The Parables of the Kingdom
Matthew 25:1-13 Parable of the Ten
Virgins
Do you consider yourself a prepared person?
A)
Do you pre plan – do you prepare.
B) Word preparation online – lots of articles
1)
Preparation for – Empty nester
2)
Preparation for retirement
3)
Preparation for your child’s first
day of school
4)
Preparation for your Childs first day of college
5)
Preparing for your first date w/
someone.
6)
Preparing to meet your in-laws.
7)
Prepared for paint ball – top ten things you want in your paintball gear bag.
C)
Some of those things are pretty important things to prepare for / others not so
important
One
thing that is a non negotiable – thing you must prepare for. – Preparing to meet Christ
A)
Preparing for His coming!
B)
That is the theme of the parable that Jesus tells at
the beginning of Chapter 25
C)
The Setting: No Chapter breaks – this was part of the Olivet discourse –
talking end times – signs……
D)
Speaking about our need to be ready – to be watching – to be prepared in
regards to his return
Signs
would be like Labor pains – Grow in intensity and frequency the closer we get
to – delivery.
A)
B)Jesus
follows the teaching by giving us this parable about being prepared.
RD V.1-13
Joe Focht Parable has been tortured
over the yrs –– torture a text long enough you can get it to say anything
What
we are interested in is the Central theme – Central theme is being
prepared Read v.13 again
"Watch
therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is
coming.
He
said this two other times
42
“Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.”
44
“Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do
not expect.”
3
times Jesus says something 3 times – listen up
Parable
– Cast along side – Spiritual alongside the Physical – Familiar picture –
Wedding celebration
Need
to understand how they did weddings
Marriage By arrangements
A)When
Young arranged – I am glad I got to Choose – now as a parent – I’m liking this
arrangement idea.
B) Now when the Kids
came of age where they could actually be married – Betrothed for a year.
1)Legally binding
– the same as being married – not consummated or living together
C)One thing that needed to take place first was home prepared{
Often adjacent to parents {
C) So the Young man -
bridegroom would begin to build a dwelling place for he and his bride
1)
the wedding couldn't take place until it was finished!
D) Now Who determined when it was finished? - His Father{ That was good – roof
& walls /
1) Up to the kid - A Bed and a tent covering
Picture is clear Jesus said
"Let
not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father's house are many mansions; if
it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I
will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be
also.”
So
Jesus said He was going to prepare a place and He would come again for us.
A)but He also says - no man knows the day or the hour of that coming except -
Father!
B)But
Jesus said -
we should know the times and seasons - understand when things are getting
closer!
So the bridegroom would be working on the house
A) And the bride would get reports from friends –
relatives Foundation is laid
B)Walls are up / roof is on
/ windows in / front door is up/ Flowers - it could
be any day now! – finished
C)That is when the
bridegroom would come with his groomsmen
D)Often in the middle of the
night or early in the morning –
1)
Groomsmen trumpet – Behold the Bride groom comes
Then
He would - Take his bride to the house to consummate their marriage
A)7
day wedding feast would follow during the feast the bride would not
be seen for 7 days – only the bride groom
B)For 7 days their family
and friends - party - celebrate - at the end of the 7days - bride would be
presented!
1.) betrothed to Him
2.) Gone to prepare a place
3.) No one know day or hour except Father
4.) Bride gets reports - we know times and
seasons
5.) Bridegroom comes - 7 year feast - presented
at
2nd coming
That
is the picture that is being presented here – there are 10 bridesmaids always
10
A)Ten is the Jewish number of completion, as
illustrated by the fact that there were ten Commandments
B)and that ten Jewish males in a community warranted
a synagogue.–
C)They were all virgins –
no married bridesmaids – all dressed in white
D)
All waiting for the Bride groom to come – But He delayed
Delays often test us.
A)It
test our integrity – we will stay true!
B)what
happens at School in the Classroom – teacher delays – Class is out of order
C)Or at work when the boss delays – the workers slack – they know he is going to be late
they run late { revealing slackers
C)My
Kids – Saturday a job – finish before we get home – When are you coming home ? Wait until the last minute –
Delays are a test of our seriousness
A)
How serious are we about our calling – about our work / our walk
B)A
test of our Patience. { I hate to wait
Bb)Christ
delay is meant to be an act of mercy – more saved
1)1982
come / Young / Old - – Glad he waited!
C)You can’t afford to procrastinate – this is one thing you don’t want to be caught off guard
in
So
the bridegroom delayed - of the 10 virgins only 5 were prepared
A)One of the most striking facts about this story is how similar the
ten virgins appear on the surface:
B)Alike
in many ways!
· All had been invited the banquet and all had responded. positively.
·
All ten had gone out to wait for the bridegroom.
·
All of them had their lamps with them.
· All the virgins
wanted to see the bridegroom.
· All were in the right place at the right time for the right
reason.
· All of them wanted to go to the
wedding banquet.
· All fell asleep while waiting for the bridegroom.
· All were awakened by the midnight
cry.
·
All ten virgins got up to prepare their lamps.
· All appeared to be equally prepared
for the
bridegroom’s coming.
C)That last statement is crucial.
Let’s suppose that we were to ask the
ten virgins to stand in front of us in no particular order.
D)Could
you pick out the five foolish virgins? Answer: no, and neither could I.
1) “Number 2 looks a little bored. Maybe
she’s a foolish virgin.”
2)Or, “Look at Number 6. She’s chewing gum.
How wise can she be?”
3)Or, “I know Number 10. There’s no way
she’s a wise virgin.”
E)I
submit to you that there was no way to tell in advance who was wise and who was
foolish.
1)To the untrained eye, they would all look the same.
That is the point of the Story!
A)Midnight
the Cry goes out – Behold the
Bridegroom comes go out to meet him –
B)The
Five wise virgins – Go in to meet with Him
1)Immediate
– delay was over /
Intimate
– Went in with Him
Joyous
– To a wedding
But the 5 foolish Virgins were unprepared
A)In a flash, they thought of the times that they intended to
prepare for the bridegroom's coming.
B)But they delayed. 'It's not convenient now;
2)Too busy – I have other things going
on.
C)I
am sure I still have time - But they didn’t
when that moment arrived, nothing was more important to them than meeting him.
D)Now
they are desperate – But they don’t have oil for their lamps!
So
the five foolish virgins desperately cry out to the prudent virgins, "Give us
some of your oil, for our lamps are going out."
A)The verb tense shows the urgency in their plea{ suddenly
this is the only thing
that mattered to them!
nothing surpassed
the importance of being admitted to the wedding feast. { Not make up or ribbons
None of that mattered!
Problem it was too late!
A)At
this point we must discuss WHAT DOES THE OIL REPRESENT ?
In
the Old Testament, oil often stands for the presence of the Holy Spirit.
A)The
oil represents the indwelling of the Spirit that accompanies true conversion. { EXPLAIN
B)The five wise virgins represent those
whose hearts have been truly changed by the power of the Holy Spirit.
C)The five foolish virgins represent
religious people who come under the conviction of the Spirit but are never
truly converted.{ Never give their
hearts
THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF BORROWED FAITH
A)Can’t
borrow oil – you can give someone light – but you can’t give them oil { Watching workouts
Can’t
borrow faith -
B)My
kids will end up in heaven based on their own choices – not my faith –not my
wife’s faith
“My mother was a godly woman,” you might say. “And that’s why she’s in heaven,”
the Lord will reply, “but what about you?”
I
went to Church …….. Donut Shop policeman
“I went to CC Bible College – Great – Do you know Jesus
The
5 foolish virgins finally show up at the door it is Shut –they are left out
A)When
they plea – this is what they hear - sorry I don’t know You -
B)That
is what matters do you know Jesus – does Jesus know you
1)Not
that you go to Church –
2)How
many of you here went to Church before you were saved ? -
C)The
Bible is described in the Psalms as a Lamp unto our feet
D)How many of you had a Bible before you were saved?- So you had a lamp
– but you didn’t have oil
E)Note
this they were in the Bridle party – they were invited to the wedding - They
were left out
Rapture
happened today – I am afraid there are some here who would be left behind.
-
A)No
oil in your lamp –
B)Jesus
would say you are a great person – problem is you haven’t given your heart to
me
C)The
10 foolish bridesmaids looked like the other bridesmaids – they just lacked oil
-
There
are those here who might look like Christians – sing the songs carry a Bible –
but have never really given their hearts to JESUS
SO
READINESS IS A MARK OF THOSE WHO ARE SAVED!
Some people will
miss heaven and it will be no one’s fault but their own. { Not mom/ Dad / spouse
A)No one to
blame but yourself!
B)If you miss heaven and wonder why, look in the mirror and you
will have your answer.
BARCLAY How vexing to almost catch a plane, but to be left
at the terminal. {
But, oh, how above-all-things terrible to be almost a Christian and
yet end up in the lake of fire for eternity!”
C)Don’t let that
be you today! - Don’t procrastinate
Today is the day
of Salvation
Close
with some questions
1.) Are you really
saved ?
“Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test
yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?”
Maybe
you would say- Yes I know I am saved – I have the Spirit – 2nd
Question
2.) Does the
Spirit have you?
“I say then:
Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”
3.)
Do you believe that Jesus could come back at any moment? Living in the
last days
A)Don’t move from
that stance – doesn’t matter what Hank H says – emergent Church says – all that
matters is what Jesus says
B)
C)Are we living
that way?
C)Problem with
the five foolish virgins was there was no sense of urgency
1)Many have lost their sense of urgency.
1)But the cry will soon go forth: behold the
bridegroom comes!
“And
let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not
forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but
exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
Jesus
said the days leading up to His coming would be like the days of Noah –
A)Given over to
sexual immorality – today the Porn
industry brings in 13 billion a year – more than
Homosexuality –
Legalize Gay Marriage
43 Million
abortions in this country – sexual promiscuity
Days where there
would be wars and rumors of wars Here are some headlines from just one recent week:
Arms
Race: 13
The
report showed footage of at least three missiles firing simultaneously, and
said the barrage included a new version of the Shahab-3 missile, which
officials have said has a range of 1,250 miles and is armed with a 1-ton
conventional warhead.
That
would put
Rising oil Prices
/ the collapse of the value of the
dollar – floods in the
Why isn’t the
Super power –
Rapture / Nuclear hit
Joel Rosenberg-
Dead heat -
LA / NY –
Entertainment – Wall street -Economic
DC –
political
Crippled the
Are You ready –
Are you Prepared – If not
“And do this, knowing the time, that now it is
high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is
nearer than when we first believed.
The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast
off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.” NKJV
13 Let us live
in a right way, like people who belong to the day. We should not have wild
parties or get drunk. There should be no sexual sins of any kind, no fighting
or jealousy. 14 But clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ and forget
about satisfying your sinful self. NCV