Sermon for November 8, 2020 17 Minutes

This morning I'll be reading Matthew chapter 25 verses 1 through 13.

And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible.

Matthew 25:1-13

The verses that we read this morning are a warning to Israel,,, but there is wisdom in there,,, for us,,, that we need to learn as well.

Matthew 25:1–13 (HCSB)

The Parable of the 10 Virgins

25 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like 10 virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the groom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were sensible. 3 When the foolish took their lamps, they didn’t take olive oil with them. 4 But the sensible ones took oil in their flasks with their lamps. 5 Since the groom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 6 “In the middle of the night there was a shout: ‘Here’s the groom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 “Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. 8 But the foolish ones said to the sensible ones, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’ 9 “The sensible ones answered, ‘No, there won’t be enough for us and for you. Go instead to those who sell, and buy oil for yourselves.’ 10 “When they had gone to buy some, the groom arrived. Then those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut. 11 “Later the rest of the virgins also came and said, ‘Master, master, open up for us!’ 12 “But he replied, ‘I assure you: I do not know you!’ 13 “Therefore be alert, because you don’t know either the day or the hour.

God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning.

Let us pray:

Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen.

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It has been an emotional week for all of us as we have spent the days since the election watching the television to see the results.

It's during times like these that we can be thankful that we are Christians,,, and,,, our faith is in God,,, who is the same yesterday,,, today,,, and tomorrow,,, since He never changes!

No matter who is president of this country,,, we must remember that God's plan will not be sidelined or changed in any way.

We must continue our mission as the church in today's world by being obedient to God's word,,, and He tells us in Isaiah 41:10 - 10 Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with My righteous right hand.

We must also be prepared for the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and these scriptures give us some warnings about what happens,,, if we are not prepared.

So lets look at these verses this morning and see how they can help us in our walk with God this week.

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Verse 1 says: 1 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like 10 virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the groom.

In wedding customs in Jesus’ day,,, the bridegroom would go to the bride's home to get her.

They would return from the house of the bride in a procession leading back to the bridegrooms home,,, where a wedding banquet would be enjoyed.

The 10 virgins are waiting to join the procession and enter into the wedding banquet with them as invited guest.

In Jesus’ parable,,, He,,, as King,,, will return from heaven with His bride,,, the church,,, in order to enter into the Millennium.

The Jews in the Tribulation will be some of the invited guests privileged to share in the feast.

But as we will see,,, preparation is necessary!

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Verses 2 through 4 say: 2 Five of them were foolish and five were sensible.3 When the foolish took their lamps, they didn’t take olive oil with them. 4 But the sensible ones took oil in their flasks with their lamps.

Five of them took extra oil for their lamps and five did not take any extra.

The five that didn't take any extra oil are not truly prepared.

As we will see,,, you must be prepared because the bridegroom can come quickly or be delayed.

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Verse 5 says: 5 Since the groom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

If you will notice,,, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

Getting tired and falling asleep is normal,,, this wasn't the problem.

The problem was that the ones that didn't bring extra oil would find out that they hadn't planned on the bridegroom being late.

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Verse 6 says: 6 “In the middle of the night there was a shout: ‘Here’s the groom! Come out to meet him.’

In a sermon by Mr. Piccolo that I read,,, he said that Sometimes our lamp can go out,,, but if we know how to light it again and,,, how to use it,,, in dark times we will know what to do.

In the middle of the night,,, even in the deepest darkness,,, a cry of joy will wake us.

He says,,, the night cannot last forever; the Bridegroom will return.

So do not put your lamps away in a closet but have them on hand and lit,,, even if the world says that it’s foolish and pointless.

We must be prepared,,, and ready!

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Verse 7 says: 7 “Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps.

As I said,,, they “all” fell asleep while they were waiting.

And in this verse,,, all ten of them,,, got up and prepared their lamps.

Jesus doesn't make any mention of them falling asleep instead of watching.

As we see,,, they weren't really ready like they should have been.

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Verses 8-10 say: 8 But the foolish ones said to the sensible ones, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’ 9 “The sensible ones answered, ‘No, there won’t be enough for us and for you. Go instead to those who sell, and buy oil for yourselves.’ 10 “When they had gone to buy some, the groom arrived. Then those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut.

As soon as they hear that the bridegroom is approaching and they arise to ready their lamps,,, the foolish ones realize that they don't have enough oil and ask the others to share theirs.

You see,,, if you aren't ready,,, there won't be anything that anyone else can do for you at that time.

There will not be time for you to change your mind and go back and make better decisions because,,, like the foolish ones that must go back to get more oil and the wedding party arrived and went inside and the doors were shut,,, so will the Kingdom of heaven be shut to you.

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Verses 11 through 13 say: 11 “Later the rest of the virgins also came and said, ‘Master, master, open up for us!’ 12 “But he replied, ‘I assure you: I do not know you!’ 13 “Therefore be alert, because you don’t know either the day or the hour.

After they came back from buying their oil,,, they tried to convince the master of the house to open the door and let them in.

But he tells them that he doesn't know them and doesn't let them in.

Then we have another warning from Jesus to be alert because we don't know the day or the hour,,, of course this refers to when Jesus will come again.

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Although these scriptures don't specifically interpret the meaning of the oil,,, many commentators see it as representing the Holy Spirit and His work in salvation.

Salvation is more than just speaking the words and that's all because it involves a change brought on by the Holy Spirit.

Those who just talk about being saved,,, and do not actually have that personal relationship with Jesus Christ like they should,,, will be excluded from the wedding feast,,, that is,,, the kingdom of heaven.

And those who fail to be ready when the King comes,,, cannot enter His kingdom.

So,,, since the day and hour of His return are unknown, believers should keep watch,,, that is,,, be alert and prepared.

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As Mr. Piccolo said in his sermon,,, we must be ready,,, even in the darkest hour,,, no matter what is going on in our life at the time,,, we must be prepared and ready!

Those words seem appropriate considering the shape this country is in right now.

We have forgotten that we are,,, Christians first,,, of course,,, but,,, then we must remember that we are Americans,,, we as a country seem to have forgotten that,,, and then,,, we would or could,,, classify ourselves as democrat or republicans.

Our biggest problem is in our shrinking population of Christians.

According to Pew Research Center,,, In their telephone surveys conducted in 2018 and 2019, 65% of American adults describe themselves as Christians when asked about their religion,,, down 12 percentage points over the past decade.

Meanwhile, the religiously unaffiliated share of the population, consisting of people who describe their religious identity as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular,” now stands at 26%, up from 17% in 2009.

Which means that apparently we aren't doing as good of a job getting the "Good News" of Jesus Christ out into the real world.

There may be more,,, but right now,,, I'm sorry to admit that I only know of one business that I've heard of,,, that begins their mornings with prayer!

Hopefully there are more,,, but I'm afraid that I never did when I went to work every day.

I did like so many of us today who left our religion at home or church when we left!

Sure,,, I always prayed for myself privately,,, but I never let very many others know while I was at work!

Some how,,, that must change.

We must make sure that when we leave from here today,,, that our faith and our relationship with Jesus Christ goes with us,,, and stays with us,,, and our light of Christ,,, is shining for others to see!

That's where the church has failed America,,, because we have forgotten to remind everyone that "we" are responsible for spreading God's love every day,,, and,,, not just on Sunday.

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That's why that when we leave from here today,,, we must remember these verses and the message that Jesus left for us today.

Remember that we must be prepared for Christ's coming back again because when that moment comes,,, if we aren't prepared,,, like the 5 foolish virgins,,, we will be left out!

Also remember,,, that no matter the outcome of the election,,, God is in control,,, and His plan will work out!

We must remember the scripture that told the Israelites in Jeremiah 29:11: 11 For I know the plans I have for you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

That is a great scripture,,, used many times to help us see that God does have a plan for us!

But,,, we must also remember,,, that the Israelites didn't want to stay in Babylon,,, but that was a part of their answer.

Again,,, we have to go back to Isaiah 55:9 where it says: 9 “For as heaven is higher than earth, so My ways are higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.

Like the Israelites answer that day from God,,, this may not be the answer that we were praying for today,,, but we must remember that above all things,,, God is in control!

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