Are You Prepared?
Pastor Glenn Newton
12-11-05
MT 25:1 "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.
MT 25:6 "At midnight the cry rang out: `Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
MT 25:7 "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.’
MT 25:9 " `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.’
MT 25:10 "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.
MT 25:11 "Later the others also came. `Sir! Sir!’ they said. `Open the door for us!’
MT 25:12 "But he replied, `I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’
MT 25:13 "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
In April, 1988 the evening news reported on a photographer who was also a skydiver. He had jumped from a plane along with several other skydivers and filmed the group as they individually dove out of the plane and opened their parachutes. As the video was being shown of each member of the crew jumping out and then pulling their rip chord so that their parachute opened to the wind, the final skydiver opened his chute and then the picture went berserk. The announcer reported that the cameraman had fallen to his death, having jumped out of the plane without a parachute. It wasn’t until he reached for the ripcord that he realized he was free falling without a parachute. Up until then, he was enjoying himself and was absorbed in what he was doing. But tragically, he was unprepared for the jump. It did not matter how many times he had done it before or what skill he had. By forgetting the parachute he made a foolish and deadly mistake. Nothing could save him, because his faith was in a parachute which he had never taken the trouble to buckle on.
It is a story not unlike the parable which Jesus told about the foolish bridesmaids forgetting to bring something very important and necessary. He was not ready. He was unprepared. It would do no good to try and borrow a parachute of someone else on their way to meet the ground. He was not prepared and he passed the point of no return.
Today we can learn some valuable lessons from this passage….
The first fact is: You must be spiritually ready. If there is one thing that Jesus consistently and continually preached it was that we need to be ready. Over and over again we hear him say, “So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” (Matthew 24:44).
Probably the most frustrating aspect of ministry in our society today is the fact that we live in a culture that gladly accepts spirituality, in fact, over 80% of the population would claim to be Christian, or at least religious. For many people, the term being a Christian means, just believing in a higher power, believing in something outside of yourself.
I hope you know today that just believing in something, does not make you a Christian. Jesus knew that there would be many false prophets, many who claimed to have the answer to our spiritual questions, so He made it clear that there was only One way to reach our Goal as Christians when he said, JN 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
So the question is, What does it mean to be ready?
Dennis was a guy from Katy, Texas who had an emergency and needed his suit dry cleaned before he left on a trip. He remembered one store with a huge sign, “One-Hour Dry Cleaners.” It was on the other side of town, so he drove out of his way to drop off his suit. After the clerk filled out the necessary information, he told her, “I have some errands to run and I’ll be back in an hour to pick it up.” She said, “I can’t get this back to you until Thursday.” “I thought you did dry cleaning in an hour,” he said. “Oh, no,” she replied, “That’s just the name of the store, we don’t actually do that.” There are many folks today who wear a sign saying they are a Christian, but they fail to deliver the goods.
The setting is fairly clear from what we know of the marriage customs of the day. Normally the bridegroom with some close friends left his home to go to the bride’s home, where there were various ceremonies, followed by a procession through the streets--after nightfall--to his home. The ten virgins may be bridesmaids who have been assisting the bride; and they expect to meet the groom as he comes from the bride’s house. Everyone in the procession was expected to carry his or her own torch. Those without a torch would be assumed to be party crashers.
As I thought about this parable, some things jumped out at me that should speak to us today.
a. All the bridegrooms looked alike, they all looked the part.
Millions of people today have made their way to churches, millions who look the part, they look like their ready, they believe their ready…. But the truth is they are not prepared for the 2nd coming. You ask Why are they not ready? The simple answer is that many have lost their 1st love, they have substituted their love for Jesus with a love for the world.
In the church this can happen slowly but surely. At first, when someone comes to the Lord, they are excited about this new journey, they are excited about all that Christ has done for them, they read His Word, they get involved in acts of service, they want to grow in this new relationship.
So what happens?
That fire that was burning so brightly, so hot…. It starts to get neglected. We get busy doing things, good things… we don’t tend the fire like we used to.. Our devotional time is pushed aside, we stop attending some of the services we used to not ever want to miss….. We begin to neglect… and slowly … we sometimes don’t even realize it, but the flame goes out. We are still doing the Christian things… be somewhere we have forgot Christ. Before long the things we do in the church, the services we attend, the activities we take part in, they just become rituals that we do, because we have to we think in our mind, because this is what Christians do, right?
Christians, don’t let your fire go out, don’t allow your relationship with Christ turn into a cold religion.
Friends, we need to be spiritually ready…. The Great News is that we have today! It’s not to late. If the fire has died, Christ is inviting you back, He loves you, He’s the God of personal Relationship….. He longs for you to cry out to Him, to get personal again. Don’t miss this opportunity, don’t miss your opportunity today to be prepared… we need to be prepared.. And that preparation starts with our personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Knowing about Christ in your head is not the same thing as Knowing Christ in your Heart.
Do you know the difference today? Are you Ready for the King to come back?
Parents, are you modeling for your children a vital, healthy relationship with Jesus Christ? What a huge responsibility, but what a privilege… let’s not neglect Him.
The truth is, no one can do it for you.
The second fact for today is: No one can do it for you
MT 25:6 "At midnight the cry rang out: `Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
MT 25:7 "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.’
MT 25:9 " `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.’
MT 25:10 "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.
I read recently some excerpts from actual performance reviews for British Navy and Marine officers. One supervisor wrote this evaluation of a candidate: “He works well under constant supervision and when cornered like a rat in a trap.” Another wrote: “This young lady has delusions of adequacy. She sets low personal standards and then consistently fails to achieve them.” Those people did not get very far in the Royal Navy or in life, and they will have even less success in the Kingdom of God. Spiritual readiness, preparation and growth does not just happen.
If I told you this morning that next Saturday morning at 10 am we are going to meet at the local golf course and we are going to see who can hit the golf ball closest to the pin from 50 yards, and the winner is going to receive One Million dollars….. If that was true, what might you do this week?
We would have a bunch of Nazarenes tearing up the practice course wouldn’t we? It wouldn’t matter if you had ever played before, you would say to yourself, anybody can hit a golf ball 50 yards…. So I’m going to go for the Million… right? And you would do your best to prepare for the contest.
How much more valuable is eternity with our Lord Jesus Christ? How much more valuable is your soul? Won’t you decide to prepare?
Being prepared can neither be transferred or shared. This is something every single person must do as an act of their will. Your parents relationship isn’t inherited, you husband’s or wife’s faithfulness will not apply to you. You will be judged based on what you have decided in your own heart and how you lived that out.
A third fact for today is: There is a time called “Too Late.”
The Bible encourages us with these words: “See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first” (Hebrews 3:12-14). God has made this promise to us: “Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever” (Daniel 12:3).
In our passage it reads, MT 25:6 "At midnight the cry rang out: `Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
Midnight is symbolic of the fact that their will be a time when it will be too late to put your life in order…. When Jesus split’s the Eastern Sky, the trumpet of Heaven will sound, and time as we know it will be no more…. We need not procrastinate.
A. Accept Christ as the Lord of your Life…. Just tell Him that you put your Faith in Him, Believe that He is the Son of God.
B. Believe
C. Confess
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
Live everyday for Him, being fruitful through the power of the Holy Spirit as we wait on His return….. He has given us a mission to carry out until He comes again…. We are to be about our Father’s business….. Sharing the Good News…. Being Light in the Darkness….
