The Unsent S.O.S.
You may remember a story that was all over the news back in October of last year. Two women were rescued by the US Coast Guard after being adrift at sea for nearly 5 months. They were on sailboat that sustained damage to the mast and lost the use of its motor.
Jennifer Appel and Tasha Fuiava, were able to survive the 5 months at sea because they had almost a year’s worth of food on board as well as a sea water purifier. But when they were finally rescued, the story they gave the Coast Guard was quite bizarre and filled with inconsistencies.
For instance, they claimed to have ridden out a major 3-day hurricane-like storm. And yet the national weather service saw no record of such a storm anywhere near their location. They told other dramatic tales of survival that included a group of tiger sharks working together to attack their boat. The description they gave of the sharks’ size would have meant they were much larger than any shark of that species ever recorded.
They also claimed that the 6 forms of communication they had on board all mysteriously and simultaneously malfunctioned. The Coast Guard, however, suspects that for some reason these women simply did not have an urgent desire to be rescued.
They believe this because, even though they claimed their six forms of communication failed, there was also an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) on board their vessel. This device should have virtually guaranteed their prompt rescue. Yet, for some reason, it was never turned on. They knew it was onboard and they knew how to operate it, but their excuse for not activating it was that they never felt they were "truly in distress."
When I saw this story on the news, it made me think: you know, so many people today tend to view their own salvation in much the same way these two women seemed to view their time at sea--
--even though their vessel was dead in the water and they were at the mercy of the wind and current for almost 5 months, they apparently saw no real direness or urgency in their situation.
They had all these ways in which they could get access to help and yet didn’t use any them… Experts say that if they would have activated that Emergency Beacon, their distress call would have been immediately sent to the Coast Guard along with their real-time location and they would have been quickly rescued…but again, they never sent out the s.o.s.
After hearing the developing details of this bizarre story, I find myself in agreement with the Coast Guard’s conclusion that these two women, for whatever reason, didn’t want to be found—that is, not until they were ready. Maybe they wanted an adventure, or maybe they wanted an experience they could later write a book about or perhaps they just wanted to get away from everyone for a while. We may never know the true reason for their failure to call for rescue, but what we do know is that if they had really gotten in trouble out there—maybe encountering a real storm like one they claimed to have weathered, or if they had collided with some sea junk and started taking on water, they both could easily have perished long before help could arrive.
Sadly, millions of people who actually believe there is a God are going through life sort of treating Him like that emergency beacon-just waiting for a certain time to actually repent of their sins and finally give controlling interest of their lives over to God.
But exactly what is it that they’re waiting for? when is the right time? Many, like these two women think the right moment hasn’t arrived until they feel they are “truly in distress.”—when there’s nowhere to look for help but up, when they are at the end of their proverbial rope-or literal rope if that should happen to be the case..
And I think we can all testify to our natural tendency to cry out to God when we are in distress (sickness, relationship crisis, financial struggles, death of loved one)
And there’s nothing wrong with that, in fact, it is quite possible that God wired us to do just that--to seek Him much more often and earnestly in our trying or desperate circumstances.
But there is a distinct danger in intentionally waiting until you are in distress to call upon the Lord: The moment of distress may very well come upon you so quickly and so severely that you have no time to repent or accept Christ. (car accident, heart attack, stroke, and since many us live in Rocky Mount a stray bullet wouldn’t be out of the question …) any number if things could happen to us that would end our lives almost instantly.
And even if we don’t die suddenly in our distress and do have some time, our repentance will likely not be genuine—we may simply want to be freed from our distress and not our sins and this is not conducive to true repentance.
Some others are not waiting to be “in distress”, they are simply waiting until they are older before they get serious about their relationship with God. They have too many things they want to do while they’re young, things they know God will not approve of. And so they place “give my heart” to God way down towards the end of their bucket list..
People don’t realize it, but to not make a decision for Christ today is to reject Him today..
The sad reality is that most people who are being wooed by the Holy Spirit, who hear Jesus knocking on the door of their hearts will tell Him, I sorry but I can’t come to the door right now, but please come back later— unfortunately, most of these people will probably never accept Him into their lives and they will likely die in their sins. Why? Because genuine repentance is a gift of the Holy Spirit that may not always be there for you to open at your own convenience. And I can assure you that the enemy will do all in his power to make certain that there’s never a convenient time for you to get right with the Lord.
That’s why God urges us in His word, “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.” (Isaiah 55:6,7)
Brothers and sisters, believe me when I tell you that the “wait and see approach” to our salvation is a very dangerous proposition indeed. It always has been. Even back in Noah’s day.. You may remember that everyone but Noah and his family decided to wait until it started raining to try and get aboard the ark… and we all know how that ended.
We all have friends and family members, coworkers and other people in our lives that are currently taking the “wait and see” approach with their relationship to God…And it is so frustrating to us isn’t it? they don’t seem to be too concerned about seeking an intimate, saving relationship with Jesus Christ. They act as if they have all the time in the world when the reality is that no one knows when his or her personal time of probation will close, when he has grieved away the Holy Spirit for the last time, or when Jesus will return...
That’s why the Word of God urges us all, “NOW is the time of God’s favor, NOW is the day of salvation!” (2 Corinthians 6:2) –NOT next year, next month, week or even tomorrow—TODAY is the day of salvation!
The apostle Paul urges us again, “TODAY, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts!” (Hebrews 3:15)
Joshua charged the people of Israel: “choose ye THIS DAY, whom you will serve..”
Thank God most of us here today have made that decision and are in the church. We’ve repented of our sins, we’ve been baptized and are officially members of the remnant church. Our salvation is sure—isn’t it??
Matthew 25:1-13
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
25“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6 “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
7 “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’
9 “ ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’
10 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
11 “Later the others also came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they said. ‘Open the door for us!’
12 “But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’
13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
Who were the ten virgins? The ten virgins represent the church just prior to the return of Christ. The number ten itself doesn’t seem to be particularly significant but I do believe it is worthy to note that half of the virgins were wise/saved and half were unwise/lost… Does this mean that half of those who profess to be part of the true church could be lost?? Could be, after all, Jesus tells us about the wide and narrow gates and roads by which people are trying to enter the kingdom of heaven. Many were those that were headed to destruction and few were those headed for life..
Now this doesn’t mean that the foolish virgins were hypocrites or wolves in sheep’s clothing, it simply means that they were foolish or careless in that they weren’t adequately prepared to endure to the end… You might well compare them to the stony ground hearers in the parable of the sower—they sprang up quickly but because of their lack of deep roots, they “couldn’t take the heat.”
These virgins all had lamps: The lamps represent the Word of God. Psalm 119:105, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” They ALL had the Word of God.. but they didn’t all have enough oil. I’ve said it from this pulpit many times and I’ll say it yet again, you can know the Bible from cover to cover, have parts of it committed to memory even, and still be lost. This where the oil comes in… Without the Holy Spirit, the Bible is useless. The devil “knows” the Bible much better than any of us for sure...
Again, the oil represents the Holy Spirit. They all had some oil, but the wise brought along more than they thought they would need.. I think way too many church folk only want just enough of the Holy Spirit to be saved.. Much like the foolish virgins must have looked at the oil in their lamps and said to themselves, “this will probably be enough..” You see, in order to be filled with the Holy Spirit, we must first be emptied of self.
Jesus says in Luke 9:24, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.”
But back to the ten virgins… They ALL fell asleep because the bridegroom was a long time in coming. But notice that when they were all awakened and the foolish virgins saw they didn’t have enough oil, they immediately and urgently asked the wise virgins to help them by giving them some of their oil.. But the wise virgins couldn’t help them any more than Noah could open the door of the ark to let in those who waited too late to enter……
Outside the church or inside the church, the time to build your close personal relationship with Jesus Christ that will endure to the end is right now and for the rest of your life.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:5“5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?
Right now Jesus is saying; “come unto me all you who labor and are heavy burdened and I will give you rest..” but one day very soon He will be saying, “11 He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.”
How much oil do YOU have?? Are you denying yourself daily, picking up your cross and following Jesus? Are you spending time in the Word of God and in prayer DAILY? And through these two vital graces, are you seeking to fill your vessel with that sweet oil of the Holy Spirit?
Remember, Jesus tells us the greatest commandment is this: Love the Lord your God will all your heart, soul, mind and strength. He says, “seek ye FIRST the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all the other necessities of life will follow..
-closing appeal
