“Jesus is coming BACK, BE PREPARED”
Week 5 of 5
Matthew 25:1-13
Credit: Steve Shepherd, Troy Borst, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament
Please stand for the reading of God’s Word: Matthew 25:1-13
“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 ones, 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. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’
12 “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’
13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.”
Jesus is coming BACK, and we need to be PREPARED…..
This week I discovered beprepared.com on the internet.
This website sells items you might need, in a disaster event
It is TARGETING survivalists,
And those who desire to be prepared for anything
You can buy a:
30 day supply of food, that stays fresh for 30 years.
For $7.95 you can buy a candle that will burn for 100 hours
For $40.00 you can get a 24 pack of canned emergency water
They have a 3 day emergency back pack for $89.99, but sorry they’re sold out
(https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/b-y-o-o-bring-your-own-oil-troy-borst-sermon-on-parable-ten-virgins-83959?ref=SermonSerps)
That website has many cool products but:
none of them will PREPARE you for the 2nd coming.
And there will be Hell to pay for the unprepared.
Our passage from Matthew 25:1-13 is all about being prepared:
For eternity
For the Day of the Lord
The return of Jesus and the Judgement
Since Jesus can come back at any time,
We must be ready ALL THE TIME
Our text today is about preparing for the wedding banquet:
The parable is meant to convince us to stay prepared
Not for any earthly banquet, but for the banquet in heaven.
Both sets of virgins fell asleep at night before the Groom arrived
They did nothing wrong in sleeping,
Sleeping wasn’t the problem
Unpreparedness was kept five foolish virgins from enjoying the WEDDING BANQUET
All ten knew they’d NEED oil, but only 5 ACTUALLY brought sufficient oil
We usually talk about SINS of COMMISSION, wrong things we do.
Here we are talking about the SIN OF OMISSION, failing to do what we ought to do
“If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them.” James 4:17
Being a bridesmaid was a great honor:
To be chosen was an honor to enjoy, but also came with responsibilities
To not be prepared for the wedding could ruin the wedding day
To ruin a wedding day would be a TRAVESTY and INSULT
“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.” Matthew 25:1
Weddings were held toward evening: (GRAPHIC OF TORCH)
and torches were used as part of the celebration,
which focused on a procession leading the bride to the groom’s house.
These torches may have been sticks wrapped with oil-soaked rags.
The wedding feast occurs at night after a day of dancing:
the bridesmaids leave the bride,
and go out and find the groom with torches.
They then bring him back to his bride,
and they go together to the groom’s home.
By now it’s dark and they need their torches,
so they can find the Grooms house
“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 ones, 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.” Matthew 25:2–7
Torches like these:
could maybe only burn fifteen minutes
before the burnt rags would have to be removed and
new oil-soaked rags would
need to be wrapped on the sticks of which they were made.
Bridegrooms were often late:
So the bridesmaids would need enough oil
to make their lamps last until the Groom arrived
But not everyone brought enough oil
“The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’” Matthew 25:8
Some came to the wedding, dressed to the nines, danced and enjoyed the day.
But they weren’t FULLY PREPARED,
That’s a warning,
that a brilliant start to the Christian faith is just as IMPORTANT AS A STRONG FINISH (x2)
“‘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.” Matthew 25:9
Sharing is caring, RIGHT?
Wrong, if the prepared shared with the unprepared
There would not have been enough oil, or light rather for the night
The wedding would have been RUINED
THEY ALL Knew they would need GOOD SUPPLY of oil:
But they neglected to bring the required
The time to prepare had passed.
Are we prepared to meet the LORD, RIGHT NOW, Here and today??? (x2)
“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.”
Matthew 25:10
The unwise were unprepared and there was a price to pay:
The doors to the BRIDEGROOM'S house were bolted shut
The wise were inside the house
The unwise were not welcome in the house, they were locked out
This is how it will be on the Day of the Lord: Some will go to Heaven, MANY will not.
Matthew 25:11
“Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’
12 “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’
13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.”
Matthew 25:11–13
The foolish bridesmaids missed:
the entire procession back to the grooms house,
They missed the joyful singing and dancing.
They also missed the critical element of the Jewish marriage
They missed it all:
They were unwise, unprepared
They insulted the host
They were locked out of the 7 day feast
Many trade Heaven for Earth, but there is nothing on EARTH better than HEAVEN.
“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?”
Mark 8:36 (NKJV)
This parable draws a contrast between the wise and the foolish,
based on who is watching for the groom, and who is pre
Only a fool would think they person could accept the Lord and live like the devil and still get into heaven.
We prepare for the Lord’s return, but staying PURE and DOING THE LORD’S WORK
Since Jesus is coming soon, our time is short and we need to be about our Father’s business…
“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.” Matthew 28:18-20 (NKJV)
We have been given the JOB of making disciples:
Are we working now to bring Souls with us to HEAVEN? (X2)
Have we done all we can do, have we prayed all we can pray, is there anything left within our reach that can be done to Make disciples and win souls?
We must have the attitude:
That COME WHAT MAY we will be ALL ABOUT God’s Kingdom
I’m not saying it will be easy, but it is WORTH THE EFFORT
“Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” Revelation 2:10b
God’s faithful have always given Him there best:
Hebrews 12:1-2 tell us to LOOK TO JESUS:
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
I am going to tell this story, and then there will be a time of invitation:
To make a decision for Christ and to be baptized into Jesus
To accept the blood of Jesus to take away your sins and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
There was a king who had all his world could afford. The thing he loved most, however, was to laugh. Once while being entertained a jester came along wishing to join in the festival of activities and also wishing to perform for him. His opportunity came and he put the best comical show together he had ever done and the king never laughed so hard.
Once the activity was all over the king wanted to hire this jester to be his personal jester. Once hired the king in humor handed him a small stick and said, "You are the most foolish man alive. When you find someone more foolish than you, then you give them this stick," and the king laughed heartily.
After many years had passed by the king lay sick on his death bed ready to go at any moment. He called for his jester, for he wanted to laugh one more time before he died. When the jester was through he asked to speak to the king personally.
Once alone with the king the jester asked, "King, where are you going?" The king responded, "on a far journey." The jester asked again, "and how do you plan to get there?" Again the king responded, "I don’t know." Then the jester pulled the stick from his back pocket and handed it to the king. The king was stunned and asked why he had given him the stick. The jester replied, "King, today I have found a more foolish man than I. For you see, I only trifled with the things of life, but you have trifled with things of eternity!"
Don’t play around in life until we are not prepared to die!
to play games with God is serious business and can hurt eternally!
This parable drew a distinction between the wise and the fool:
And the best thing is that you get to pick if you will be wise or foolish
The foolish one will ignore the things of God, and be surprised when they are locked out of heaven.
Credit: Steve Shepherd, Troy Borst, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament
