Stay Ready

What does it mean to truly be ready for the return of Christ? In this episode of Woman in the Word, we dive into Matthew 25:1–13, the Parable of the Ten Virgins, where Jesus calls His followers to live with expectancy, wisdom, and unwavering faith.

Together, we'll explore the difference between simply looking prepared and actually being spiritually ready. In a world full of distractions and delays, Jesus reminds us that our relationship with Him cannot be borrowed, postponed, or neglected. Every day is an opportunity to keep our lamps filled through prayer, God's Word, and faithful obedience.

Join us as we unpack this powerful parable and discover how to cultivate a heart that is watchful, steadfast, and ready whenever the Bridegroom comes.

Key Scripture: Matthew 25:1–13

Whether you're in a season of waiting, growing, or trusting God for what's next, this conversation will encourage you to remain faithful and stay ready.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to Woman in the Word, the podcast where we dive into scripture, ask real questions, and walk through the Bible together, one honest conversation at a time. I'm Felicia Parker, I'm your host, and I'm so glad you're here. So whether you're new to the Word or you've been studying for years, there's a seat at the table for all of us. So grab your coffee, open your journal, or put on your walking shoes, and let's get into it. Hey, welcome to the Woman in the Word podcast. I am so excited that you are joining me today. I pray that the podcasts have been a blessing to you so far, and I'm really looking forward to this one. It's called Stay Ready. So let's go ahead and jump into it. So I was having a conversation with my mom the other day, and we were talking about culture and how in our society what looks a part isn't always what it is, but it can look really good and it can cause the viewer to assume it's something when it's not. And so we kind of laughed at the example of a purse. So if someone buys or two people buy an expensive purse, one person may have spent all they have for that expensive purse, and so there's nothing in it. And then the other person, they spent the money on the purse, but they still have a wallet in there with more money and all the things, right? And we were laughing about it because we're like, that's the culture that we live in right now, that's the society that we live in. We are more focused on how it looks than how it really is. And we're gonna jump right into scripture, y'all, because Jesus talks about something very similar, um, but obviously on an internal scale. And it is found in Matthew chapter 25, and this is where he's talking about the ten virgins. In some versions of the scripture, it may say bridesmaids, but he's talking about the ten that are waiting for the bridegroom. And you guys can go read it for yourself. It's Matthew chapter 1, verse 13, and I'm just gonna paraphrase it. So Jesus, he's telling this story, he's comparing the kingdom of heaven to um that of these bridesmaids or these virgins that are waiting for uh the bridegroom, which is Christ, to come back. And he says, There are five that are wise and there are five that are foolish. And the reason he says that five are wise and five are foolish is because the five that were foolish didn't take enough oil for their lamps. So let me just pause. They have a lamp that represents the light that has been illuminated on the inside of them because of the knowledge of Christ. They have now made him their their savior, their lord. And so they've been given this lamp with oil in it, and the intent is to keep the light burning because you have oil in your lamp until the bridegroom or Christ comes back. And so he says, the five are foolish because they didn't have enough oil in their lamps. That's verse three. Verse four says, but the other five were wise enough to take a long extra oil. So they said, you know what? We don't know when he's coming back, but we're gonna make sure we have more than enough so we don't run out in the wait. And I need you guys to hear me as we jump right into this podcast. We all, if we are saved, we all have a lamp, meaning we've all been um illuminated on the inside by the Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, and we have the opportunity to keep that fire burning by way of scripture, spending time in community, prayer, all these things that keep our fire lit. And then Jesus says, but wait a minute, there's also the opportunity to get complacent with what you have. So the other five, they were foolish. Why? Because they said, What I have is enough. They said, What I have, this is this is good. I've got the lamp and I've got the oil in it. It's kind of like the lady with the purse that there's nothing in it, but she's like, This is good enough. I got the purse, so I look like I have it, even though I really don't. And y'all, I cannot stress enough the importance of being part of that group of five that has the oil that's more than enough, because we don't know when our Lord and Savior is coming back, but one thing we do know is that He is coming. And if we fall asleep ill-prepared, we will wake up in a panic, like it says these women that were foolish did. So, verse 7, it says, The bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. They got it from what? They got it from falling asleep. They got up and prepared their lamps, verse eight. Then the five foolish ones asked the others, please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out. Verse nine. But the others replied, We don't have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves. Verse 10. But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom, Christ, came back. Then those who were ready went in with him to the to the marriage feast, and the door was locked. And y'all, the ladies that were foolish and didn't have enough oil, by the time they got their oil, they come to the door, they're banging on the door. Let us in, let us in, we finally have oil. And this is heartbreaking. Verse 12. This is what Jesus says, but he called back. Believe me, I don't know you. Verse 13. So you too must keep watch, for you do not know the day or the hour of my return. We don't know the hour or the day that the Son of Man is returning, but one thing we can guarantee and bank everything on is that he is coming back. And he's letting us know that we have to be prepared with oil in our lamp, or we will be on the outside of that door because we were we were ill-prepared. And I feel like this scripture is here so that it can help us prepare so that we can't say when the time comes, we didn't know. Nope. If we crack open our Bible and we read it, we will see Christ is giving us almost like a heads up. I'm coming and I don't want you to fail this test. I don't want you to miss this opportunity. I don't want you to be standing on the outside of the door. So keep your lamps ready, keep your oil full, stay connected with me, stay in relationship with me, stay in my words, stay in prayer, stay connected with the local community of body of believers. That's what he's letting us know. He's saying, Because when I come back, you won't have time to prepare. You will have already had to be prepared. So, y'all, that's why we have to stay ready. Hey, I just wanted to take a quick pause in our conversation and introduce you to uh the lover of your soul if you have yet to meet him. I would love to lead you in the prayer of salvation. So if you'd repeat after me, that'd be awesome. Dear God, I know that I am a sinner and I'm in need of a savior. I confess that Jesus is Lord and I want him to be the Lord of my life. I believe that you raised him from the dead to rule and reign for all of eternity. Forgive me of my sins and cleanse me with the precious blood of Jesus. I thank you, Lord, for dying on the cross just for me. In Jesus' name. Amen. Hey, if you just prayed that prayer, I want to welcome you to the family of God and just say congratulations. So there's a scripture in Matthew chapter six, and I'm gonna read verse 22 and 23. It says, Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if light is what you think you have, but it's actually darkness, how deep the darkness is, and then I'm gonna jump to verse 24. It says, No one can serve two masters, for you will hate one and you will love the other. You will be devoted to one and you will despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money or mammon or this world's way of doing things, this world's system. And I'm gonna tie that into Matthew 25. God is saying, Hey, when it comes to keeping your lamp lit and full and that oil full, you have to decide who you're going to serve. Because if you choose to serve God, you've got to do it his way. And in choosing to serve him, it says your eyes are a lamp. And if you feed it with good things, your whole body will be full of light. Almost like the lamp represents your body. The oil represents the light that's flowing through it. So if your lamp is full of light, that you are now doing the things that God has called you to do, and He's your master, He's your Lord, He's the one that you're leaning in in regards to your life directions and decisions. But if your eye or the lamp that you're holding is full of darkness, that means that your oil is not full with light. Now you're walking in darkness, meaning you're lacking light. And it says that Jesus came so that he would be the light of the world. So if my lamp is full of darkness, I have no representation of Jesus in it. But I look like the five that are wise that have the lamp that's full and it's full of oil. And I'm walking around as if, no, no, no, look, I have a lamp, I have a lamp, and y'all, the scripture says, those who think they have the light, but it's actually darkness, how deep the darkness is. And this is the thing I want to stress. The enemy wants to get you so focused on the fact that you're carrying a lamp, he wants you to forget that you have no oil in it. He wants you to get so focused on the deception of what it looks like that you no longer focus on the reality of the lack that's there. And I want us all to lean in because y'all, I've had to check my heart on this. I said, God, help me not to be in the category of the five foolish, and I think I'm in the category of the five wise. Help me not to walk around thinking I've got oil, but all I have is a lamp that's empty. I want to be one of the five that have the oil that is prepared, that whenever he comes back, I'm ready.

SPEAKER_00 9:58

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SPEAKER_01 10:26

So I so I have this statement that I make. If you stay ready, you don't have to get ready. And we, you know, we laugh about it when I say it sometime to my kids or my friends or whatever, but it's so true, especially when we talk about these scriptures. If we stay ready, we won't be like the foolish brides that are panicking trying to get ready. Because let me make it very clear: if you don't stay ready, you don't have enough time to get ready when he comes. It says he's gonna come like a thief in the night, he's gonna crack the sky, the clouds will split, heaven will open up to earth, and it'll go that quick, y'all, and you won't have time to get ready. And so Christ is letting us know as a loving savior and Lord, He's saying, Hey, I need you to get ready. Let me just give you a heads up. I'm coming. And when I come, I'm looking for those that are prepared. And please fall in the category of the prepared ones. So here I'm gonna show you what it looks like of those that are prepared and those that are choosing not to be prepared. Don't be the one that has the purse but nothing is in it. Don't be the one that has the lamp but darkness fills it. Don't be the one that has the outward appearance, but nothing on the inside. Don't be the one that's trying to get ready because you chose not to stay ready. And Christ lets us know we don't know when he's coming. And he even shows us in scripture these women fell asleep, y'all, because the delay in the wait was was longer than they expected. But those that were wise, they said, you know what? I don't know when he's coming, but I do know he is coming. So I'm gonna get more than enough because when he comes, I don't want to be running out, I don't want to be in lack. And y'all, let me let me just say this. The five foolish were begging the wise to share. But the wise person knew if I share with you, you and I both won't have enough. So I've got to be conservative in this moment. I want to make it into the marriage feast with the bridegroom. So I have to say no to you and say yes to him. And y'all hear me. There will be some people that pull on your oil, that pull on your gift, that pull on your your income, that pull on your resources, that pull on your time, that pull on your attention, and you will have to say from a loving heart, you will have to give them a gracious no. Because if I give to you, then I can't give what is needed for my lamp to stay full so that I can be ready when he comes. Y'all, the deceit of the enemy, the thing that he uses, one of the biggest things is distraction. If he can distract you by doing this good thing over here and sharing a little bit of this and a little bit of that, he can get your lamp so empty and you not even realize the oil is gone because you wanted to be generous and give. And I'm not saying don't be generous, I'm not saying don't serve, I'm not saying don't give. I'm not saying don't help people. What I'm saying is you are not their savior. They have to make the choice to have their oil and their lamp lasting long enough so when the savior comes, they can go into the party as well. On September 19th, 2026, women will gather at the UNLV Student Union Ballroom for a powerful day of connection, encouragement, and renewal. The gathering, 2026. There's a seat waiting just for you. I think one of the things that shook me the most from these scriptures is what Jesus says. He says, Believe me, I don't know you. Crazy, right? He hands them a lamp initially at the beginning of these verses. The kingdom of heaven is like these bridesmaids or these virgins who took their lamps to meet the bridegroom. So they initially got the thing, they got the pass, they got the ticket, they got the VIP, whatever, to get into this party, the VIP access. And then by the end of it, Jesus says, I don't know you. Because what he's letting us know is the way you start needs to be the way you finish. You started with a lamp and some oil. You need to finish with the lamp and the and the oil filled up. You can't come in here with just a lamp thinking that's enough. He lets us know. No, you can't just stop at salvation. You have to press past that. Salvation is a free gift. Y'all, walking and living our life for Christ is a sacrifice daily. Scripture says we have to die daily. We have to carry our cross. We have to give God our yes. That's how we keep our oil full. Every time we say yes to God, every time we obey, every time we get into this scripture and we lean toward the word as opposed towards our flesh. Every time we get into community and we have people that can, like the scripture says, iron sharpens iron. We have them encouraging us in our faith, and we do the same. We encourage them in their faith. Every time we do that, y'all, we are putting and supplying more oil into our lamps. And God is saying in scripture, you gotta be prepared because you don't know when I'm sending my son down. Nobody knows the day nor the hour. So don't act like you do. Prepare as if you don't. Hey, I just wanted to take a quick break in our episode and share with you some really exciting news. This year we are hosting our first ever outreach experience. This is an expansion of the gathering, and it is hosting 12 to 20 year old young men and women. I'm really excited about it. The location will be UNLB Student Union Ballroom. It's gonna be a great time of word, worship, connection, free merch, free food, a great concert, and you don't want to miss it. And it is totally free. So all you have to do is jump on our website, purpose-promise.com. Click on the gathering, drop down, register, and we look forward to hosting you. Alright, let's jump back into the episode. Y'all, I think it's so funny. My kids will sometimes, you know, I'll tell them we're going on vacation or whatever, and they will pack a suitcase like we're going for the year, y'all, and it's only three days. And the thing I love about children is they pack because they don't know, but they want to be prepared. So they'll bring a stuffy, they'll bring their, you know, fuzzy socks for sleeping. If the hotel room is too cold, they'll bring a sweatshirt, they'll bring a t-shirt, they'll bring their swim clothes, you just all the things. And I'll tell my kids, we're only going for three days. And they'll say, Yeah, but mommy, we don't know. What if I want this? What if, what if maybe I need this? And I said, ooh, that is a lesson for a lifetime. I don't know. So I'm gonna prepare just in case. I don't know when the savior is coming back, y'all, but I know he's coming. I don't know when he's gonna crack the sky, but I know he will. I don't know when he will come like a thief in the night, but I know he's gonna show up. And so I'm gonna be prepared because I don't wanna be like the foolish bride standing outside the door, banging on it, begging for him to open. And he looks back at me and says, I don't know you. And the the reason he's saying I don't know you is I gave you opportunity to fill your lamp with the oil of my word. I gave you opportunity to fill your lamp with the connection of relationship. I I gave you the opportunity to fill your lamp with the opportunity of prayer, and you never did. I don't know you. I never want that to be said of us. I want us to be in the group of the wise where it says, hey, he invites us in, we go into the marriage feast, he closed the door behind us, y'all, and we are having a good time. What does this all boil down to? The foolish were not spiritually prepared, and the wise were. The foolish stayed at square one and never moved on. They stayed out the space of salvation and they never moved to consecration. They never moved into a relationship with the Lord. They thought this is enough. And y'all, I don't want us to find ourselves saying, on the outside of the door, I thought what I did was enough. I want us to know as we stand inside that marriage feast, oh, I didn't know when you were coming, but praise God, I stayed prepared because now I get to enjoy this celebration with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. I get to be a part of this marriage that is the marriage of all ages. I get to be in the room. Y'all, we keep vying to be in rooms and we keep vying for all these things. The room we need to be vying for is this one, this marriage feast where we get to be in there with Jesus on the right side of the door because one day he's going to crack the sky, he's gonna come back, he's gonna take those already those that are ready, and he's gonna close that door and lock it. And so he gives us the warning like I give you today. Stay ready. Verse 15 says, So you too must keep watch, for you do not know the day or the hour of my return. We don't know when he's coming, but y'all, we are guaranteed that he is. And so we need to keep watch. We need to stay ready so we don't have to get ready. Because I promise you, you won't have time to get ready in the moment. You've got to stay ready because it'll be a moment, and y'all, you don't have time to get ready. So I pray you stay ready. Thanks for hanging out with me in the word. I hope it encouraged your heart and gave you something to carry into the rest of the week. If it spoke to you, share this with someone who might need it too. And hey, don't forget to follow or to subscribe so you don't miss out on what's next. Until then, keep showing up, keep listening, and let his word lead the way.