Title: Stay Awake (Matt 25:1-13)
The kingdom of heaven is like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom, Jesus said in parables. The saints welcome Jesus as their bridegroom
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We do not know when the second coming of the Lord will be, just as Jesus said that we do not know when the bridegroom will come, the day or the hour.
But, like brides waiting for the groom, we need to dress up and prepare to meet the Lord. The Jewish wedding custom, which is the background in the parable shown in today's text, is that when the wedding date is set, the groom goes to the bride's house with friends to have the wedding, and then takes the bride, bridesmaids, and friends back to their house to hold a grand wedding feast. In the parable of the text, the ten virgins were the bride's bridesmaids waiting to enter the wedding feast held at the groom's house to welcome the groom's party from the bride's house. The bridesmaids came out to wait for the bridegroom with their lamps from around evening. If any of the bridesmaids did not hold a lamp, she would be treated as an uninvited guest and could not participate in the wedding feast.
The central idea of this parable is to prepare for the Second Coming of the Lord by living a life of preparation like the five wise virgins who have prepared enough oil. In this way, in our religious life today, we must prepare our lamps and prepare oil so that we can continue to be dehydrated. Preparing oil means being filled with the Holy Spirit, and only when we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we can welcome the Lord as the bridegroom.
Do not sleep like others, but be alert and sober (1 Thessalonians 5:5-6) Let's always prepare ourselves as a pure person by emptying our hearts. The work of preparing and waking up must continue.
I hope that you will receive grace through the revival meeting that begins this week, and that you will become believers who keep your faith and prepare by being awake at all times.
Lessons from this parable
1. There is a distinction within the church.
A state of being negligent and thoughtless
just enjoying the present
Those who neglect personal development of the soul
A formal person without spiritual communion with God2) A wise person: one who prepares oil
thoughtful and prepared
A practical person who lives according to the demands of the Word
Those who have spiritual communion with God by reading the Bible and praying
2. The second coming of the Lord will come like a thief (1 Thessalonians 5:2)
(1 Thessalonians 5:2) For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
You will come when you sleep.
If the bride has a heart for the groom, even if the groom arrives late, just as he waits without sleep, if we love the Lord very much and look forward to the Lord's coming, we should always be prepared to meet him.
3. Salvation is obtained through personal faith (Ezekiel 18:2-4)
(Ezekiel 18:2) What is it that you say about the land of Israel, saying, The father has eaten sour grapes, and the son's teeth are set on?
(Ezekiel 18:3) As I live, saith the Sovereign Lord, that you shall never again use this proverb in Israel (Ezekiel 18:4) All souls belong to me, and the souls of the fathers belong to me. Likewise, the soul of the son belongs to me, and that soul who sins will die.
Only faith and salvation issues are so strict that no one can or can help them because they have a one-on-one relationship with God.
4. There is also a time for repentance and faith. (John 12:36, 2 Corinthians 6:2)
A door once closed cannot be opened again.
After the Lord returns, no matter how much we mourn and repent, we cannot be saved.
The door is now open. Repent and believe in the power of the gospel.
Confess and be zealous.
5. Let's strive to be approved by God (Galatians 4:9)
(Galatians 4:9) Now that ye know God, and are known of God, why do you return to the weak and lowly rudiments, and want to be slaves to them again?