Be Alert To Spiritual Decay

Transcript

Opening And Matthew 25

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Why The Return Of Jesus Matters

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The book of Matthew, the 25th chapter, the first verse. One of the main reasons that this story is given is speaking about the great day when Jesus is going to return to earth. He's coming back. And also we see he's speaking of those who profess to have a lamp or a testimony of profession in their hands. But five of them do not have it in their hearts. Five were wise, five were foolish. And our light must shine before men so that they can see our good works because of the testimony of Christ in us. I believe that our relationship is long term. I believe it's as long as we live. I believe that when we give our hearts to Jesus, it's not just for Sunday. It's not just whenever we get together with some other Christians in a special meeting somewhere. It's all the time.

The Ten Virgins Parable

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Verse 1, then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, went forth to meet the bridegroom. 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. 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 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. And afterward came also the other virgin, saying, Lord, open to us, and 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. Familiar passage, great truths.

A Warning About Spiritual Decay

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Title and thought of my message today is Be Alert to Spiritual Decay. The thing that troubles me here out of this whole thing, both with the wise and the foolish, they all went to sleep. They slackened off. And I suspect many Christians, if not all, know what it is to slacken off. But the danger of slackening off, taking it easy, saying, Well, I'm not going to make an effort today, I have found that when I make the effort, God always shows up. I find that there will always be results.

The Mission Jesus Leaves Us

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I think about all the times that the Lord will speak to me and say, I want you to go here to this place, or I want you to go to that nation and minister. And when God gives you a commission, you just do it. These ten virgins had a mission. And the mission was to prepare to meet the bridegroom. And we have a mission. Jesus left us with a mission, a co-mission. To spread the gospel, teach it in all the world, to testify, to bear witness, whatever you're calling it. Don't you think that it costs something? Don't you think it's not always just effort? There's also finances. There's also time. Five of these virgins didn't carry the load. They didn't have to be bothered if there was a plea for something to be done, a church roof to be put on, and someplace. They didn't even bother thinking twice about it. They just went to sleep and could care less about what the Lord spoke to them to do. God gets the mission done, whether you partake in it or not. Some people say, if that's the case, why do I have to partake in it? It's the blessing, it's the obedience, it's the life that you gain, it's the strength that comes from that. It's the fact of knowing that whatever Father asked of you, you did it. And that's so wonderful.

What Makes Wise And Foolish

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What made the difference in the virgins here? The two types of people that we're dealing with here today that were the wise. And everybody wants to be wise. That's wonderful. Then this is what's required. You're prudent, in other words, you're mindful of the interest, what God asks you to do, and you prepare for that, and you set it aside and you do it. The foolish, when we look at it here in the Greek, the word foolish here it means dull. Pretty hard for them to think that God could speak to them. Or God could be speaking to them and they just don't know it, they don't understand it. Heedless. In other words, you don't pay any heed. You're not going to make any move toward that whatsoever. And I'm really concerned when I read the third meaning of this word, foolish. Godless. No godlike activity or life in an individual. And I think that sometimes we meet people and we're going to say, they are such nice people. I don't know. It wasn't that they maybe did anything kind to you, but you sensed God in them. You as a believer, I believe that no matter where you are, others, whether they're saved or unsaved, they can sense God in you. They sense that peace. They sense his presence. And to carry that, and to think you're that witness. You carry that. Whether you're at a political rally, a church meeting, or buying groceries, they sense godliness within you. In Ecclesiastes, the second chapter in the thirteenth verse, then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly. As far as light excelleth darkness, light will always expel darkness. And wisdom will always expel foolishness. Sometimes people may say, I spent a life of being foolish. I made bad decisions. I wasted so much time. There are many people who feel that way. But it's never too late. That's the wonderful thing. As long as you are still have control of your mental faculty, your mind, and you're able to, and your spirit is open to God, I believe it's wonderful that you can start wherever God begins to deal with you in. I like it when God, when I learn new things in the kingdom. I like it. I've read the Bible a fair amount in the 63 years that I've served the Lord and been preaching. I've read it a fair amount. And you know what? I find all kinds of stuff in there. And I say, what? That's in the Bible? What? I've read that verse many times. I've never seen that like that. It's those treasures that come. And when you're wise, you were prudent enough to know, you were smart enough to know that you needed God because there's going to come a time, not just for the tough times, but for when he comes again, when he returns. Or when you find yourself walking across the Jordan. I'm saying that very softly and easy. When you die and you enter into the next life. It's nice to know that you're prepared. Not just saying, Lord Jesus, forgive me of my sins, but I've done something with my born-again life. I've taken this life and I've prepared it to be an instrument. That's what wise Christians do. And the thing about it, when you become a believer and you accept Christ, he will guide you in your Christian growth. You'll get water baptized. You will get filled with the Holy Spirit. You will take your responsibilities in the body. You will find a Christian body, a church, and you will be involved in that, and you will help, and you will make that come alive. Sometimes people got this thought, the preacher's going to do it all. Do you know what the pastor is or the minister is? If anything, he is a servant of everybody. And you have to understand that sets the example for all of us to become servants. Five wise and five foolish. They are carrying lamps.

Oil As The Holy Spirit

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And I looked at this in verse 3. It says here that the foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them. These lamps had no oil in them. But the fact was they filled the lamps before they left home with the oil. And the oil represents the Holy Spirit. But what would it be like if you were needed to have the Holy Spirit become active in your life and there was none there to be found? So when I was filled with the Holy Ghost, and I found out that I was able to pray and minister to the sick, that I would have the mind of Christ, and that I could be able to do and help build the kingdom. What a pleasure it is to help build the kingdom. Help build that kingdom of God. It comes right down to it that it's not about us. The trouble with the foolish virgins is they thought about themselves and they did nothing. They didn't even help themselves. They just let it float by. But the wise and the prudent, they can look back and they can look at the kingdom of God, knowing that they're saved and filled with the Holy Ghost, and they've got years of life ahead of them. And they can look at the body of Christ, whether it's here in McDonald's Point or wherever we can stand, and we can say to another believer, I help build the kingdom of God. I help build the kingdom of God in Canada. The five wise virgins did that. Let's go to verse 5.

Awake In The Midnight Middle

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We are in Matthew's Gospel 25, verse 5. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. I believe that there is a word of the Lord that says awake. And I believe that as a messenger, as a voice, as a minister in the earth and in the church, especially. Awake would be a word that I would give today. Awake. The bridegroom cometh. The Lord is coming. You don't know the hour, but the Lord is coming. Awake. Be about your father's business. Do not slumber, do not slacken off, do not take it easy. Wherefore, comfort yourselves together. Children of light, that's what children of light do. They comfort one another. Edify one another, even as you also do. And we beseech you, brethren, we beseech you, please pay special attention to this. Know them which labor among you and are over you and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake, and be at peace among yourselves. Who wouldn't want to live in the light? Who wouldn't want to have their lamps burning? Who wouldn't want to be able to say, I'm a part of the kingdom? Hallelujah. Oh my. Just a powerful word of God. I gotta get my text back here. Now I know that they will say, and it is true, midnight is a dark period. Have you ever wondered why they use the term MID, midnight? It's in the middle. And it's in the middle where things can get bogged down and slow. And starting a mission is exciting, and ending a mission is exciting. But it's in the middle that you can get bogged down. It's when the load gets heavy, or we're wondering, why should I bother? It is key because if you don't, there will be nothing there. So all the virgins arose. That means they stood up, they trimmed their lamps. They wanted to be able to see. But when I see here and I see this word arose, all the virgins arose. That means they stand fast in faith, according to 1 Corinthians 16, 13. Philippians 4, 1, they stand fast in the Lord. Can be counted on. And then all of a sudden we get the verse, next verse where the virgins are saying, Give me some oil, I got nothing. Why was that? Why do you have no oil? Because you were sleepy, you were tired, you were lazy, you didn't carry your load. You let everybody else carry it. Give us oil, give us oil. But it was not an option. Because in order for the wise virgins to give the foolish virgins oil, the ones who are ready. Not the ones who want to do it. I'm assuming the ready ones want to do it. There's more to it than wanting. You have to be ready. How many times have people said, I wanted to do that? Why didn't you do it? Jesus brings the believers in. Because it didn't say here that they went in onto him, they went in with him. To me, that is a mute critical point here to consider. They went in with him in verse 10. They that were ready went in with him to the marriage. They that were ready. Do you know the word of the Lord in many places gives a word and a commandment to the disciples and to the believers? And one such case I'm looking at here is Matthew 24, 44.

Be Ready To Give And Serve

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Be ready. Let's go to 1 Timothy chapter 6 and verse 18. They that do good, that they may be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate. We work in the kingdom. We work miracles. Nothing happens on its own. When God blesses you, share it out. And be willing to communicate. And that word communicate means give. Willing to give. That's how the gospel is spread. Willing to give of your time and finances and whatever it is, you have to be willing. And these five virgins were willing to fill their vessel with oil, and the five foolish were unwilling to fill their vessel. Probably came as they always did, empty. See, that's a wonderful thing when we come to church, isn't it? When we gather. And especially if we move in the gifts of the Spirit. If you come to church and you're filled with the Spirit of God and the gifts are flowing in you, you're willing to distribute. Matthew 25, verse 12. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. I cannot imagine a greater disappointment than to hear Jesus say, I don't know you. Can't imagine that. I want to hear him say, Well done, don't you? Let's go down to verse 21 here. Matthew 25, 21. His Lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Thou hast been faithful over a few things. I will make thee ruler over many things. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. Isn't that fantastic? Well done. Amen. Well done. Make sure, if anything else in your life, make sure you hear him say, Well done.

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