when did he make that famous statement when the church was sleeping and these were the apostles were they saved well with the exception of Judas yeah so sometimes even God's people go to sleep when they should be awake I'm not telling you that to make it comfortable I'm telling you that to give you a hope because some of you know you've been asleep and God wants us to wake up and get ready what does it mean to be spiritually awake Peter said be sober be vigilant because your adversary the devil is going around as a roaring lion seeking whom he might devour not we're to watch unto prayer when Jesus told the disciples to wake up he said watch and pray lest you enter into temptation here under the subject of being awake at the end of time mark chapter 13 when Jesus talks about the second coming he specifically warns us to stay awake verse 35 watch therefore for you don't know when the master of the house is coming in the evening at midnight at the crowing of the rooster or in the morning less coming suddenly he finds you sleeping and what I'm saying to you I say to all watch less coming suddenly he finds you sleeping I'd be terrible to be asleep and be left behind when we should be awake what are people doing when they're sleeping what do you do when you sleep sanur I heard someone say that wasn't the point I was fishing for it what are you thinking when you're asleep are you thinking nothing you're dreaming there you go some dreams you remember but you're always dreaming your mind is almost always something's going on there no matter how wacky it might be but our dreams reality so when people are sleeping even when the church is sleeping they are not occupied with what's really happening around them are they can it be sometimes we're in a dream world and we have to be woke up and say hey this is not reality we get so distracted with the things the world it's a dream and we're not in touch with reality Luke chapter 9 verse 32 but Peter and those who are with them were heavy with sleep but finally when they saw Moses and Elijah they were fully awake we need to have that wake-up experience Isaiah 56 verse 10 you and I as Christians are not only to be watching and sober and vigilant for our own Souls but we're to be watching for others the Bible says we are Watchmen on the walls in Ezekiel here in isaiah 56:10 his Watchmen are blind they're all ignorant they're all dumb dogs they can't bark I was talking about watch dogs that are mute they can't speak they cannot bark sleeping lying down loving to slumber and what good is a watchdog that sleeps all the time what would you do with your watchdog if your house was ransacked by a thief and you will get up and you see the condition of the house and there's your German Shepherd on the front porch snoring you know how they do kicking having a dream pretending they're running well that's the condition of the church mute dogs sleeping when we're supposed to be alert because Jesus is coming one of the other characteristics is that patience we notice that there is a delay and one of the things that separates a save from the lost is that they are able to trim their lamps and keep them burning after this delay because they've had that reserve the Bible tells us in Luke 21 verse 19 in your patience possess ye your souls do not grow weary of waiting for the Lord and let me tell you another thing sometimes it's not that we're impatient with God we become impatient with ourselves and we get discouraged anyone ever been there before we don't see progress I believe that the patience of the saints is not really patience waiting for God because God is never late I thought sometimes think we become discouraged with our progress and we give up in your patience possess you your souls again Luke 19 13 he called his 10 servants and he delivered to them 10 pounds and he said occupy till I come stay busy in the Lord's work occupy till I come you know as we're preparing for this relocation and building a new church some of us a Doug how can you say you believe in the second coming of the Lord and then want to build a new church that may take months or years and and the investment well Jesus hasn't told me exactly when he's coming and I want to have a reserve I want to prepare otherwise you could be really foolish look how foolish it would have been to plan that way 40 years ago still be down on 23rd Street right and even before that where would God's church be now if we did not occupy until he comes we need a plan like we're going to be here a thousand years and yet live like we might die tonight that's the idea right and so in our planning the Lord's told us to multiply our talents and to occupy until he comes again so be patient for his coming and stay busy working for the Lord and keep our lambs trimmed and burning and I heard about a lot of these weddings these days they do these unity candles and people aren't exactly sure what the symbolism of that is and at a wedding one lady nudged another lady and said what's with the candles you know the husband and wife both go together and they light this one candle in the middle and then they blow out their candles and her friend said it means no more old flames I don't know if what if that's what it's really supposed to mean but that's what I heard you must have your own oil now it may seem a little bit on christ-like but when the foolish virgins realized that they could not get their lamps to light because they'd run out of oil they said to their friends oh good we're glad you brought a reserve give us some but they had only brought enough to get them back to the groom's house and if they shared with them there would not be enough for both of them and they would both be left in the darkness and so it was just a practical thing they said you should have thought ahead you have to buy your own oil now that might sound selfish but there's a biblical truth there you are not saved by virtue of the preparation of those around you you are not saved by virtue of the relationship others around you may have with Jesus you're not even saved if you happen to be in a church that is baptized in the Holy Spirit you could still be destitute in the Church of Pentecost there was still an Ananias and Sapphira in the 12 apostles there was still a Judas you must have your own relationship with the Lord you now need to obtain that oil Christ said that he is the one who go to the Father and send the spear and by the way when they said go and buy from them that sell he says come and buy without money and without price crisis paid the price so you can get that oil reserve now but I have a theory that there is going to come a Great Awakening among God's people it the the voice of the bridegroom that may be the hundred and forty-four thousand filled with the spirit that caused a great revival preparing people for the return of the Lord you know what's going to happen at that time the same thing that happened back in the days of Israel those who had listened to the preaching of Christ during his three and a half years of ministry they came alive but many of God's people who had been in leadership in the church at all the Holy Spirit passed them by and and I have a theory that those who have been in the church that have not taken advantage of the opportunities to dig deep to build a reserve to store up the word so they could work for the Lord during this time of the out point of the Spirit they're going to find that when the time comes and they realize their lamps are going out they're not going to be able to get it then you know this message is tied to the last two messages I did on the unpardonable sin through continued neglect of God's offering of his Spirit we can finally get to the place where we are incapable to receive it it is a dangerous thing to believe that we can choose when we want to repent and do it at our convenience repentance is a gift of the Spirit and when you hear that voice speaking to you you must embrace it then have you ever been traveling and you're going by a gas station and you're out in some desert and you know it's a long way between stations and you think to yourself well I've got a quarter of the tank and it's a little expensive here so and I could probably make it home I don't want to stop I'll try and find another station along the way and then you find out there is no other station anyone ever been there before and you regret that you did not fill up when you had an opportunity friends don't think that you can fill up later now you're at the pump fill up it's always a smart thing to do even though it might seem inconvenient to pay a little more now do it now the devil always wants to say all see how far you can get and it's always amazing to me when we were in Africa we had drivers that would take us back and forth to the meetings and and some of the taxi drivers are you'd be driving along and you've hired a taxi and also the car stops in the middle of this traffic in the capital of guy one day and and you're going what's the problem and the driver says car no more go why no more gas did you know that you might run out of gas and because this is wait till they run out and they get a jug and they go walk off to the gas station in the gamble markets it was always kind of surprising to me that you wouldn't want to fill up to avoid having to walk to the gas station you want to fill up when you have the oil Amos chapter 8 verse 11 behold the days are coming says the Lord God that I'm going to send a famine on the land not a famine of bread nor a thirst for water but of hearing the words of the Lord and they will wander from sea to sea and from north to east and they'll run to and fro and seek the word but not find it you mean there could come a time where the Spirit will not illuminate the word it's just not there you can't get it that's why you've got to get it now when it's available amen and again Ezekiel 14 20 he says though Noah Daniel and job were in the land as I live says the Lord God they will deliver neither son nor daughter didn't matter if you're the child of Noah where you're the child of Ezekiel and Daniel of course had no children he was a eunuch but it doesn't matter if you're a relative you can't be saved I've met people before they said well I know I don't go to church for my uncle's a pastor as though God is going to save them because their uncle's a pastor God has no grandchildren you must have a relationship with the Lord amen lo Noah Daniel and Joe were in the land they will deliver neither son nor daughter they will be delivered by their own Souls by their own righteousness whereas that's a righteousness that comes to them through Jesus but it's a personal relationship that they've got character is not transferable no man can believe for another you must have your own personal relationship with Jesus do you know the Lord who's getting into the wedding who do you normally invite to wedding I'm going to ask you who do you put on your list of invitations tell me friends and family right do you ever go out on the street Karen kind of elbowed me one time I was doing an evangelistic meeting after we had announced our marriage and I invited everybody in the church it you've gotta pay to feed them we don't know who some of these people are I was inviting everybody I was happy but you know typically you invite friends and family right who are Jesus friends John chapter 15 verse 14 you are my friends if you do what I command you who is his family one time Jesus said who is my mother and my brethren Matthew 1250 whoever does the will of my father in heaven is my brother and my sister and my mother that's who his family is remember the wise man hears the words of Christ and he does them the fool he builds on the sand he hears the words he doesn't do so you want a wedding invitation you need to be friends or family and how do you identify who his friends and family are those who really follow him it's not just saying Lord Lord but they that do the will of my father in heaven and here's the good news you've been invited to the wedding Christ paid for an a wedding invitation for you he's provided one for you will you attend the saddest thing is I mean the the foolish virgins at least wanted to go Luke 14 tells a parable a certain man gave a great supper and invited many and this suppers a wedding feast and they sent his servants during the time of the feast and he invited those come all things are now ready but they all would want to court begin to make excuse first men said I bought a piece of ground and I need to go another said I've bought five yoke of oxen I have to test them still another said I've married a wife therefore I can't come I don't know why any of those would be adequate excuses they're all kind of lame excuses so the servant came and reported these things to the master then the master of the house being angry said to his servant go quickly into the streets and the lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind and the servant said master it's done as you've commanded there's still room you know that's a good news friends there's room at this wedding the foolish virgins are not left out because there wasn't room they're left out because he said I don't know you there's plenty of room they said there's still room and then the master said we've done and there's still room and the master said go out in the highways and the hedges and compel them to come in that my house might be filled that's our work to fill the wedding feasts amen for I say to you that none of those men who were invited that neglected that invitation will come wouldn't it be something of an insult if you were invited to Princess Di's wedding back in her day and I mean you'd think there'd be an honor to go to a wedding of royalty and to say you know I just bought a new cow I don't think I can go and this is the Lord is the wedding feast of Jesus in the church it's the climax of the plan of salvation heard about a young man who is being asked by his family to do the seating at a wedding you've seen that and you know they instructed him to ask as he brought people in and you take by the arm and are you with the party of the groom or are you with the party of the bride I use about 13 years old and they later heard him saying whose side are you on was his translation of that question but it's really not bad question in the wedding that we're dealing with is only the wise and the foolish there's those who have their lamps burning and those who let them go out and it's a question of whose side are you on the Bible is all about being invited to a wedding do you know the Lord you know the Bible tells us the good news is those who had their lights burning they went into the feast and you could hear the music and the joy coming out of the windows those who had neglected later they came to the doors and they were not granted admittance because they did not know the Lord do you know the Lord revelation 19 verse 7 let us be glad and rejoice and give him glory for the marriage of the lamb has come and his wife has made herself ready and to her was granted to be arrayed in fine linen clean and bright for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints then he said to me write blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the lamb blessed are those who are called friends what a terrible thing it would be to have that invitation to the wedding to have the oil provided the lamps everything you need the garments God has provided everything for you to be there but through neglect or indifference to be shut out and have that door shut the Bible says there left in outer darkness the door is shut and there's weeping and gnashing of teeth that be so sad to be excluded from that joyful experience it begins the Bible with a wedding and it ends with a wedding Jesus is the groom the church is the bride and he's inviting you to be there don't you want to be there friends you know what I was thinking about why the foolish virgins couldn't get inside it says at midnight the darkest hour the bridegroom's friends said the bridegroom is coming and at midnight the wise virgins said to the foolish virgins you better go buy from those that sell do you think they found the stores open at midnight when they came to the door they probably couldn't find any oil but they went to the wedding he said let's see if we can get in we were supposed to help illuminate the way to the groom's house that's your job as a Christian to let your light shine and illuminate the way to the groom's house and when they got to the door their ramps would illuminate their faces they didn't have porch lights and that's why he looks out and all he sees is darkness he says I don't know you that Holy Spirit is not only eliminating the word it illuminates you and he identifies us by our light I want to have the oil of God's Spirit I want my light to shine don't you you know I've made a change I hope you don't mind but I wanted to sing the song it's 580 I thought it'd be appropriate to sing this little light of mine don't you think that fits and I hope that's okay with our pianist this little light of my once you turn in your hymnals I think it's 580 is that correct now I'm going to let it shine let's stand together and sing this song and it will also be an appeal the would you please close your eyes for a moment close your eyes please bow your heads if the Holy Spirit has spoken to you and he's saying you need to do what you can to get that reserve we're living during that time of delay we are right on schedule friends Jesus is not late it's not enough to have a lamp it's not enough to be there in the crowd with those who are waiting we need to have something inside that will illuminate our lamps that will illuminate our lives would you like to ask the Lord to help you receive that reserve of the Holy Spirit is that your prayer do everything you can to dig deep and to ask God to fill you to overflowing set your prayer raise your hand if that's your desire friends father in heaven Lord we're so thankful for the simple truths that we see in this parable that outwardly they may look the same but it's possible to have a profession and not to have the spirit Lord we know that soon we're going to hear that call the friend of the bridegroom will say behold the bridegroom is coming go out to meet him I pray Lord that we will have that reserve that we will be filled with your spirit we will have an experience that will sustain us that our lamps will still be burning and that we might help illuminate the way for others to the great wedding feast bless us Lord that we might be a people that are faithful and that we might count what a wonderful privilege it is to be invited to the wedding supper of your son Lord we ask that we can be in that bridal party and rejoice with you for eternity be with each member fill us with your spirit we pray in Jesus name Amen a website whose roots date back to the beginning of time Sabbath truth calm is the definitive resource for by the light on the Lord's Day clear Bible answers for every question you've ever had about the Sabbath seven key topic headings guide you through the purpose of the Sabbath which day is the Lord's Day the Sabbath and prophecy questions about the Sabbath how to keep it holy the Sabbath and history and many Sabbath resources visit Sabbath truth calm today and share your newfound treasure with a friend if you've been encouraged by today's message and would like to know more of what God's Word says to you today amazing facts invites you to visit our educational website at www.uvu.edu/library we'll universe calm today expand your universe you Oh you

Channel: Amazing Mission

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Keywords: The, Ten, Virgins, An, Overview, of, Revelation, Apocalypse, Synopsis, Part, Gospel, Church, Christian, good, faith, hope, sin, love, salvation, christianity, philosophy, lecture, bible, coming soon, gospel, review, reviews, Jesus, Christ, angel, lucifer, devil, dragon, 666, john, 144, 000, blood, preaching, inspirational

Id: Mh6sxvsrmqM

Length: 58min 0sec (3480 seconds)

Published: Tue Jan 25 2011