Running on Empty

Sermon Title: Running on Empty

Passage: Matthew 25:1-13

Main Idea: The danger of complacency

You’re driving on a long road trip, enjoying the journey. Your car’s dashboard suddenly flashes a Low Oil Warning. Then you recall that you procrastinated about getting an oil change. The mechanic was a little too far from your home, and it was inconvenient to get the oil change. So, you just put it off. Now that you are on the road, you glance at the oil indicator but assume you can make it a little farther without stopping. After all, it’s inconvenient to pull over now. You keep driving, ignoring the signs, trusting that you’ll find a gas station later.

Kilometres go by. The engine starts making noises—grinding, struggling. Still, you press on, thinking you’ll deal with it as soon as you can get to a gas station. You’re in the middle of nowhere and cannot stop now. Then, at the worst possible moment, the engine seizes. The car comes to a stop. No power. No way forward. You’re stranded.

Transition Statement:

Procrastination often leads to painful consequences such as financial losses, damage to your credit, damaged reputation, increased stress and anxiety, etc. We know how costly procrastination can be, yet we often do it! Some procrastinate because of fear of failure, perfectionism, feeling overwhelmed, and poor time management skills, and some do so out of sheer arrogance, “I have plenty of time; this is no big deal.” Whatever the reason, we have to eliminate the terrible habit of procrastination.

By exploring this well-known parable of Jesus, we will see the pitfalls we can avoid if we reject the habit of procrastination.

Complacency Will Leave You Running on Empty

1st Element (Affective)

The ladies were all made up; their makeup was perfect, their hair arrangements looked outstanding, their nails were nicely done, and they were excited about the approaching festivities. Their best friend was getting married, and she chose her ten closest friends to be her bridesmaids.

However, there was a serious problem. Let’s read about it again.

Matthew 25:1–4 CSB

1 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the groom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 When the foolish took their lamps, they didn’t take oil with them; 4 but the wise ones took oil in their flasks with their lamps.

Why were these ladies labelled foolish for not taking extra oil? Historians tell us that ancient Middle Eastern weddings commonly occurred at night. Bridesmaids were chosen to accompany the bride to the place where the wedding would take place, the home of the bridegroom. They were responsible for lighting the way to the groom’s home, and they would do so with dancing and singing.

The bridesmaids were to wait at the bride’s home for the bridegroom’s arrival. However, due to the delay, the girls’ eyelids were getting heavier and heavier, and as the night drew on, they all eventually fell asleep.

Notice what it says in verse 5.

Matthew 25:5 CSB

5 When the groom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

We don’t read that the groom was unexpectedly delayed. We read, “When the groom...” In other words, it was not a surprise to have such a delay. Scholars tell us bridegrooms were often delayed during middle eastern weddings. “Delays occur while the bride’s relatives haggle over the value of presents given them, emphasizing the bride’s great value and thus the wisdom of the groom’s selection.”

Craig S. Keener, Matthew, vol. 1, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1997), Mt 25:1–13.

In other words, because delays were common, the bridesmaids should have all had extra oil reserves available because no one could anticipate the length of the delay.

A loud cry suddenly woke the girls, “The Groom is approaching; come out to meet him!” They rubbed the sleep from their eyes, straightened up their dresses, and fixed their makeup; perhaps some of them drooled in their sleep. However, there was a problem. Five of the girls saw that they were running low on oil.

Matthew 25:8 CSB

8 The foolish ones said to the wise ones, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’

But the other five girls couldn’t spare any of their extra oil, because they needed to refill their lamps.

Matthew 25:9 CSB

9 “The wise ones answered, ‘No, there won’t be enough for us and for you. Go instead to those who sell oil, and buy some for yourselves.’

So the five foolish girls ran off to purchase some extra oil.

The book Christ Object Lessons informs us that all ten girls were pure; they are described as virgins. In other words, they were good Christian girls. Nevertheless, five of the ten were foolish. They failed to bring extra oil for the long night. In Scripture, oil represents the Holy Spirit. Listen to what the book Christ Object Lessons says about the ten virgins.

Christ’s Object Lessons Chapter 29—“To Meet the Bridegroom”

In the parable, all the ten virgins went out to meet the bridegroom. All had lamps and vessels for oil. For a time there was seen no difference between them. So with the church that lives just before Christ’s second coming. All have a knowledge of the Scriptures. All have heard the message of Christ’s near approach, and confidently expect His appearing. But as in the parable, so it is now. A time of waiting intervenes, faith is tried; and when the cry is heard, “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him,” many are unready. They have no oil in their vessels with their lamps. They are destitute of the Holy Spirit.

Christ’s Object Lessons Chapter 29—“To Meet the Bridegroom”

The Spirit works upon man’s heart, according to his desire and consent implanting in him a new nature; but the class represented by the foolish virgins have been content with a superficial work. They do not know God. They have not studied His character;

Notice the key phrase, “they have not held communion with Him.” The five foolish virgins neglect spiritual communion with Christ. They make little time for prayer and study and developing intimacy with Jesus through the presence of the Holy Spirit. Of greater consequence, they are content with a superficial character. They are content to put off the character preparation needed to endure life’s challenges for another day. “I’ll spend time in prayer tomorrow.” The tomorrow comes, and they make the same excuse.

Are you putting off the needed preparation to endure what’s coming? Do you spend little time in God’s Word? Or worse yet, are you running on fumes, running on the lessons of yesterday, what you learned in your past, thinking that’s all I need to make it? Now is the time to take heed of the valuable lesson that the five foolish virgins should have learned: complacency will leave you running on empty.

Complacency Will Get You Locked Out!

2nd Element (Cognitive):

The five foolish girls ran to purchase some extra oil, but the wedding procession left them behind. No matter, they knew the location of the groom’s home and made their way there quickly. They arrive at the door and start knocking, saying, “Let us in; we are friends of the bride; we are her other five bridesmaids.”

But they receive a shocking reply from the Master.

Matthew 25:12 CSB

12 “He replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you!’

I don’t know you! How could this be? They were five of the bride’s closest friends. Why would the Master say such a thing? What was the responsibility of the bridesmaids? They were responsible for accompanying the bride and lighting the way to the groom’s home, and they would do so by dancing and singing. Here’s another two questions to ponder: What was the problem with not having enough oil? Were the five wise virgins selfish for not sharing their oil with the five foolish virgins? Let’s reread verse 9.

Matthew 25:9 CSB

9 “The wise ones answered, ‘No, there won’t be enough for us and for you. Go instead to those who sell oil, and buy some for yourselves.’

Put differently, if the five wise virgins had shared some of their oil with the five foolish, none would have enough oil to lighten the dark night from the bride’s home to the groom’s. The wedding procession would take place in complete darkness! Just think about everything that could go wrong and would go wrong. But still, why would the Master declare “I don’t know you” to the five foolish bridesmaids? The complacency of the five foolish virgins signalled a profound lack of respect for their “best friend.” The five foolish were, in fact, the bride’s frenemies. Their complacency risked ruining the best day of their best friend’s life, her wedding day. In truth, they were not friends of the bride or the groom for that matter. Their complacency insulted the couple; no real friend would ever do such a thing to their “besty.”

“I don’t know you… You are no friends of ours!”

The ten bridesmaids represent Christians and we have been tasked with ensuring we have enough oil to escort the wedding procession to the groom’s home. Are you following? We have been entrusted with lighting the way and drawing the attention of others to the wedding procession that is going to the groom’s house, our Heavenly Father’s house. We must show ourselves as true friends by lighting and announcing the way for others to the Groom’s house through works of love prompted by the Spirit.

Jesus uttered the warning of this parable in another way as recorded in Matt 7:21-23

Matthew 7:21–23 ESV

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

You cannot afford the risks of complacency, because complacency will get you locked out!

Complacency Will Leave You Unprepared

3rd Element (Active):

A famous oldie by a group called Impressions says,

People get ready There's a train a-coming You don't need no baggage You just get on board All you need is faith To hear the diesels humming Don't need no ticket You just thank the Lord

So people get ready For the train to Jordan Picking up passengers' coast to coast Faith is the key Open the doors and board 'em There's hope for all Among those loved the most

Get on board, get on board, get on board, get on board

The five foolish virgins learned a final lesson about the danger of complacency; they were shut out of the wedding feast. But the same thing does not have to happen to us.

Jesus shared this parable to warn us about the nature of his coming. We don’t need to be caught off guard by the apparent delay. Sleeping was not the problem of bridesmaids because both the five wise and foolish fell asleep. The issue was complacency, not having enough oil. We cannot afford to become complacent and neglect to cultivate a relationship with Jesus. Only intimacy with Jesus will carry us through the darkest night that history will ever know or experience. Many did not heed Jesus’s warning in his day, and they paid with their lives. We don’t have to suffer needlessly. Jesus said to the people of Israel, and the same warning echoes through the corridors of time to us.

Matthew 25:13 CSB

13 “Therefore be alert, because you don’t know either the day or the hour.

Not Ready for a Flood

In the 1880s, if you wanted a good life with a good job, you moved to Johnstown, PA. The Pennsylvania Main Line Canal came through town, so that brought jobs. So did the Pennsylvania Railroad. And the Cambria Iron Works. Families were moving in from Wales. From Germany. Not to mention there are beautiful mountains, covered with forest, all around town. And right through the town runs the Conemaugh River.

In fact, the area is so beautiful, the country’s richest people—Andrew Carnegie and Andrew Mellon—would come out from Pittsburgh to hunt and fish at a private club up above town, where an old earth dam had been modified to make a fishing lake for them.

On May 30, 1889, a huge rainstorm came through and dropped six to 10 inches of rain. Despite that weather, the next day the town lined up along Main Street for the Memorial Day parade. The Methodist pastor, H. L. Chapman, said, “The morning was delightful, the city was in its [brightest] mood, with flags, banners and flowers everywhere ... The streets were more crowded than we had ever seen before.”

And then the old dam miles above town collapsed, releasing almost four billion gallons of water. When that wall of water and debris hit Johnstown 57 minutes later, it was 60 feet high and traveling at 40 miles an hour. People tried to escape by running toward high ground. But over 2,000 of the 30,000 people in town died. Some bodies were found as far away as Cincinnati, 346 miles away (557 KM), and some were not discovered until 20 years later.

The Johnstown Flood remains one of the greatest tragedies in American history, behind only the Galveston Hurricane and the 9/11 terrorist attacks. And in every one of those cases, life was fine. Until it wasn’t. In a moment, in a way that was unexpected and most people were not prepared for, something cataclysmic occurred, and people were swept away.

David McCullough, The Johnstown Flood (Simon and Schuster, 1968), p. 22; David McCullough, “This 19th-Century Disaster Made a Historian of Me,” History.com (8-27-18)

No one should be caught by surprise and unprepared for what’s coming. Jesus said the end is coming; you don’t need to be the victim of a tragedy. The signs of the times are everywhere. Bible prophecy is being fulfilled right before our eyes. You can be ready for the second coming of Jesus.

In your home, complacency often creeps in during routine family life. Maybe you’ve been neglecting personal prayer and study and worship as a family. To combat this, set a specific hour every day to cultivate personal time with Jesus through reading the Bible and prayer. Ask God to help you put into practice what you read. For family worship, set a time daily where everyone comes together to reflect on Scripture, share prayer requests, and pray for each other. This is how you can nurture the habit of staying spiritually alert. More so, you will rejuvenate your personal and your family’s spiritual lives and help ensure you are ready for Jesus’ return. Don’t give in to complacency and find yourself running on empty.

Social Meeting

1. Is there a song that really motivates when you feel discouraged in your walk with Jesus?

2. Is there a text you'd like to share that helps you during difficult times?

3. Is there a quote that you know that keeps you going?

4. What did you God say to you through the message?

5. What are you going to do in response to the message?