Illus: Let me share with you some true stories that have been reported on the news, such as:
• In Chicago: A man was wanted for throwing bricks through jewelry store windows and making off with the loot. He was arrested last night after throwing a brick into a Plexiglas window...the brick bounced back, hit him in the head and knocked him cold until the police got there.
• In Kentucky: Two men tried to pull the front off a cash machine by running a chain from the machine to the bumper of their pickup truck. Instead of pulling the front panel off the machine, they pulled the bumper off their truck. Scared, they left the scene and drove home. With the chain still attached to the machine. With their bumper still attached to the chain. With their vehicle's license plate still attached to the bumper.
• In Arkansas: Seems this guy wanted some beer pretty badly. He decided that he'd just throw a cinder block through a liquor store window, grab some booze, and run. So he lifted the cinder block and heaved it over his head at the window. The cinder block bounced back and hit the would-be thief on the head, knocking him unconscious. Seems the liquor store window was made of Plexiglas. The whole event was caught on videotape.
• In Seattle: When a man attempted to siphon gasoline from a motor home parked on a Seattle street, he got much more than he bargained for. Police arrived at the scene to find an ill man curled up next to a motor home near spilled sewage. A police spokesman said that the man admitted to trying to steal gasoline and plugged his hose into the motor home's sewage tank by mistake. The owner of the vehicle declined to press charges, saying that it was the best laugh he'd ever had.
• In Long Beach, California: When his .38 caliber revolver failed to fire at his intended victim during a hold-up in Long Beach, California, robber James Eliot peered down the barrel and tried it again. This time, it worked.
• In Arkansas: Some criminals are not too bright and here's one to prove that: (at the time of booking)
Officer: What is your D.O.B.?
Criminal: What's a D.O.B. man?
Officer: When's your birthday?
Criminal: May 5th
Officer: What year?
Criminal: Every year, man.
Illus: Did you hear about a young man that walked into an insurance office to purchase coverage for his new motorcycle? Only one question confused him.
• "Do you have a lien holder on the vehicle?"
• He said, "I've got a kickstand, is that the same thing?"
Illus: Did you hear about the judge that asked a woman for her occupation after running a red light. She told the judge she was a schoolteacher. The judge rose from the bench. "Madam, I have waited years for a schoolteacher to appear before this court," he smiled with delight. "Now sit down at that table and write 'I will not pass through a red light' five hundred times."
We sometimes wonder if the things we hear about people doing can possibly true because they are so foolish. THEY ARE…PEOPLE DO SOME DUMB THINGS!
This parable today that we want to look at consists of TWO things, THE FOOLISH, AND THE WISE. Let’s look at-
I. THE FOOLISH
Matt. 25:1-3, “Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them.”
As already stated, there are a lot of UNWISE THINGS done in the physical world but they are not limited to the physical world. We also see some unwise things done in the spiritual world.
Illus: Dr. Henry Ward Beecher entered the Plymouth Church one Sunday and found several letters awaiting him. He opened one and found it contained the single word "Fool."
Quietly and with seriousness, he announced to the congregation the fact in these words: "I have known many an instance of a man writing a letter and forgetting to sign his name, but this is the only instance I have ever known of a man signing his name and forgetting to write the letter."
Someone said a foolish man may be known by six things:
• Anger without cause
• Speech without profit
• Change without progress
• Inquiry without object
• Putting trust in a stranger
• Mistaking foes for friends
This is a good list, but I can assure you it does not cover all the foolish things about mankind.
In this parable, it was determined that five virgins were foolish simply because they did not take enough oil for their lamps.
During this time people did not have light available to them as we have today. Darkness was a big problem to them but it is no longer a problem for us:
• If we are walking in the dark we have flashlights we can hold in our hands that provide us adequate light to walk
• If we are driving on the highway at night we can see clearly with our headlights
• If we are reading the newspaper, we have electric lamps we can turn on to see the print
Darkness is no problem for us whatsoever! But during this time, darkness was a major problem and they had to depend on oil lamps to provide them light to be able to see.
If someone went somewhere and darkness caught them and they did not have a lamp with sufficient oil, they would be considered foolish for doing such a thing.
If you think about that, IT WAS A FOOLISH THING TO DO!
Illus: Often people will drop by churches for a free handout during the week. When they come they generally have a hard luck story they want to tell you so you will feel sorry for them and give them some money.
A very familiar story is that they need some money for gas. The reason they need some money for gas is because they are from another state and they travelled to this state to attend a funeral or to see a sick loved one and they are on their way home and they need money for gas.
Dr. Belger has been told this story many times and when someone comes into his office with this story he does not believe it.
He just looks at them with this dumbfounded look and says, “You mean you left another state without having enough money to buy enough gas to get you here and back?”
Without waiting for an answer, he shakes his head and walks away. After hearing them say a few curse words under their breath as he walks away, he never sees them again!
Sometimes we hear people tell about some of the foolish things they did and as they look back at some of the things they did they can't believe they did those things.
But listen, if you have lived your life and have not accepted the Lord, that is the most FOOLISH THING YOU COULD DO!
The prophet Amos says the whole purpose of life is PREPARING TO MEET GOD!
There are people that have lived their lives and:
• They have made all the burial arrangements for their death
• They have selected the funeral home and the preacher they want to preach their funeral
• They have selected the clothes they want to be buried in
• They have selected the songs they want sung
But they have never MADE PLANS TO MEET GOD WHO CREATED THEM AFTER THEY BREATHE THAT LAST BREATH!
The most foolish thing a person can do is to live their entire life and never make plans to meet God their Creator.
There is no doubt about it; they are going to meet Him. The question is, "Are we prepared to meet Him?"
Illus: If you were to receive an invitation to visit Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace, you would first have to attend a class to be prepared for the meeting. You would be instructed that:
• You do not speak to the Queen until she speaks to you.
• You do not extend your hand to shake unless she extends her hand to shake with you.
You would be given a list of things that would PREPARE YOU FOR MEETING ROYALTY!
You can have more degrees than a thermometer, but if you have not repented of your sins and given your heart to the Lord, YOU ARE NOT WISE!
We have looked at THE FOOLISH, but let’s take a few minutes to look at-
II. THE WISE
Matt. 25:1-4 “Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.”
Notice:
• The foolish took no oil
• The wise took oil
Illus: Someone said, “A foolish man tells a woman to stop talking, but a wise man tells her that her mouth is extremely beautiful when her lips are closed.”
In this parable it is determined that five virgins were wise for taking enough oil with them. They did not live their lives foolishly. This parable is about making wise choices in life. But many who appear to be wise are not wise.
Illus: A lawyer, a preacher, and a young boy were in a plane that was going to crash, yet they only had 2 parachutes.
• The lawyer proclaimed that since he was the smartest man on the plane, he deserved to survive. He took a parachute and jumped.
• The preacher looked and the young boy and told the young boy to take the last parachute since he had already lived a good, Christian life. The boy replied, "Don’t worry. The smartest man on this plane just jumped out with my back pack!”
There are some who are truly wise in this life! They have prepared themselves to meet the Lord.
HOW DO WE GET WISE?
Look at James 1:5, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
God’s Word tells us the way we get wisdom is to ask for it in prayer.
James 4:2, “…yet ye have not, because ye ask not.”
Illus: Dr. Vance Havner said -
• If you lack knowledge, go to school
• If you lack wisdom, get on your knees
But we need to look at something else in this passage.
Matt. 25:4-13, “But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 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. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.”
Notice, several things:
The foolish virgins went out to buy oil, but they went too late. Every sinner will repent but they will repent too late.
When the Bride Groom came, the foolish had no oil and they asked the wise for their oil. But the wise made them aware that they only had enough for themselves.
This parable teaches us that on that day, we stand alone before the Lord.
• You can have the godliest parents that ever walked on this earth, but that will do you no good on that day
• You could have attended the best church in the county but that will do you no good that day
YOU STAND ALONE THAT DAY!
The decisions you make today will affect the decision He will make when you stand before Him.
The Bible says, "TODAY IS THE DAY OF SALVATION!"
Illus: John F. Kennedy, “The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.”
Illus: Just before General Eisenhower died, Billy Graham was invited to visit him at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, DC. He was told he could stay thirty minutes. When he went in, the General was wearing his usual big smile, even though he knew he didn’t have long to live. Later Billy Graham told what happened: “When the thirty minutes were up, he asked me to stay longer and said to me, ‘Billy, I want you to tell me again how can I be sure my sins were forgiven and that I am going to heaven, because nothing else matters now.’"
Billy said, “I took my New Testament and read him Scriptures. I pointed out that we are not going to heaven because of our good works, or because of money we’ve given to the church. We are going to heaven totally and completely on the basis of the merits of what Christ did on the cross. Therefore he could rest in the comfort that Jesus paid it all! After prayer, Ike said, 'Thank you I’m ready!'”
No one is ready to meet God in death until they have met Him in life! Are you ready?
Conclusion:
Illus: There was a king who had all this 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, the king lay sick on his deathbed 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!"
In this parable we have looked at:
I. THE FOOLISH
II. THE WISE
Which are you?
