Overcoming Spiritual Procrastination Series

Intro Moment—The Sound that Wakes the Soul

Illustration

This week, I saw a young man interviewed on the news following the deadly and destructive EF-4 tornado that hit Laurel County, Kentucky, on May 16th. His response when asked about how much time they had to get to safety before the tornado hit made me think about this week’s sermon.

The National Weather Service’s average lead time for tornado warnings—the interval between issuing a warning and the tornado’s touchdown—is about 13?minutes. However, warning infrastructure is far from universal. As of 2011, only 1,752 communities had earned a “StormReady”?designation—reflecting robust alert-and-response systems—while there are over 19,000 incorporated municipalities nationwide. Even if every StormReady community signifies one well-prepared town, that indicates more than 17,000 incorporated places lack formal severe-weather readiness programs, and countless smaller or unincorporated areas also have no dedicated sirens or coordinated broadcast alerts. Conservatively, it’s reasonable to estimate that 10,000–12,000 U.S. communities still do not have adequate tornado-warning systems in place, with most of those being rural communities where residents are spread out and do not live close to a town.

The reason this made me think about today’s sermon is that when asked, the young man said he was sleeping when his phone gave the alert, and he didn’t hear it until about a minute before the tornado tore his parents' house apart. He barely had enough time to get to a safe space in the house. He also said that they’ve had storms before and “people ignore the warnings for the most part.”

We don’t get to choose the time when Jesus will return, but we do get to choose the posture we live in while we wait for Him.

In our passage for today, Jesus isn’t telling a story; He’s sounding an alarm. This is about readiness, urgency, and devotion that burns bright.

Biblical Context and Parable Exposition (Matthew 25:1-13)—You Were Made for the Marriage.

Placement in Jesus’ teaching—part of the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24-25) that focuses on watchfulness and readiness.

Parable overview

Ten virgins await the arrival of the bridegroom.

The five wise bring extra oil; the five foolish do not.

The bridegroom is delayed for a time, and all of the virgins fall asleep.

There is a sudden midnight cry announcing that the bridegroom is on his way.

After preparing themselves for his arrival, the five foolish virgins realize they don’t have enough oil to keep their lamps burning, so they ask to borrow oil from the others.

They are told to go buy oil for themselves, and upon returning with the oil in their lamps, they are denied entry into the banquet by the bridegroom.

A parable always uses an illustration to bring a truth. The truth here is found in verse 13—you must keep watch because you do not know the day or hour of my return.

Characters and Symbols

Ten Virgins: the church and each individual person awaiting the return of Christ.

Oil in Lamps: the ongoing empowerment of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

John 15:15—Jesus makes us “friends,” sharing His purposes and enabling our obedience.

Delay of the Bridegroom: God’s patient delay of Christ’s return to claim His Church allows more time for people to respond to Him. (2 Peter 3:9)

Midnight Cry: The return of Christ will happen suddenly and without warning.

Revelation 16:15—We need to be ready for his return each moment, and we need to take the time that he doesn’t return to make ourselves even more ready.

This is about being ready for Christ’s return, yes. But more than that, it’s about intimacy.

The wise virgins brought oil because they wanted to be near the bridegroom.

They weren’t just showing up—they wanted to be prepared to shine when He arrived.

John 15:15—“I have called you friends…” Jesus is not inviting you to be a stranger at the door. He’s inviting you to be a friend at the feast.

Defining Spiritual Procrastination—Midnight Moments Reveal What We’ve Been Building.

Life is built in the ordinary, but it is revealed in the midnight cry.

What It Looks Like

James 4:13-17

“I’ll get to my prayer and Bible study later.” Delaying intimacy with God damages our preparation and readiness for His return.

“I’ll serve and evangelize when circumstances are better.” Don’t ignore God’s call to action because the enemy will never allow the circumstances of your life to be ideal for God’s work.

Why We Delay

Complacency and Comfort—Mistaking ease for security. Revelation 3:17 tells us that we say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.

Fear of Sacrifice—unwillingness to pay the cost.

Distractions of Life—Mark 4:19 says that the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Our obsession with the things of this life is choking off our devotion to Him.