Eleventh Hour
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Procrastination
Procrastination
There have been many times within my life where waiting until the last minute to get something done has worked out. Whether it is a work project, school assignment, or some household chore, there have been many times where business in one area has prompted me to put things off until later.
Unfortunately, this does not always work out to be the best work I could present. Planning and diligently working ahead of schedule brings about the best results.
If I am always successful on my own regard when I put things off until the last minute then it builds a false confidence that says planning ahead is not necessary.
Without consultation, plans are frustrated, But with many counselors they succeed.
Planning is important at all times. Waiting until the last minute to make a decision puts ourselves in a place where we believe we are in full control of the outcome.
However, with recessions, wars, quarantines, and other obstacles within life, we are given the opportunity to understand planning is wise.
So teach us to number our days, That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.
Prudent Planning
Prudent Planning
We all wonder at what time the harvest will occur. The great harvest where those who are standing in fields are taken and those who put making decisions until the last minute may still be standing in that field.
Procrastinating that time by believing we can interpret the signs of the age and put off being ready is foolish. We not only need to make that decision for ourselves but we need to feed those the truth so they are aware they may make that decision at any point in their lives.
We have been speaking about the seeds of the world. When we recognize that we are small like the mustard seed and are not fully grown until we give in to God’s planning then we will never grow and fulfill our plan from God.
Within our work organization, we have a saying that says our planning must be built on two pillars, clarity and confidence. Without these, we are subject to failure just as those who have their own vision do not share it with those who need to hear of the plan.
Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth.
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.”
Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.
Therefore, God continues to encourage us to plan ahead by focusing on how today falls into that plan. It may seem like a contradiction to say we must plan for tomorrow being a wise and prudent thing while also seeing that boasting about these plans is considered arrogant.
But in what context is it arrogance? It is when we say that we are the masters of our own destiny without consulting the creator of the world along the way.
Prudence vs. Procrastination
Prudence vs. Procrastination
“Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
In the context of the marriage ceremonies, Jewish custom would have the bridegroom wait at his house until the time appointed by his father to go to the bride. During this time, those who know the bridegroom would parade through the town with their own individual torches lit.
This would ensure those with the bridegroom were part of the wedding festivity as it was common for others to attempt to join along without being part of the party.
“Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent.
“For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them,
It is an easy visual to note that not taking oil with them is a foolish thing for the 5 to do. If you were going on a long journey, would you not fill your vehicle with the fuel it needed to make it there?
but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps.
“Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep.
“But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’
“Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps.
“The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’
“But the prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’
“And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut.
“Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’
“But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’
“Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.
• The Bridegroom = Jesus • The ten virgins = part of the church generally • Wise virgins = Christians who pursue the Word and the Spirit
• Foolish virgins = Christians who do not pursue the Word and Spirit
• Lamp = Word
• Oil = Spirit
• Asleep = spiritual condition of the church in the last days
• Midnight = middle of the night when the church is in a deep sleep
• Midnight Cry = wake-up call to the church that Jesus is coming soon
• Messengers (implied) = Christians who cry out in the middle of the night
• All virgins waking up = the church waking up
• Coming of the Bridegroom = the second coming (first spiritual, then physical)
• Wedding banquet = celebration of the bride making herself ready
• Shut door = when it is too late for repentance
Kendall, R.T.. Prepare Your Heart for the Midnight Cry : A Call to be Ready for Christ's Return, Charisma House, 2016. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=6153347.
Created from liberty on 2022-08-14 11:40:19.
Inclusion before Exclusion
Inclusion before Exclusion
Invitation to the wedding feast is given to all. In the waiting on the arrival of the bridegroom, however, it is those who were not gathering the oil to fill their lamps who were finally excluded.
Where are you in allowing the Holy Spirit to fill you up?
Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.
The word of God is the lamp and the Holy Spirit the oil to fill that lamp.
Anointing is throughout the bible as an indication of those who have been accepted or chosen by God.
Christ in greek and Messiah in Hebrew or Aramaic both mean the anointed one. When king David was anointed, it was a symbolic oil that was placed upon him.
You each have the ability to place your faith in the one who has gone before you. You may eagerly wait the return of the bridegroom without being prepared.
In this parable, having extra oil, i.e. the Holy Spirit, is imperative for the fuel for the lamp.
You may know the words of the Bible, carry them with you, but what illumines them is the revealing of the truth of those words by the Holy Spirit. The wise virgins are the ones who continually fill their lamps awaiting the arrival of the bridegroom.
Kendall informs that all three final parables include everyone before exclusion.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection has covered over the sins of the world.
Your acceptance of that is the small faith which you are given the oil with which to light your lamp awaiting the return of Christ.
How do you maintain that light?
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,
We must point to the word, the lamp, and the fuel, the Holy Spirit which continually points to the truth of who the bridegroom is while He is away!
Faith is the only determining factor in this parable.
How many of you are awaiting the return of Christ without filling your lamps?
In this parable, it is the decision and faith of the individual which determines whether they are wise or foolish. You must make that decision to maintain your faith by gathering your own oil.
You must take up your lamp and set it for the world to see that you are following along with the bridal party.
In the instance that you did not have the oil to light your lamp nor the planning to have some stashed away to show you belong to the party, how would the bridegroom returning know you were not an imposter? It would be customary that those who did not have lamps or torches to light the path would be considered enemies of the party and therefore necessary for each person to have their own torch.
“Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.
Neither does the church know the return of the Lord. But, we must maintain that faith. We must continually rely on the Holy Spirit to fill our lamps to light our torches to show the world we belong with the bridegrooms party, the church.
There will only be a time left for people to make that decision. I’ve heard people say that a lifetime is too short to make a decision of faith to fully know what to do, however, we just spoke earlier about having just a little faith is enough to give to God in order for Him to grow you into what He desires.
Maintaining your faith is to gather the oil of the Holy Spirit continually until the return of Christ, lighting the path for others to follow and ensuring the way is clear.
In the last days, the church will fall into a deep sleep just as both the foolish and wise virgins fall asleep. We see that today with the decline of people in the church.
It is not only our church which has witnessed this decline and we should not fret over this as it is written this shall occur.
We must maintain our faith and continue to preach of who the Bridegroom is, that is Jesus Christ, who has already accepted those who have sinned against Him through forgiveness. To not accept that gift is the only sin which cannot be forgiven and it is the Holy Spirit which continually presses upon us of the truth of Jesus Christ.
We may falter and we may look to be beaten down but if we maintain our wicks and continually keep our faith being lit by the Holy Spirit, we will be considered the wise virgins who are ready to attend the great wedding feast.
Capon, Robert Farrar. 2002. Kingdom, Grace, Judgment : Paradox, Outrage, and Vindication in the Parables of Jesus. Chicago: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. Accessed August 14, 2022. ProQuest Ebook Central.