Come and See

Date: 14 September 2014

Date: 14 September 2014

Speaker: Nicholas Booth

Text: Mtt 25: 1 - 13

Introduction.

Story of being stuck in Thailand even for one night longer than I had been expecting. I had a desire to be home with Natasha and the Girls. Nothing about the beautiful 4 ½ star hotel, or the beautiful food, yet nothing about it could compare with my desire to be home.

There is a similar desire that we should have when it comes to the longing for our eternal home. Nothing in this world is worth more than my relationship with Jesus and indeed my expectation for my eternal home.

The Bible has 300 references to the return of Christ. In , Christ emphasizes the importance of being ready for His return because we don’t know the day or hour. Some of these are connected to Last Days or end times scenarios with the warnings of what we might look out for. Yet predominantly, the NT is more concerned with us being ready for the 2nd coming of Christ. Jesus in Matthews Gospel uses many such illustrations to give us an understanding of how we need to be waiting expecting Christ’s imminent return.

25 “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.

6 “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ 7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.

11 “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ 12 But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’

13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

To be ready for Christ’s return.

To live like you expect it and even like you want it.

Jesus is speaking to people who are in the church, people who should know better. People who profess to know Christ, they are calling Jesus Lord but Jesus will answer “I do not know you”

The parable ends with the words: ‘Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour’. The word 'watch' must not be seen to mean 'awareness' and being ‘on the look-out'. Instead, the word, and the warning, is all to do with readiness; with preparedness for the Second Advent of Christ… ... which will come, delayed or not; and whether we are ready or not. There is one aspect of the interpretation of the parable, which must be touched upon, and it is this: The 'foolish virgins' were not even prepared for the expected, let alone for the unexpected. And so it is with the Church, today. It may be said, as a matter of realism, that vast numbers of Christians do not really expect even those things which the Bible teaches us must be expected... ... and, if Christians, largely, don't even expect the promised, and expected things; how will they begin to prepare for the unexpected things, as God moves in power, according to his will? In the light of that parable, are we prepared for the expected; let alone for the unexpected, which could happen at any moment? How ready are we?

This lack of preparedness shows up when we get distracted with things that don’t really matter in light of eternity. Paul gives a warning again to the church about attitudes that creep into the church that are a clear sign of last days.

The church has always been on the last days. That is clear from scripture but while the attitudes that Paul speaks of have always been present, they become more prevalent in the Last days.

3 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

1 characteristic defined in 19 ways that find their way into a church that is not ready and waiting for their saviours return. These attitudes are always in the world but when they become prevalent in the Church we have issues.

Christianity is part of our culture but it still remains counter culture. Jesus did not come to just give you a free ticket to heaven but to redeem you and to transform you. God has a purpose and that is to transform us into the image of his Son. This is the restoration of lives and of making humankind in his own image.

1. Lovers of self- Ask most people if there is a problem with that and they will tell you that there is a problem if you don’t love yourself. It is actually encouraged. This teaching might be ok for Buddhism which says that the greatest love is self-love, in the south of Thailand, Wayne and I saw the fruit of that teaching. It allows men to abuse young girls because the young girls don’t matter compared to the perpetrators own desires.

This moral equivalence so readily adopted by the west, excuses people from the need to repent saying that there is no such thing as right or wrong.

The philosopher Thomas Huxley originator of the term “Agnostic” claimed that religion restricts you– He was a friend and helper of Charles Darwin and argued that morality restricts sexual freedom.

When you think about it, loving yourself is actually the opposite of Love. Let me be so bold as to say that such self-love leads to misery. Misery for yourself and also for others. A person might say “Surely if God loves me he will want me happy!” but your happiness is not God’s agenda, holiness is - it is your Christlikeness that is highest on his agenda for you.

2. Christ says the greatest love is to lay down your life for a friend. When a person walks out on their family for another person, it brings destruction in the lives of those around them. The spouse, the kid’s, friends and family. The impact of such sin impacts for generations.

Make no mistake, Self-love leads to misery, self-centredness leads to misery.

Self-absorbed people are not the happiest people on planet earth. In fact the opposite is true but many people fighting some forms of depression have found that by serving others they find a level of release from the depths of despair.

Phillipians 2 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

Greatest commandment is to Love God.

Many a self-made person worships their own creator. But we should worship God, love people and use things.

When people ignore God and love things, they end up using people. This actually a formula for a miserable life and it characterizes many people today.

3. When you love yourself it becomes very normal to love Money.

People love money because of the good things that you can do with it for themselves.

I hope you understand that having money is not the problem. Money is not the root of all evil. Many of you are incredibly generous and faithful to God with his blessings. Others of you wish you had more to be able to give more. Please also understand that the lack of money is not the root of all evil. It is the Love of money is the root of all evil! You might love it if you have a lot or you might love it if you have just a little.

When you love money, it becomes all about what you can get for yourself and how you can indulge yourself.

So then the problem is not what you have or how much you have but rather what has your heart. What have you given all your attention to.

Church, please hear me on this. God doesn’t bless us so that we can have more and more things, or to go to more and more places. When he blessed Abraham, he blessed him in order that he would be a blessing to others. This is why God blesses you.

4. Lovers of pleasure –

When playing becomes more important to you than praying – you need to know that you have wrong priorities.

This is not necessarily a matter of right v’s wrong. Sometimes it is a matter good v’s best.

5. Form of Godliness – but deny it’s power

Some people would like to link the oil spoken of in the story of the 10 virgins to the Holy Spirit infilling or indeed to salvation. But the message of this parable has nothing to do with being filled with the Spirit. It is spoken to all those that should be waiting for the Bridegroom’s return. The message is clearly to the church in the time between the first and second coming of Christ.

1st coming – salvation and defeating Satan.

2nd coming – restoration of creation.

John Piper speaking about the foolish Virgins says…five of them did not take seriously their calling to give light, and they neglected the only means by which they could do what they were called to do. They took no oil. They only had lamps. Their job was to provide light, and they had lamps without oil. Candles without wicks. Torches without fire. Light bulbs without electricity. The outward form of religion and no internal power. They liked their position, otherwise they would have left. But they did not have a passion to use the necessary means to fulfill their point of their position. Light! Their foolishness was to think that the mere form of a religious lamp would be sufficient.

They Foolish Virgins thought that they had time… They thought that the bridegroom wasn’t coming so they got distracted.

Paul in 2 Timothy calls this possessing a form of Godliness but denying its power.

It is doing Church because that is what religion requires of you but not having the relationship that God is wanting with you.

Notice two things. Jesus gave us advance warning that his coming would be delayed. This has been a stumbling block for two thousand years. The apostle Peter dealt with it already in his second letter:

Scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” . . . 8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. ()

Jesus said in advance here in that he would be “delayed.

Illustration of time dragging on when you are a kid. Summer Holidays seemed to take so long. But now we are older time seems to rush past at an alarming rate.

Conclusion: Things that being ready for Christ’s return are not

1. Not escapism. We still need to make plans for our future but we need to be ready for his promised return.

2. Though it is a delayed promise it is not a failed promise.

3. Not a lie – do you believe Jesus?

Ready yourselves. Make the main things the main thing.

Let me ask you these questions, how is your prayer life? How is your church attendance? How is your serving going?

Get back to the basics of your Christianity. Pray, read the word. Love your savior, Love one another. Tell others of Christ’s love for them. Bear in mind, doing these things from religion won’t help at all. Doing them from seeking a relationship with Jesus makes all the difference.

Do what Jesus said in . Seek first God’s Kingdom and let Him add the other things unto you.

Watch and Wait

These are terrifying words at the end of the age when Jesus comes back. “I never new you.” You were part of the church—one of the ten virgins—not part of the world. You had lamps. You had religion. You had form. But you took no care for what was inside. You carried the lamp but had no oil.