Are you Lit?

Welcome

Thank you for joining us today. My name is Keith and my wife Maegan and I have the honor of serving as the Lead Pastors of this incredible church. What makes this church so incredible is you? Whether you have been for years or this is your first time, we hope that you feel welcome. If there is anything our team can do to serve you and your family, please don’t hesitate to let us know.

Service Update

We are excited for this season and what God is going to do over the next few weeks headed into Christmas, which includes our Christmas Eve services. Please do whatever you can do to join us this year. At Celebration we value wholeness and health, not only for you and your family but also for our staff and teams. On December 29th, we are doing Church at Home. We are pre-recording a full worship experience just for you. We want to encourage you to have watch parties and include as many from your family and community as possible. We will be back for our regular services the following Sunday, January 5th, where we are excited about entering into our Awakening season of prayer and fasting and getting clarity for 2020. We are believing that 2020 will not only be the year of vision, but also the year of provision. Not only are we expected to see it, but we will also receive it. Moses saw the promise land, but didn’t walk in it. Not so for us, God is going to allow you to walk in what you used to walk around.

Introduction

We are in week 2 of our Advent series. Simply put, advent means ‘coming’ or ‘arrival’ and our hope for you is that your focus would be on Jesus coming to earth to save us and coming back to fully restore us. It is so easy for Christmas to become a season of preparation for parties and gifts, that it can create pressure and anxiety because we’ve lost sight of who the focus of this season truly is.

This journey will focus on 4 themes: thanksgiving, patience, humility and joy that surround the preparation of the coming Jesus and the impact it has on finding hope even in dark moments. As a church, it is our hearts desire to resource and equip you. The team has done an incredible job at developing a companion devotional for you and your family this season. If you haven’t downloaded it, please take out your phones and do it now. It is filled with profound insight and practical things you can do alone or with your family.

Last week our Campus Pastor preached an amazing message on being Thankful and even posing the question, what is one area that you can grow in thankfulness? Today we want to continue by looking at a powerful passage that I believe fits right into the series and season.

Scripture

Matthew 25:1–13 ESV

1 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins rose 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, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

This week, I am excited to continue the conversation as we look at patience. I’ve entitled this message, Are you Lit?

Prayer

Lord, we are thankful for you coming to bring us salvation and wholeness and we are expected of what you are yet to do. Our prayer is that you are with us today. Give us open eyes, ears, and hearts. In the name of Jesus. Amen!

Illustration

I have come to discover something new about myself, I can be sentimental. It is a recent discovery but I have recently deduced that when ever I witness a touching moment in the context of family, it gets me all in my feels. It doesn’t matter if it is a movie or if it is in person, I tear up. One of the major things that gets to me is weddings. I know some people have a love/distain for weddings but I truly love them. How could you not? Not just two people publically declaring their love for one another in the presence of God and His witnesses, but it’s the joining together of families, of individual journey’s becoming one. That said, I also know that the wedding day can be filled with some incredible moments that weren’t always planned. My beautiful bride and I were married before God almost 20 years ago. Let’s just say it was not a text book wedding. From the time of my proposal, we had a month to prepare. It was a blur. Everyone is chipping in but it was a photo finish. The wedding day finally arrives and I am at the church…waiting for my bride to arrive. 10 minutes turns to 20. 20 turns to 1 hour. 1 hour turns to 2! There was a moment when the pastor was like, hey man, why don’t we just call it, like the relationship just flatlined and I needed to accept it. Needless to say, it all worked out.

I have had the privilege of officiating countless weddings and each is unique but that doesn’t change the common thread…love and patience; patience and love. I’ve done weddings in living rooms, backyards, resorts with breath taking scenery, but the common thread is love and patience. It takes a great deal of patience to endure a wedding.

Transition

My understanding of patience has evolved over the years. I used to think it was waiting for something to happen and having a good attitude. Waiting for my wife to finish trying on her 5th pair of jeans, asking me my opinion on all of them, then deciding to not get any of them, but maintaining a good attitude. I’ve come to embrace that patience is virtually a foundational aspect of the character and nature of God.

Patience, which is an attribute of our God and of our Lord Jesus Christ, should also characterize each Christian. Paul’s prayer for the Colossians is that they might demonstrate this quality (). It is one of the fruits of the Spirit (), an attribute of love (), and a virtue (). In addition, Christians are exhorted to be patient (). Most particularly, Christians are commanded to be long-suffering until the coming of the Lord (). The image James presents is that of a farmer waiting patiently for the crop to come. In due season, the harvest will come. Jesus will return. Let us be patient until then, and endure our trials for the glory of God. Passion is not passively waiting, it is actively preparing.

Scripture says a LOT about patience. tells us to be patience with God. God is patient with us. says patience is the antidote to pride. The Greek definition of patience is a state of emotional calm in the face of provocation or misfortune and without complaint or irritation. It means long-suffering; to remain under. Sounds to me that patience is a critical component in truly experiencing love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. They are all inter-connected.

Patience keeps our expectations in check, while keeping us expectant of what’s next

It’s through this lens we look at this passage.

Background/Context

Jesus is teaching His disciples about a very critical subject, His return. This collection of thoughts is called the Olivet Discourse and He is teaching His disciples a valuable lesson on practical patience. In other words, how to put patience into practice. The answer is, preparation. Near East wedding where and are a big deal. Obviously it is a different culture, but it is more than an event, it is an experience. It starts in one spot, then goes to another, before finally arriving at the final destination and that’s when the party really turns up. The party would literally jump off in the middle of the night. You didn’t know when, you just knew to be ready. I believe this narrative provides my most important point for us today: patience is not passively waiting, it is actively preparing.

Many of us a waiting for God to move when we should be preparing for when He does

Many of us a waiting for God to move when we should be preparing for when He does

Many of us a waiting for God to move when we should be preparing for when He does

Preparation Leads to Patience

There's a couple of things I want you to see. We see that these women had something in common. They were all bridesmaids. That was the price of admission. However, a distinction is quickly made, 5 were wise and 5 were foolish. There's a difference between looking prepared and being prepared. Wearing a stethoscope doesn't make one a doctor, the preparation does. Training prepares you for the storm. Patience allows you to have urgency but not panic.

Without preparation there is panic.

I was catching up on tv shows and I dozed off to awaken to footage of the storm. For a moment, I thought I was about to relive the whole thing. I panicked a little at first, but I was able to work through it. I had to remind myself that I survived. We lost electricity and had a small leak, but we survived.

I need to encourage someone, you survived. The enemy will try to DVR your pain and make you watch reruns of your setbacks but know that God is in control and you can skip the commercial. Skip condemnation. Skip guilt. Storms come and knock out electricity but it can't take your power. That said, when we see the storms coming are we prepared? Are we lit? Patience is knowing storms will happen, preparation is having a strategy when it does. The 5 women were prepared, the other 5 weren't. 5 is the number of grace. The grace of God covers my mistakes, but it will bless my obedience.

Patience Provides Peace

The text tells us the distinction was based on the oil. There was a group that brought the oil with them and others that left the oil behind. Biblically speaking, oil represented the Holy Spirit. Oil represents God's blessing. God's favor. So there was a group that decided to leave the oil behind. In other words, they said there are environments that I am not going to bring the oil. Has the enemy convinced you to leave your oil at home? You can't segregate Jesus from certain aspects of your life and expect those areas to reflect God's favor.

I have been fortunate to meet some of the most amazing people, both in DC and here. I am always fascinated when I speak to people in varying fields and hear about how they put their faith into practice in their professions. A great friend of mine, in our community, is very successful. We talk and text weekly. He’s a man of profound faith, but what I love to see is how he puts it into practice in him company. He is mindful of clients, the atmosphere and culture he creates…he is pastoring through his profession. So when he encounters challenges, he is patient. Where there is patience, there is peace. In other words, he brings his oil with him to work. He brings his oil with him to meetings. Are you bringing the oil with you?

We see that all of the women had to wait but some brought faith with them, others didn't. Are you bringing faith to your workplace? It's hard to see God move in the environments that we don’t bring him into. The women scrambled and wanted to drain the resources of the ones that were prepared. Have you ever felt that you had to pay the price for someone else's lack of preparation? The lack of preparation buts a drain on us and those around us.

Where there is a lack of preparation, there is an abundance of impatience; an abundance of panic

Patience Provides Access

When God's blessing showed up, the ones that weren't lit were left out. We all expect God to move in our lives, are we prepared to do what He is telling us to do when He does. What are the places that God has placed you so that He can have His way in that place?

When God's blessing showed up, the ones that weren't lit were left out. We all expect God to move in our lives, are we prepared to do what He is telling us to do when He does.

What are the places that God has placed you so that He can have His way in that place?

Could it be that we are trying to strategize and microwave results that only patience can produce?

I have a friend who is an entrepreneur at heart but he struggles with results because he wants the podcasts and seminars to provide something that patience can deliver. There are scriptures that speak to being planted and waiting.

I used to be a delivery driver. I accidentally crashed into a building that caused me to delay all of my other deliveries. Once I got back on the road, I went to a home but the gentlemen wasn’t there. He grew anxious and spent the rest of his day, trying to find me on my delivery route. I wonder if there are times we are missing out on what God has for us, because we grew impatient and aren’t where He told us to be. There are so many scriptures that speak about the importance of being planted and waiting. Planted is the preparation, waiting is patience. We often want to experience a move of God, but we keep moving from the places He wants to move.

Are you trying to chase down a blessing that you already have access too?

Maybe the closed doors in our life isn’t a lack of skills, opportunities, relationships; maybe it’s a lack of patience.

I can’t tell you the perfect threshold of when something is not working and something working out but the bridge that connects it is…PATIENCE

Closing

Isaiah 40:31 ESV

31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Strength is in the waiting. Elevation is in the waiting. Endurance is in the waiting. Longevity is in the waiting. Life is a marathon, not a sprint. While you are waiting on God, put your weight on God, and wait on God and watch what He does. Are you lit in your marriage, business, family, school? What is one area that you want to grow in patience?

Holman Treasury of Key Bible Words: 200 Greek and 200 Hebrew Words Defined and Explained Patience

Patience, which is an attribute of our God and of our Lord Jesus Christ, should also characterize each Christian. Paul’s prayer for the Colossians is that they might demonstrate this quality (Col. 1:11). It is one of the fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22), an attribute of love (1 Cor. 13:4), and a virtue (Col. 3:12). In addition, Christians are exhorted to be patient (1 Thess. 5:14). Most particularly, Christians are commanded to be long-suffering until the coming of the Lord (Jas. 5:7). The image James presents is that of a farmer waiting patiently for the crop to come. In due season, the harvest will come. Jesus will return. Let us be patient until then, and endure our trials for the glory of God.