Title: The Blessing of Entering the Wedding Feast
Contents
God created humans in His image and likeness.
This is the first blessing and gift that man has bestowed upon him by God.
Therefore, by living with God, human beings will be endowed with the highest power that God has and will see His glory.
Because man is the image of God, he can be endowed with the Spirit of God, bear his name, possess his life and character, and enter into his eternal kingdom.
God has prepared the way of salvation for mankind who have died in their sins. For that purpose, God first selected Israel through Abraham and made it a route for the Savior to come and nurtured them through the law given by angels. served
} But the law only makes people realize their sins through parables, but it does not set their souls free, so Israel waited in despair for the Messiah. Jesus is the Savior of mankind.
Although Jesus has the same authority as God, he emptied himself and came to this earth in the form of a servant, obeying God and obedience to death to save sinful human beings.
Because Jesus humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, fulfilling all His Father's will, He ascended into heaven, and promised that He would come again.
▣ Because Jesus is faithful, He will surely keep His promise to come soon.
2 Peter 3:8 says, “With the Lord a thousand years is like one day, and one day is like a thousand years, and he does not come slow.” Just as a bride waits for the groom, “those who wait for the Lord’s return” are the saints loved by God.
When He comes again, He comes to take the saved, so those who do not receive Jesus as their Savior now will face shame and dismay when the Lord of the Second Coming and the Lord of Judgment come to this earth.
The Lord Jesus of the First Coming, who came as the Son of Man, came to this earth as a servant to give life, but Jesus, the Lord of the Second Coming, came to this earth as the Lord of judgment, just as a shepherd separates sheep from goats.
Matthew 25:31-40 “After putting the sheep on his right hand and the goats on the left, he said to those on the right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Depart from me, you cursed ones, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” you will do
▣ The sheep are those who believed in Jesus as their Savior during their lifetime, did righteousness, and prepared oil like a bride who waited for the bridegroom.
▣ Goats- These are those who have accepted Jesus, but live only for themselves and have not prepared any oil.
▣ Jesus, who came to this earth as the Lord of salvation, called among many people those who would do God's work. First, the common people,
Second - those who follow the Lord without doubting,
The third - they were to become fishers of men, which seems to be the beginning of Jesus' work.
▣ What did Jesus do as the Son of Man?
Those who are with them and are doing God's work, God's work is to confess Jesus Christ as Lord and live according to His words, waiting for the bridegroom Jesus Christ again.
▣ This text is a parable about the ten virgins, a lesson to the saints to prepare for the second coming of Jesus.
At that time, it was the Jewish custom of marriage for the groom to come to the bride's house at night and take the bride away. When the bridegroom comes to the bride's house, the bride's friends go out far away to meet the bridegroom and lead them to the bride's house.
At this time, the bride's friends who go out to meet the groom always light their lamps and wait for the groom.
If the virgin who went out to meet the groom leaves without lighting a lamp, he cannot enter the wedding feast.
▣ If you look at the text, the wise five of the ten virgins prepared their lamps and oil and waited for the bridegroom, but the five foolish virgins only filled their lamps with oil and went out.
However, when the groom's arrival at the wedding is delayed, the five wise virgins pour the prepared oil on their backs and wait. The five foolish virgins ran out of oil and said, “Our lamps are going out.” There is nothing more to say, but a foolish sigh.
Just like the ten virgins invited to this wedding feast, we live as brides waiting for Jesus to come as the Lord of Judgment.
Then, how do we receive the grace of entering the wedding feast like the five wise virgins?
1. You must have persevering faith.
Luke 21:19 - “Your perseverance will win your souls.”
Jesus, who came to this earth before 2009, preached the gospel of the kingdom to many people and taught the way to eternal life. He took up the cross and died to solve the problem of human sin, but He died on the third day from the dead. After His resurrection, He was on this earth for 40 days and then ascended to heaven.
He promised “He will come again” in Acts 1:11 and below.
But to those who ask about the Second Coming, Jesus said that no one knows the day or hour, but only God knows (2 Peter 3:10-13, Mark 13:24-32).
Matthew 5:18- “The word of God is said to be fulfilled without making a single mistake.”
In this way, after receiving Jesus, who came as the Lord of the First Coming, as the Savior, the saints who long for and wait for Jesus, who will now come as the Lord of Judgment, must have faith that endures differently from the five foolish virgins.
} The five foolish virgins verse 5 - “The bridegroom was delayed, so they all fell asleep and slept. is saying
They doze off because the groom, who is coming to take the bride, does not come sooner but rather late.
Or do we not sleep spiritually like these?
Just as in Genesis 19:24, fire of brimstone falls like rain and is consumed, and like Lot's sons-in-law who lived in Sodom and Gomorrah, I consider the Lord's promise as a joke and that the Lord of the Second Coming and the Lord of Judgment will not come in my lifetime Don't you live a life of foolish faith with only your lamps prepared like the five foolish virgins waiting for the bridegroom with their enemy thoughts, my knowledge, and my life experiences?
▣ But as 2 Peter 3:9 says
“The promise of the Lord is not slow, but is patient, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.” I did.
The slow return of Jesus is an opportunity for many to have the life of God after repenting.
Remembering that we cannot meet the Lord of the Second Coming without the patience of faith, like Abraham and Noah, they inherited the kingdom of God through perseverance for 25 years and 120 years.
We will not be able to meet the Lord of the Second Coming unless we doze off with such persevering faith.
2. How to enter the wedding feast? You have to save time.
Ephesians 5:16-17 “Save the time, for the days are evil. Therefore do not be fools, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Do not get drunk, for this is debauchery, but be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
There is nothing as precious to man as time, and Paul said, "A man who does not know how to save time does not understand the will of the Lord, and he lives a life of debauchery, like a drunken man." Says.
However, a saint filled with the Holy Spirit understands why they should save time and uses their irretrievable time for the soul, the essence of man.
▣ It is often said that “time is money”, but time can be more valuable than money.
Money can be regained if you work hard, but once lost, there is no way to get it back.
※ God wants people to realize the preciousness of time.
Proverbs 30:4- “Learn wisdom from the ants who prepare their food before winter comes.” If the spring of life is childhood, summer is adolescence and autumn is middle age. Old age, winter is like old age. Before winter comes, we must diligently strive for good works and the work of the Lord.
Just as people are less active in winter and get sick easily because of the temperature, when winter comes in our lives, not only are we unable to work at will, but we are also easily infected with large and small diseases and cannot work. Luke 13:25- “The hour is coming when the door of the ark of salvation will be shut.” like a shout
Colossians 4:5-6 “walking wisely, saving time, always speaking with grace, remembering that the time of our lives will come to an end, and using the time wisely to sow the kingdom of God for our souls Please prepare a reward and good fruit.
3. Never miss an opportunity.
Galatians 6:10 - “As you have opportunity, do good to all, but especially to the household of faith.”
10All the virgins get a chance to enter the wedding feast, and the five wise virgins use the opportunity wisely to attend the feast, but the five foolish virgins fail to attend the wedding feast and knock on the door and shout for it to be opened, but the master says, I do not know you.” I say.
▣ It is said that a person's opportunity comes three times equally to everyone.
There is an opportunity to learn, a chance to find a partner, and an opportunity to succeed.
All these opportunities are given equally to all people, but the opportunity to enter the kingdom of heaven after preparing a lamp and oil to meet Jesus, who will come as the bridegroom, is not an equal opportunity given to anyone, but the It is possible when we turn our will to God and then lay down our extensive knowledge of the world and life experiences to God when we are in the flesh.
A wise man turns an opportunity into good luck, but a fool loses it by putting it off until tomorrow or complaining.
As the bride of Jesus who comes again, we must all be ready and always on the watch.
Because the Lord will surely come again, and we do not know when He will come.
Only those who are awake and those who have prepared their lamps and oil can welcome the Lord of the Second Coming (faith, works).
▣ Are you ready to welcome the Lord with joy no matter when He comes?
Revelation 22:20 As the apostle John confessed, “Amen, come, Lord Jesus.” I pray that you will be patient in the Lord to become a saint waiting for the Lord, use your time wisely, and prepare your lamp and oil by fully utilizing the opportunities of your body.