Are You Ready for the Return of Christ?

Further, little children enjoy playing a game called Hide and Go Seek. Maybe we... I could ask for a show of hands. How many have played that game over the years? Hide and Go Seek. Wow. It's like we're virtually 100% here. Well, everyone, I think, knows then pretty much what the game is about, although you may have had a little different rules with your neighborhood, you know, where you grew up and played it. But, you know, basically what it is is you get a bunch of kids together and they go off and hide. Except for one. That one is the seeker. And they are it. And it's their job, of course, to go and to find, you know, the others before they have a chance to come back to a place sometimes called base, sometimes called home. You may have known it by another name, maybe goal or something. But you understand what I'm talking about. And, of course, when everyone goes off and hide, they tell the seeker, no peeking, you can't look, you know, it's got to be fair. And so that seeker then will usually cover their eyes and begin to count. And it's usually a predetermined number. It depends on how big the area is, whether you're going to count to 100 or whether you're going to count to 10. But, of course, usually those seekers kind of understand a little bit about these rules. They can find a way to count really fast. What if you're probably going to count to 50?

Ready or not? And so, really, when they're done counting, and most of you probably know this phrase, what does that seeker say when they're done counting? Maybe you can say it with me. Ready or not, here I come. Okay. I think a lot of us can identify with some of these experiences over the years. But that story aside, I want you to say, I want you to turn with me to Revelation 3 and verse 11. Revelation 3 and verse 11, because ready or not, here I come is a strikingly familiar phrase to the one that we're going to find here in Scripture. In Revelation 3 and verse 11, if you've got a red letter Bible, you'll notice this is actually something that Jesus Christ says in His own words.

Revelation 3 and verse 11. He says, Behold, I come quickly. Ready or not? I am coming. Hold fast, that's what you have, and let no one take your crown. Well, let's turn over just a few pages over to Revelation 16. Let's jump ahead from Revelation 3 to Revelation chapter 16, and we'll pick it up here in verse number 15. Revelation 16 verse 15 essentially says the same thing, but this time it says it just a little bit differently. Revelation 16 and verse number 15. He says, Behold.

So again, another way of trying to get our attention. And instead of saying, I come quickly, now He talks about it in a manner in which He's going to come. He says, Behold, I come as a thief. Now does that mean Jesus Christ has stolen something?

No. No. But just as a thief comes at a time or strikes in a manner or a way that you do not expect or you are surprised by it, He is saying that when I come, it's going to come with an element of surprise. Let's notice Matthew chapter 24 and verse 36. Jesus is saying, When I come, I'm going to come with that same element of surprise. Ready or not? Here I come. Matthew chapter 24. Of course, this is a prophetic chapter of the greatest prophet, Jesus Christ Himself. Most of the words within this chapter are in red if you have a red letter Bible.

And let's take a look at what it says here. We'll pick it up in verse number 36 of Matthew chapter 24. It says, But on that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor my Father, but my Father only. But as the days of Noah were, also will be the coming of the Son of Man. Jesus Christ is coming. There are so many scriptures that talk about that. This is just one of many.

So also will be the coming of the Son of Man be, for in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking, they were marrying, they were giving in marriage. In other words, having children or giving away a child that was growing up to be married.

Until the day that Noah entered the Ark. And did not know until the flood came, and took them all away. So also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Ready or not, here I come.

Verse 40. Two men will be in the field, one will be taken, and one the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill, one will be taken, and the other left. Verse 42. Watch therefore. It's like a summary. Watch therefore because you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But do know this.

That if the master of the house hadn't known what hour the thief would have come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore, you also be ready. Because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect. It's going to be sudden. It's going to be unexpected. You know, you can think about maybe things that come to your mind as far as things that have happened in history.

Remember September 11th? That caught everyone by surprise. In fact, that was probably a warning right there from God, in a way, to all of us. 9-1-1, September 11th, the Twin Towers, two airplanes crashing into the Twin Towers. It's been a few years ago now, but there was a bridge in Minneapolis that collapsed. Several people were on it. Several lost their lives. It was totally unexpected.

And all of a sudden, something was happening that no one could imagine. An interstate bridge with cars on it is suddenly collapsing. Cars are falling into the Mississippi River. I don't think it's too much of a stretch to paraphrase what Jesus was saying with these words, ready or not, here I come. The question for us is, are you ready? He is coming. Are you, am I, ready? Are we ready? So the title of the message here today is, are we ready for the return of Jesus Christ?

Are we ready? Specifically, what I'd like to do today in the time that we've got left for the message. You know this parable. Some of us have probably read through it a few times in Matthew, chapter 25. We're going to look at it very, very closely today. Verse 5 verse. We're going to go through it.

Because it's an important parable, because it helps us to understand and help us to evaluate our state of readiness. Matthew 25. So in the time that we've got left in the sermon today, we're going to analyze this parable of the ten virgins. Now all of us, when we read this parable, sure hope that we're in one category and not the other.

For those of us that are familiar with this category. And at the same time, like the phrases that we've been discussing, ready or not, here I come. This parable, dare I say, in a little bit, in a way, puts a little bit of intrepidation in our minds and in our hearts.

A little bit of fear, in a sense. And it should. Because Jesus Christ intended it to be that way. He loves us enough that he wants to warn us ahead of time. So it should, in a sense, stir us. It should stir us to greater action. It should stir us to greater self-analysis. As we individually ask ourselves the question, are we ready for the return of our Savior?

Now, what I'd like to do as we begin to analyze this parable is actually start with the final verse of the parable. Because if we can understand that final verse and help us to give us the reason and the purpose for why Jesus gives the entire parable in the first place if we understand the conclusion. So if we can understand this last verse, it tells us why this parable is important. Why this story is important. So let's go to verse number 13. We're going to see why this particular parable or story is important. Jesus says this, Now that's one of the almost the same verbiage as what we read before the parable back in Matthew 24 and verse 42.

It's the same language here in Matthew chapter 25 and verse 13. So Jesus is emphasizing at the beginning and at the end. And of course, He's trying to help us understand it more specifically by giving us the details in between.

How might we summarize this scripture, verse 13, where it says, Watch for you know neither the day nor the hour when the Son of Man comes. How might we summarize that?

Be ready. Be ready now because you don't know when He is going to come. So we might say that one of the purposes is here is to prod us, prod God's church, His sons and daughters, individual Christians to be ready. Or more bluntly, to warn us to be ready as we look at this because, ready or not, He is going to return. As we look at some of this, we look at this actually, we look through Matthew chapter 24 and Matthew chapter 25. There's a whole bunch of parables that actually try to help us to understand this entire concept. In fact, this parable is lumped with a lot of others in Matthew as he wrote this section of scriptures because there's other parables that have a similar theme and they're sometimes called the judgment parables. Reminding us that we are accountable to God and we must be ready to fulfill the calling that we've been given individually.

Let's keep our finger here and let's turn over to Philippians chapter 3 verse 12. We're going to come back to Matthew 25, but let's keep our finger here. All of these parables are here to remind us, to prod us, to warn us that our job as Christians individually is to be ready for Jesus Christ today. I won't ask for a show of hands, but how many of us really feel ready? Are we ready? I think it's a good question to ask now and then, don't you? I don't know if any of us will ever come to the point where we're 100% ready, but isn't that the goal that we should have?

Isn't that the thought that we should have in our mind? Isn't that what we ought to be doing? Just finding time and putting forth the effort that we must? But let's look at Philippians chapter 3 and verse 12. Paul, a human being just like the rest of us, an apostle, though, says this. Philippians chapter 3 verse 12. He says, not that I have already attained. So he, you know, was striving, but he didn't necessarily feel he'd attained. But that's why he was striving, because he didn't think he'd arrived yet. Not that I have already attained or am already perfected, but I do press on. I press on that I may lay hold of something. I may lay hold of that for which Jesus Christ has laid hold of me. You know, God, the Father, draws us to Christ. Christ lays a hold on us then. He says, follow me. You know, gets our attention. Follow me. And Paul is saying, I haven't already attained. I'm not perfect yet. I know that, but I am pressing on. Verse 13. Brother and I do not count myself to have apprehended, but there's one thing I do. I'm forgetting those things which are behind. Not going to look back. Okay? Of course, Christ talks about that too in one of the parables. Remember Lot's wife, don't look back. You know, labor puts his hand in the plow and looks back, isn't fit for the kingdom of God. So he says, I'm not looking back. He says, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to the things which are ahead. What's ahead of us?

Something wonderful, isn't it? Something you really don't want to let go and you want to hold on to. Although our enemy would have it never come into place, come into play and have us never be a part of it.

Reaching forward to those things which are ahead, verse 14, so I press toward the goal for the prize of an upward call of God in or through Jesus Christ. So we see that even Paul was striving, realizing that he hadn't yet apprehended, he wasn't perfected, and he hadn't already attained. But he was in the process of that fight and that race. Let's go now back to Matthew chapter 25. Matthew chapter 25, we're going to go through this verse by verse so that we can analyze what it tells us, how it warns us, and maybe review some of the things that we ought to be doing.

We'll take a look to analyze each particular segment here. And in this parable, there are some terms we're going to define along the way. And because it's helpful to understand these particular terms so that we can understand what Jesus Christ is trying to relay to you and me as we go through this. So let's pick it up in Matthew chapter 25 and verse 1. It says, then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins. Let's define a few terms here.

The first one we're going to define is the kingdom of heaven. Now let's pause for a moment because I think this is important to understand this particular term. It's a phrase that Matthew uses probably more than any of the other gospel writers to talk about the kingdom of God. Matthew often calls it the kingdom of heaven, but we're talking about the same kingdom.

Different phrases to talk about the same thing. But what some writers feel or theologians misunderstand is that they think that this is talking about a kingdom in heaven rather than a kingdom of heaven. And so they totally misunderstand what it is that it is. Because when we're talking about the kingdom of heaven, we're talking about, we use that word of, we're talking about it denotes ownership.

Whose kingdom is it? Who owns this kingdom? We know the kingdom of God, it doesn't mean the kingdom is in God, does it? No, it's God's kingdom. It denotes ownership. The kingdom of heaven refers that this is a heavenly kingdom that is God's and it's going to come down to this earth. It's not a kingdom of any man.

It's the kingdom of heaven. It's the kingdom of God. So we learned first and foremost that the kingdom is not in heaven, it is the kingdom of God and of His Christ that will be coming to the earth. So we have this story which begins to explain some of this kingdom's beginnings. Verse 1. Then the kingdom of heaven is going to be likened to ten virgins. Okay, let's look at that term virgins here. Ten virgins, it says. Now, why would God mention virgins in this circumstance?

Now keep your Bible marker here or your finger here, but let's go over to 2 Corinthians 11. 2 Corinthians 11. What are, who are, these ten virgins here? Ten seems to be an arbitrary number in many respects, and at the same time we have to come to understand that a virgin is a symbol of purity. One who is untouched, in a sense, until the day of her marriage. One who is pure, that is why the brides wear white. It's a symbol of their purity. It's a symbol that they have kept themselves pure before, you know, before they get married, to their husbands.

Before they present themselves to their husbands. And it's really a very wonderful thing. It's a very honorable thing. So let's notice 2 Corinthians 11, verse 2, which reminds us that as Christians, individual Christians, that we are represented by these pure ladies. By these unspoiled virtuous ladies. Let's take a look. It says, For I am jealous for you, Paul is writing to Christians in Corinth, I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you, or could be rendered engaged you, to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

So, brethren, we have Scripture itself helps us to understand who these virgins are that we're reading about in Matthew chapter 25. Individual Christians are pictured as virgins. Young, pure ladies, ready for marriage. They're ready. Young ladies that have kept themselves pure until the time that they present themselves to their husbands in marriage. Over in Revelation chapter 14 and verse 4, let's take a look at another Scripture over there.

We'll go back to Matthew 25 in a moment here.

Revelation 14 verse 4 is another good Scripture to have in your notes to give us the principle that true individual Christians are sometimes represented or pictured as a virgin, as a young lady, that is ready for marriage. Revelation chapter 14 and verse number 4.

It says, these are the ones who are not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. We see again another example of true Christians pictured by these young ladies, these virgins, these pure young ladies, that are ready for marriage. Let's go back to Matthew chapter 25. I left my marker there, so I should be able to get back to it pretty quick.

We see from Scripture who these virgins represent. When we understand this parable, then we understand it's about individual Christians.

This group of 10 is simply a representation of the group as a whole, the entire body of Christ, individually. We just read in 2 Corinthians chapter 11 that Paul said, I am espousing you to a singular husband, one husband. Who is he referring to when he's talking about that? He's drawing an analogy here, isn't he? Let's look at verse number 25. Verse number 1 of chapter 25, and we're going to introduce a third term here. Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. He's drawing an analogy here. Paul was drawing an analogy back in 2 Corinthians chapter 11. He's talking about espousing you to a bridegroom, to Christ. Christ is the bridegroom. Paul is drawing the analogy back in 2 Corinthians chapter 11 that these individual Christians are pictured as pure virgins and are present themselves to Jesus Christ in the same way a young woman would present herself to her husband just prior to their marriage. So we're talking about a deep togetherness. We're talking about a close relationship, unlike any other, that you will ever have physically. Alright, so in verse 1 of Matthew chapter 25, we see the bridegroom is introduced and the bridegroom represents Christ. Let's hold our finger here, though, but let's let the Scripture tell us for sure. Let's go over to Mark chapter 2 in verse 18. So let's go back to Mark, or over to Mark chapter 2.

And we'll find scriptural support that the bridegroom is definitely a representation of Jesus Christ. We have the church, we have individual Christians, we have the bridegroom, Jesus Christ. Mark chapter 2 and verse number 18.

The disciples of John and the Pharisees were fasting. Then they came and they said to him, Why do the disciples of John and the Pharisees fast? So they must have been fasting with some occasional regularity here. But your disciples don't fast. We've never seen them fast. Why don't they? Why don't your disciples fast, Jesus?

And Jesus said to them in verse number 19, Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. Otherwise, eat all the spiritual food that you're able while the bridegroom is there, but then eventually they will. Verse 20, But the days will come when the bridegroom is going to be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days. So there's going to come a time that they will occasionally fast because they'll need to in order to draw close to the groom because he's not there now. And his presence isn't with them the way that it had been in the past. And so in order to stay close to the future groom, that would be necessary to fast. But the point being, at least in this particular context here, is that Jesus Christ is the bridegroom. The bridegroom pictures Christ. All right, let's go back to Matthew 25 and verse 1 again. And we'll read another term here that we haven't yet covered. Matthew chapter 25 and verse number 1. Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps. Okay, let's focus on that word lamps for a moment. The Greek word is lampus. It's been translated lamps, light, torches. Some commentators tend to think that the best translation is torches because they're talking about leading a wedding processional here with the groom. And I suppose that is certainly a possibility. But my feeling is the weight of the evidence really rests more on that the best translation is the way that it is, at least in the New King James, it says lamps, you know, as opposed to a torch. Because it goes on eventually to talk about the fact that there's a wick or you had to trim your lamp and that there's a separate vessel, you know, that supplies some fuel for the lamp. Not necessarily something you would have with a torch, something needed to be trimmed or to have a extra vessel. So it seemed that a simple lamp with a supplementary vessel of oil would be a better translation. And that's how it's translated here, at least in the New King James translation here. What does the lamp, what does a lamp represent? What does it represent? Well, we know the groom represents Jesus Christ. We know the virgins represent individual Christians that make up the church. If we take a look at the word lamps, we're going to find it refers to God's Word, the understanding of God's Word. Let's go over to, keep your finger here again, but let's go over to Psalm chapter 119 and verse number 105. Psalm chapter 119 and verse 105, a pretty familiar scripture.

We're going to see, in other words, these individuals have light, which is supplied by oil. Light is sometimes a reference to God's Word. We're going to see God's Word, of course, provides light for us. That's how David describes it here. It says, God's Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light to my path. So we see here God's Word, verse 105. Psalm 119 verse 105. It is a light. It helps us to understand right from wrong. It helps us to be able to know how to live, how to believe, choices that we should make. So we have these virgins, these pure-chased individuals that have a degree of the understanding of God's Word. They have light, and they're going forth to meet the bridegroom. And you know, if you have no light, then you have no understanding of God's Word. Really, no real understanding of God's Word at all. If you don't have that light, you don't have a desire, you don't even know that you're going out to meet the bridegroom.

So let's go back to Matthew chapter 25. And we'll again get some more understanding in this regard. If these lamps, then, are filled and they're supplied by something, they have a fuel source. They're run by oil. So let's define what that is to picture, this particular term. What does oil represent? Well, it's mentioned here in both verses 3 and 4. It talks about oil. But what is it picturing here in the parable? You know, if you have a lamp, and it only has a wick, what happens? Well, that wick burns up really fast, really quick. All of a sudden it's gone. But if you have oil and that saturates that wick, then the flame that burns, it's burning up the oil. The wick is hardly consumed at all.

What is fueling that light is the oil. But without the oil, the wick is going to burn up. But when the wick is saturated, then it's mostly the oil. And that saves, in a sense, the wick. It allows it to continue to serve a long time. So what are we talking about? If these are oil lamps, because it seems like they were, because oil is what was used to make the light saturate the wick, then what is this oil picturing? Let's go to... keep your finger here, but let's go to 1 Samuel 16. We're going to pick it up here in verse number 3. But what we're going to see from Scripture is that this oil represents God's Holy Spirit. Here we have an example of oil being a representation of the Holy Spirit. And there's many other Scriptures as well. In fact, there are many representations in Scripture of what's called the Holy Spirit. And that's what the Holy Spirit is like. In some places it says it's like living water in John chapter 7. Other places it's pictured as a dove when Christ was baptized. But here we're going to see oil in its properties as picturing the Holy Spirit. For Samuel chapter 16 and verse number 13. For Samuel 16 verse 13. Then Samuel took the horn of oil, so he had this vessel that had oil in it. And he anointed him in the midst of his brothers. So Samuel is anointing someone to be king. It's actually David, son of Jesse. So he anointed him in the midst of his brothers, and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Rama. And here we see oil is the symbol of God's Holy Spirit. He was anointed with oil, and he received the Holy Spirit. Again, there are other scriptures that support this, but I think this one will suffice. So let's go back now to Matthew chapter 25. So we understand we have ten virgins, these members of the church, these ladies. They have a lamp, which means they have an understanding of God's Word that has been given to them by God. They wouldn't be able to have it any other way. So they've had their minds, if you will, in the scripture. They've had God's Word to guide them, to give them the light. They've been fueled by God's Holy Spirit. They have a certain amount of oil here, with which they can't really understand any of us without God's Holy Spirit. We really can't understand the Word of God. And they're going out to meet the bridegroom, pictured by Jesus Christ. So we begin to understand some of these things. Okay, let's pick it up in verse number two. Now five of these virgins were wise, and five were foolish. Five wise and five foolish. Now, of course, we know the category that we want to be thought of, because most of us know the story. But what we are beginning just to see is that the wise virgins prepare in advance. They prepare. They've thought this through. They've understood what is going to be necessary.

Let's look at this as we go through this particular section. Five were wise and five were foolish. Now those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them. So they did have a little bit of oil that was in the lamp itself, but they didn't have an extra vessel which contained more oil. But verse four, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. In other words, they had another container. They had a flask. They had a vessel. They had some type of container that they carried along with their lamp. So they could replenish the supply if needed, so they could have light and understanding for as long as it was going to be necessary. Now what separated the wise virgins from the foolish virgins was the element of preparation. That's what made the difference between the two, was preparation. What also separated the wise virgins from the foolish virgins was the amount of oil or the amount of Holy Spirit that they had.

And immediately, if our conscience is sensitive, we're beginning to take and ask ourselves the question, how much oil do I have in my vessel? Do I have extra oil? Do I have an extra vessel in that sense that would be able to replenish if necessary? Because the Scriptures show us that the foolish were short on their length of commitment, or they were shallow on their preparation. Either short on their commitment, or they were shallow on their preparation. They took some things for granted. Verse 5 says, but while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. So it was a long wait. It didn't come as soon as what they thought. I heard the phrase, in referring to the second coming of Christ, later than I thought, but sooner than I expected.

Later than what I thought, but sooner than what I expected. So it was a long wait.

And the Christian walk sometimes, it usually is a marathon, isn't it? It's not a sprint. It's a marathon.

We have a responsibility to be ready. If you've ever run a marathon or ever talked to someone you know that's run one, you know they had to prepare. They had to train. Now, I think it's noteworthy that there is no condemnation spoken about them all sleeping. They slumbered. Which means they all nodded off. In a sense, I think we can all understand that and have probably experienced it. You know, trying to stay awake when you're really tired, you know, you're trying to stay awake. Did you find yourself nodding off every now and then? And they're not necessarily condemned, interestingly, for that.

The purpose of the parable, though, is to address the question, are you ready?

Ready or not, here I come. They all slept, all of them, the wise, the foolish, and condemnation, I think, is in the preparation. Or the lack thereof. That's where the condemnation, not that they slept, but the condemnation or the warning is in the fact that they weren't prepared.

They weren't ready. And He wants them to be ready. That's why it's here. He wants you and me to be ready. That's why it's here. Verse 6. And at midnight, wouldn't you know, the middle of the night, when it's darkest, usually, kind of like the Feast of Trumpets comes on a new moon, when there is no moon to see, totally dark, totally black. At midnight, element of surprise, I suppose, the cry is heard, behold, the bridegroom is coming, go out to meet Him. Then all of those virgins arose and they trimmed their lamps. I don't know how many of you have had oil lamps in the past. Maybe, yeah, I was getting some nods here. Was there electricity around in your early years? You're not going to comment on that. But you know how that worked. You trim your lamps, you cut off the old dry part, and then it was trimmed, and it would burn brighter and better as it got saturated with the oil before you lit it. You know, you trim that wick, cut off the burnt part, and it would burn better, brighter light. So they all trimmed their wicks and they got ready. They lit them, and then they got going to beat the bridegroom. Verse 8. And the foolish said to the wise, and I think what's interesting here is that it was not until the final moment, not until the final moment that the difference between the wise and the foolish is recognized here, and it becomes really painfully clear. Up to this point, you would assume there was no difference. The foolish said to the wise, give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out. Give us some of your oil. In other words, there's no oil left to feed the wick, and our light's beginning to flicker, and our light is beginning to go out. Otherwise, the wise, of course, had prepared an advance. They answered, no, or not so, depending upon the translation. Now, in many manuscripts, and some of the best manuscripts, the words no or not so are not even there, because they were added. Maybe they're in italics in your translation. You see that? No, or not so? If it's in italics, that means it was added by the translators to help us understand. But they're not there. The wise simply said, lest there should not be enough for us and you. So give us your oil, and they said, lest there should not be enough for us and you. In other words, you wouldn't want the bridegroom to be in complete darkness when he comes, would you? If we give oil to you, all the lamps may go out. And there will be darkness. There's no way to meet the bridegroom or to honor the bridegroom. So there was concern to meet and honor the bridegroom. They couldn't give oil. Now, this can also picture the fact that we cannot share our Holy Spirit with anyone. We can't do that. That only comes from God. We can't give our Holy Spirit to anyone. The wise that maintained their relationship with God, they had a reserve of God's Holy Spirit to carry them through. But we can't share the Holy Spirit with anyone, nor can we share our righteousness with anyone.

So the foolish had an understanding of God's Word. They were with the group. They thought they would be able to meet the groom, but they did not have a reserve of the Holy Spirit to carry them through. So when they ask the question, give us some of yours, because ours is going out, it becomes clear we cannot lend another person to Holy Spirit. It's not ours to give. We don't have it to give. God's the source of it. So it's really a very personal issue, isn't it? It's very personal between us and God in that way.

They said, but go rather to those who sell and buy for yourselves. Do what you need to do, in other words, so that you can share in honoring the bridegroom by being prepared for His coming. So what do we learn from all this? Well, we learn that there's no substitute for personal righteousness. I can't borrow from my wife's righteousness or from her Holy Spirit, nor can she from me or my children. Or I can't borrow from them. That's just not the way it works. It is a one-on-one relationship between you and God and you and Jesus Christ, or I and God and myself and Jesus Christ. It also tells us not only the fact that there is no substitute for personal righteousness, there is also no substitute for personal preparation and personal readiness.

It's over in things to think about, but I believe this is the message that Christ has given to us here. So in other words, we can't write anyone else's coattails into the Kingdom of God. We've heard that before, heavenly. We can't do that.

So this helps us to begin to see that we will stand or fall individually before our Maker, before our Savior. And this helps us to begin to see, are we ready? Will we be ready? Are we ready? Are we ready today? Because I think He's trying to help us to begin to see that. Again, keep your marker here, but let's go back to Ezekiel chapter 14 and verse number 12. Ezekiel chapter 14. This is an important section of Scripture because God talks to us here about personal righteousness. Ezekiel chapter 14 and verse number 12. Ezekiel writes that the Word of God came to mean and said, Son of man, when a land sins against me by persistent unfaithfulness, I'm going to stretch my hand out against it. I will cut off its supply of bread, I will send famine on it, and I will cut off man and beast from it. So God, we know what God is going to do with a nation that persistently and consistently continues to rebel against if He's going to do something about it. And He goes on to say this in verse 14. And even if these three men were in that land, in that country, in that nation, whether it be Noah and Daniel and Job, if these three were in it, they would deliver only themselves, or their own souls as it can be translated, by their righteousness, by their personal righteousness that God had put into them because of the way they had responded to God and to His Word.

They will only deliver themselves by their righteousness, says the Lord. Verse 15, if I cause wild beasts to pass through the land and they empty it. So we're talking about manning the lions, who knows what, and they're killing people, and they empty it. They make it so desolate so that no man may pass through it because of the beasts. Even though these three men were in it, again we're talking about Noah, Daniel, and Job, even though these three men were in it, as I live, says the Lord, His way of emphasizing, they would deliver neither their sons nor daughters. Only they would be delivered, and the land would be desolate. Verse 17, if I bring a sword on that land, another way of describing, you know, armies coming in, and say, sword go through the land, and I cut off man and beasts from it. Even though these three men were in it, as I live, says the Lord, they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but only they themselves would be delivered. God's kind of saying it over and over again, isn't he? He keeps emphasizing it comes down to our individual righteousness and our readiness.

Verse 19, he goes on, And if I send pestilence, zeeze, in other words, into that land, and I pour out my fury, his anger on it, in blood, and I cut off from it man and beast, though these three, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, says the Lord, God, they would deliver neither son nor daughter, they would only deliver themselves by their righteousness. That's an emphasis, isn't it? Over and over again. So physical proximity to a converted person doesn't mean anything, does it? According to God, physical proximity to a converted person who's got a reserve of the Holy Spirit will not be enough to spare me or to spare you. Individual responsibility, there's no substitute for it, according to God's Word. No substitute for personal righteousness, no substitute for personal preparation.

Let's go back to Matthew 25.

Back to the parable, and we'll pick it up in verse number 10. Matthew chapter 25, verse number 10.

The wise advised the foolish to buy, so they could honor the groom. Verse 10, while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding, and the door was shut.

Remember, the purpose of the parable is to encourage us to be ready when the time comes. So verse 10, those who were ready went with him into the wedding, and the door was shut.

Have you ever been locked out of your house in the wintertime? You think, wow, what am I going to do now? You know how important it is to be able to go through the door. If the door is shut, if it's locked and you can't get in, there's a very sinking feeling that comes over us. That's on a minor scale. There's stories about people getting locked out, you know, with very little clothing on in the cold winter. They just went out to get the newspaper.

That got to be a long trip instead of a short one.

But the sobering thing here is that the period of opportunity has closed. These are Jesus's words. He's admonishing us, He's warning us, that we are not to be unprepared at the time.

That we are to be ready.

Christ says the door is shut upon us, it could be, because we weren't properly spiritually prepared. We'd let our relationship with God begin to slip, falter, or with Jesus Christ. Other things took precedent in our lives. It can happen to any of us. Verse number 11. Afterwards the other virgins came also saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But He answered one of the most chilling words that a Christian or a virgin could read. Verse 12, He answered and He said, I tell you the truth, I don't know you. I don't know you.

There wasn't a relationship. There wasn't a light shining, there wasn't a reserve of the Holy Spirit. So He concludes now the parable in verse number 13, which is where we started with this parable at the end. So Jesus is telling you and me individually, watch, therefore. This is the conclusion, this is the summary. Therefore, watch, or watch, therefore, as He puts it, because you don't know.

You don't know the day or the hour in which I am going to return.

In other words, He's telling us to be ready, to be watchful, to be vigilant, to be awake, because we don't know when He's coming back. So if we've had the thought that somewhere in the future that I really don't have to worry about things all that much, or I can coast for a while, or I'm so busy with other things that I'll get to it eventually, then we can deceive ourselves.

And again, we have to ask, really, what's really more important than our destiny? The Kingdom of God, eternal life. For our final Scripture, let's go over to 1 John 3, verse 2. 1 John 3.

We can be among the foolish. If you look at just the statistics, it doesn't look very good. When He's talking, He splits it 50-50, doesn't He? You know, that's kind of sobering even to think about that 50% of these are not able to go in. We can become or be among part of the foolish. Now, at times, I think we've applied this parable to groups of Christians. And of course, we can speculate on all of that as much as we want to, I suppose. But for you and me, that's not the point. This is a parable for me and for you individually. The point of the parable is not whether it applies to somebody else, but whether you and I are ready.

1 John 3, verse 2.

Beloved, now we are the children of God. It hasn't yet been revealed, but we shall be. But we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him. We shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies Himself, just as He is pure. Jesus Christ is pure. The groom is pure. We are in the process, in the plan of the salvation of God, we know that we are coming out of an old man who has died, and a new man has been resurrected out of the watery grave and begins to live a different way of life and begins to cast off some of that old way of life and becomes a new creature.

Verse 3, everyone who has this hope, the hope that we read about in verse 2, being in the family of God, purifies Himself just as Christ is pure, just like spiritual virgins making ourselves pure, readying ourselves for the bridegroom, for the groom.

Brethren, now is the day of salvation for us. There's coming a time that others will have an opportunity, but that's not the situation for us. Now, Jesus Christ is saying, is the day of salvation for the firstfruits, for those that have been baptized and received the gift of the Holy Spirit. It's our time now, and it's our time to be ready individually. There's no more succinct way that Jesus Christ could have told us than through this parable in Matthew chapter 25. It doesn't matter if this parable applies to somebody else. It applies to you and I. As we ask the question, are we ready? We can't afford to be lax. We can't afford to come up short at a critical time. Frankly, a critical time could be any time, couldn't it? Could be any time. You know, for me, I don't like giving away my age, but I'm 59. For me, it's going to come, the return of Christ is going to come, for me, probably within the next 41 years, if I were to live to 100. It's going to come, that's not a very long period of time, 41 years. So the return of Christ is going to come in the next 41 years for me, or sooner, or tomorrow. If there's some type of untimely event, none of us know. The point Jesus is making is, it is now. As Paul said, I don't think I've apprehended, but I am pressing forward, and I'm not looking back. I'm continuing to go forward. Not that I'm perfected, not that I've arrived, not that I've apprehended, but I'm pressing forward for that goal that God has put before me. So the point is, it's now. Now is the time. Either be ready, or begin to make ourselves ready. So we ask ourselves, what do we need to do to be ready? What do we need to do? It is not too late. But it's not completely clear as to when it is too late, because it was too late for half of those virgins. So as you and I read through the Word of God, and become personally convicted with what we are seeing in His Word, put our hand to the plow. Keep going. Keep trying to apply His words in our life. Now is the time to reorder our life if we've gotten off track. To live life in the spiritual term, and not the physical term. In the spiritual arena. You know, those more busy with physical responsibilities than spiritual responsibilities are in danger, and can fall by the wayside. It is possible, and has happened, and will happen in the future, and could happen to us that are sitting here. And I can tell you that Jesus Christ wants each of us that are here in this room to be in that kingdom, and in that family. And that's why Matthew 25 is here. It's not too late. He gives us an annual reminder, really, every year in the Feast of Trumpets, doesn't he? Because that is not only that trumpet blast, is not only an alarm, but it's also a celebration. And depending on which side of the fence we are, is how we perceive that trumpet. Finally, it's here, the kingdom, the king has come back! Or, oh no, I'm not ready. My life is a mess. I'm not close to God. I haven't been stirring up this gift of the Spirit that he's given to me.

Brother, as we begin now to enter the Fall Holy Day festivals, all of these Holy Days have a tremendous meaning in the plan of God. We're about to rehearse several of them. Let's not forget about the trumpets, the trumpet blast, that we're going to rehearse here in just a couple of weeks. Let's strive, going forward here as these Fall Holy Days come. Let's strive, going forward, to follow the example of the Apostle Paul and others that have gone before us, that are in scriptures as examples for us. Let's strive together to develop a strong reserve of God's Holy Spirit, that we live by his way of life, that his Spirit guides us, and we trust him, and we're obedient to that, and we have faith in that, in him.

So that when we hear, ready or not, here I come.

We will trim our lamps, we'll burn brightly, and we'll be ready for the bridegroom to go into the wedding, peace. The wedding with our Savior Jesus Christ at his return.