My message this morning is to talk about the parable of the ten virgins. Is so touching to me that I would have loved us to learn a lot of things from the parable of the ten virgins. Why did God put it in the bible for us? What is it talking about? Who are these ten virgins God was talking about? What did God want of them?
PROOF TEXT: MATHEW 25:1…13
Alleluia! God is Able! Let’s open our bibles in the book of Matthew 25:1… At that time, the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamp and went out to meet the bride groom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. “Later the others also came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they said. ‘Open the door for us!’ “But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’ “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
I’m talking about the parable of the ten virgins. Many people nowadays have allowed things of the surroundings detect their time, their life and their destiny. They are so over carried by the things around them forgetting the reason for which they are where they are. They forget that they have a mission waiting for someone who is so dear and he will soon come. The hour and the time is not revealed but we must stay, watch and pray understanding that one day he will come. We know it, or don’t you know? The ten virgins knew very well the bride groom shall come. You and I know very well that the messiah will come, no matter what others may tell us we know it and we are waiting for him. But we have become so foolish, many of us. We are so distracted such that when he shall come we might not be able to have had the resistance to wait for him. The oil the bible is trying to make us understand here is our resistance our faith in the Lord and our faith in the Lord is maintained by the actions we take to keep this faith burning. Our character, the manner in which we keep our lives. You may play a rough game and die without getting the bridegroom. You may play a rough game and fall into an accident that will take off your leg, when the bridegroom shall come you may be in the hospital waiting for oil to come to your lamp so that you can walk and come to him and he will go. You may play a rough game and find yourself in prison, the time the bridegroom will come you will be locked in prison, and you will not have access to have come to him until when you shall be released and when you are coming the bridegroom had already gone. . Sins are taking us unprepared, challenges are taking us unprepared and this is drawing our oil. Our resistance is dropping out because the surrounding is detecting to us what we should do. You who is living in fornication, you who is living in adultery, that is distraction and this distraction will make the oil in your lamp to get finish. Before you shall come to say I will repent now so that I follow Jesus like the five virgins who went now to look for oil so that they come and meet the bridegroom those who were not living in fornication, adultery, stealing and cheating corruption etc. the bridegroom had already carried them away and the door is locked. Do not be a foolish virgin, many people have become foolish today. The wise virgins understood that righteousness is a fight standing with God and they maintained their righteousness despite what challenges the world have been proposing to them. Satan proposed to them a lot of things but they said; “I am married to Jesus, Satan live me alone, my husband is coming to take me away to everlasting home”. These were the wise virgins but the foolish virgins when Satan came they said oh Husband let’s go and play first. I’m waiting for my real husband who will come and spend the rest of his life with me but we can go and manage life somewhere, let’s play first. They go and do certain things and as they are doing their oil keep reducing. So long as the bridegroom has not yet come, the oil got finished. Do you know your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost and the Holy Spirit in you is maintained by the character you apply? Any sin you commit, any distraction you give to yourself reduces the quantity of the Holy Spirit that is in you. The more the Holy Spirit is reduced, the less you become resistant for the bridegroom to come. Many people have abandoned this race not because but simply because they allowed themselves to be distracted and the Holy Spirit reduced. They allowed themselves to be distracted and the oil came down. Now the time that the bridegroom had come, their lamps are all ceased. How will the bridegroom see you if you don’t put light on you so that he sees the beauty in you? At what level is your oil? Technically you are saying, are you still prepared for Jesus? If Jesus knocks your door and say I am Jesus Christ of Nazareth you have been waiting for, will you just open the door for him to come or you will say Jesus wait let me arrange the house? What are you arranging from the house? You are trying to say Jesus wait, don’t come so fast bridegroom let me run and buy oil and put in my lamp so that you see my body as it is beautiful. At that moment you make him stand outside and you go to look for your oil, it may be too late because he doesn’t have that time. Don’t’ be deceive, don’t allow the world to cheat you. God already gave you the oil and the lamp manage it well; Become a spiritual economist who needs to know what to touch, what to buy first, what to carry home and what not to carry home with his money. Your money is there and every product is in the market. Make a scale of preference, know what the bride groom will want and know what he will not need. What he needs, carry it and pack in your jar so that when your lamp gets dry you add it and your life will remain because any look of faith up to Jesus is a look that does not go in vain. All the bible wanted us to know about the ten virgins was our spiritual life on earth here. The more we are vigilant the more our oil remains in the lamp but the more we are distracted, the more we burn our candle light on useless things. Don’t burn your candle light on things that will not give you salvation nor resurrection. Many of these things are there; anger, do you know who I am? If I touch you, you will understand that a man has touched you.
All these energy you are making your oil burning for when Jesus shall come, he does not talk him like this. He doesn’t need to know who you are before he gives you salvation because he already knows who you are. Look at me, these are my cars, Jesus does not need to know how many cars before taking you as one of his bride. But rather Jesus wants to know how your heart is, the purity of your heart. Whether you have a car or you don’t have a car, whether you have children or you don’t have children, whether you are married or you are not married. What makes Jesus to take you home as a bride for him is the condition of your soul, the quantity of your oil. Don’t reduce your oil on useless things. If he slaps you this way don’t border to burn your oil, turn this other side for him to slap again. It doesn’t take away your oil. If he takes your shirt, give him too the trouser it doesn’t take away your oil but he who struggle to serve his life will lose it.
Let’s open our bibles to the book of Romans 13:11…And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature because they will not help us.
Prayer point. Do this, understand the present time, the hour has already come because of our salvation the night is nearly over. I want to say let’s put on the amour of life, let us behave decently. Rather let us cloth ourselves with the amour of God, let’s drop the things of darkness. What are the things of darkness you have been hiding yourself in? All these things we are hearing and seeing is telling us that rapture is closer, if not we will be exposed, and when we will be exposed we will say oh had I known. If you are a believer this is the time to expose the things of darkness. Please night is coming so fast, the day will soon be down. Don’t allow it to come to you so fast, what are the things that only you alone know. Cheating, this is not the time to keep it again. Immorality, fornication and idolatry drop them, lost, hatred, drunkenness, beg God to help you drop it, rapture is so close. Don’t be as the 10 foolish virgins, remember there is no repentance in the grave, Lord Jesus you are still with us, May your mercy be upon my soul, family, children, husband, brother etc.