1“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5But 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!’ 7Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9But 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.’ 10And 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!’ 12But 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.
Matthew 25:1-13 (NKJV)
Jesus taught many times in the new testament in what is called parables.
A parable is a similitude, or a symbolically fictitious narrative of common life conveying a moral.
Jesus taught many times in parables, The Sower of the Seed in Luke 8, The Wedding Garment in Matthew 22, The Parable of the Vineyard in Mark 4, just to name a few.
They were much deeper than they appeared at first glance and convey real life morals and situations.
WHO DO THE VIRGINS REPRESENT?
The Greek word for virgins:Parthenos
G3933
ðáñèÝíïò
Of unknown origin; a maiden; by implication an unmarried daughter:—
virgin.
Implies and unmarried daughter. Also a man who has abstained/kept his chastity
But these are not just any unmarried daughters in society, but the represent the people of God, whether man or woman. They are also called the Bride of Christ.
9And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.
24And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
Revelations 21:9,24
The New Testament and prophecies in the Old speak of a Bride of Christ. That bride represents the unmarried daughter or the virgins, as they are called, in Matthew 25.
I want you to understand something, we are not married to Christ until the time of the wedding supper of the Lamb in Revelations 19.
7Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” 8And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
9Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’”
Revelation 19:7-9
I want you to notice 2 points from Revelations 19
1 - You have to make yourself ready
2 – You have to put on the righteousness of the saints
You can still be lost before that time, and evidently possibly half of all the people of God will be lost, because THERE LIVING LIKE A FOOL
POSSIBLY ½ OF GODS PEOPLE WILL BE LOST
Notice the scripture speaks about the wise and foolish
2Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish
I want to give you a the Greek definitions of Wise and Foolish
G5429
Öñüíéìïò Phronimos
- Wise
From G5424; thoughtful, that is, sagacious or discreet
(implying a cautious character; while G4680 denotes practical skill or acumen; and G4908 indicates rather intelligence or mental acquirement); in a bad sense conceited (also in the
comparative):—wise (-r).
The definition of wise means thoughtful, discreet, and having a cautious character
G3474
ìùñüò Moros
Probably form the base of G3466; dull or stupid (as if shut up), that is, heedless, (morally) blockhead, (apparently) absurd:—fool (-ish, X -ishness).
While Foolish means dull, stupid, heedless, absurd, a moral blockhead!
But I think for this parable the word heedless would really cover all their issues.
In your relationship with God you can be thoughtful and cautious, or you can be heedless
Heedless means “Without heed or care; inattentive; careless; thoughtless; unobservant”
Synonyms: daydreaming, disregardful, feckless, foolhardy, goofing off, impetuous, imprudent, inadvertent, inattentive, incautious, inconsiderate, irreflective, neglectful, negligent, oblivious, precipitate, rash, reckless, slapdash, sloppy, thoughtless, uncaring, unmindful, unobservant, unthinking, unwary
Concept: neglect/ignoring
We cant afford to be heedless in our walk with God!
The Apostle Paul put it like this in his writings to the Hebrews:
1Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. 2For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, 3how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,
Hebrews 2:1-3 (NKJV)
Some hold to the belief that once you are saved you are always saved, yet Paul speaks here of the need to give a more earnest heed, because we are not going to escape the wages of sin if we neglect so great a salvation.
5 of those virgins in Matthew 25 neglected there salvation, and when the cry came forth
Behold, the bridegroom is coming !
The wise, or the thoughtful and cautious had there lamps ready, and the heedless or the foolish were not ready and when the bridegroom came, those that were ready went in and the door was shut.
And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came;
and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
Because of there neglect of their walk with God 5 out of 10, or 50% of the people were lost.
ARE YOU LIVING LIKE A FOOL???
The title of today’s message is: Don’t Live Like A Fool
If the call was made today, The Bridegroom Cometh, The Bridegroom Cometh, whether by the rapture or by the grave, would you have to go get oil in your lamp?
Jesus admonished us in Matthew 6:33
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness;
Have you sought 1st the kingdom of God in your life or is God in 2nd place
The Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 6:17
“Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord.
Are you walking a separated lifestyle, If Paul or Jesus were to meet you on the street could they tell you were a Christian,
Or would they reach out to you with the gospel message and as one of the lost masses of humanity
Jeremiah the prophet spoke in Jeremiah 2:32
Can a virgin forget her ornaments, Or a bride her attire?
Yet My people have forgotten Me days without number.
Are you guilty of forgetting God days without number?
We will not escape if we neglect so great a salvation!
Are you Living Like A Fool, forgetting God, walking in worldly ways, putting God off as second or third in your life
I want to give you my priorities in Life
1) God and the church
2) My wife
3) Is my children
All the rest of life falls below those 3, my Job is below there, My friends are below there.
What we have in Life is our God and Our Family
*When your broke, all friends forsake you
*When your old and gray and disabled, friends forget you and work lets you go
*When times are troublesome few stick by you
But Look at this…
Who’s there for you always? Your God, your wife and your children…
What are you priorities in Life?
Would you let God reach down today and rearrange your priorities in life…..
Would you consider letting God be in complete control?
If you’ve been living like a fool
I’ve got some advice for you…..
Find a place to pray and let godly sorrow sweep over your soul
10For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. 11For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.
2 Corinthians 7:10-11
Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation
(Describe Repentance)
The sorrow of the world produces death
Godly sorrow produces diligence
Godly sorrow produces clearing of yourselves,
Godly sorrow produces indignation
Godly sorrow produces fear
Godly sorrow produces vehement desire
Godly sorrow produces zeal (fervency)
Godly sorrow produces vindication (vindicate, retaliate, punish)
1 John 1:9 lets us know:
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Its time to stop living like a fool, its time to repent of and forsake the sins of the flesh, its time to renew once again you dedication to God, the church and your children.
If you mistreat your wife and children or husband and children your prayers are hindered
Its time to break chains and spirits that have you bound today
Its time to be wise
