Are you ready?

Rev. Shine Thomas

Scripture: Matthew 25:1-13

Introduction: From the very beginning of the church, believers are waiting for the second coming of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. According to the Bible these are the end of the end days and the signs show that the coming of our Lord is very, very near. Acts 1:10-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:16, & 1 Corinthians 15:51 speak about the coming of Jesus Christ. Jesus IS coming back, and when he returns will he find you awake and alert or sleeping and slumbering. Are you ready for the coming of our Lord? How can we be ready for the coming of our Lord? Jesus told a parable in Matthew 25 that stresses the importance of being ready for the Return of Jesus.

The parable of the 10 virgins

(Matthew 25:1-13).
If we look at the present western style marriages we will not be able to understand this parable. We need to have an understanding of marriage function in Palestine. In Palestine marriage a boy is engaged to a girl. After engagement he has to go and prepare himself so that he can take care of his family. That means he has to prepare a house all items for a house ready, he has to find a good trade, and he has to be ready with all material things for him to be married. The bride’s party has to wait for the bridegroom to return after he has finished all his preparations. There is no date given, people just come to know by the word of mouth looking at the preparations in the bridegroom’s house. The bridegroom can come anytime and the bride and the bridesmaids have to be ready to welcome the bridegroom, which is immediately followed by marriage and a week long of celebrations. If anyone is not ready in time they not only miss the wedding but also the week long celebrations. That is why he sends a messenger crying 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!' In this parable there are 10 virgins – 1 bride and 9 bridesmaids. If they are not ready, they miss the coming of the bridegroom and the door is shut.

Jesus told this parable is applicable to the church and the second coming of Jesus Christ. The Bible says the redeemed and purified Church universal will one day be the Bride of Christ. (Revelation 19:7-9) During this present age, the church is referred to as the “body of Christ” (Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 1:22-23). Collectively the ten virgins may typify Christendom at the time of Christ’s return given the fact that some (5) were ready for the Lord’s return and some (5) were not. Are you ready for the coming of the Lord?

Let us see what made the difference between the virgins who were ready and the virgins who were not ready.

The wise & the foolish virgins

1. Same Character. Their character was the same. Both the wise and foolish ladies were virgins. Here virgin symbolizes good character. If character was the only criteria to be ready all the 10 virgins would have entered the wedding celebrations. In the present days many people are counting on their good character. They may not be committing adultery, drinking, gambling, or smoking and to a great extent having a good character. They feel even if they do not live according to the Word of God their character will save them. No, no, no! You got it wrong. Character is important but good character alone cannot save you. See Ephesians 2:8-10, Isaiah 64:6.

2. Same Intentions. All the 10 virgins had the same intentions in life; they wanted to attend the wedding ceremony. You see all were appropriately dressed for the occasion. Their outward look is the same. You see nowadays there are a lot of people who come to church. Every Sundays they are at church worshipping but are literally away from God. Their doctrine is the same, worship is the same, they have the same faith but they come unprepared. Going to a church alone will not take us to heaven. That is good but Christian life is more of a personal life. We have to be personally ready for his coming.

3. The only difference – OIL. Matthew 25:3-4. The only difference we find between the wise and foolish virgins was the oil. The 5 wise virgins had oil in a jar; the 5 foolish virgins had no oil with them. In the Bible Oil symbolizes the Holy Spirit. In other words the 5 virgins had the Holy Spirit in their vessels. Only the ones who have the Holy Spirit will be taken to heaven when Jesus comes. We need to believe in the Holy Spirit, on the in-filling and indwelling of the Spirit of God.

Listen, the virgins could not share the oil in the parable. Yes Oil cannot be shared. Your spouse’s oil will not take you to heaven; your parent’s oil will not take you to heaven. All have to have their own portion of oil in their own jars.

Conclusion: Are you ready for the coming of the Lord. Matthew 24:44 “So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” In this parable the bridegroom came in the midnight. No one expected him. Jesus will come in a time when none expects Him to come. Listen, all the 10 virgins had the same condition. They all got drowsy and slept but the ones who had the oil went with him. Today, the Church of God is also in the same condition, the church is literally sleeping. God expects us to awaken from our drowsiness and sleep and wait for his coming. He expects us to fill our earthen vessels with his Holy Spirt which He wants to give to all who asks. The parable says once the bridegroom came the door was shut, until then it was open. Once the door is shut, it is shut for ever. See 2 Corinthians 6:1-2. Now is the time for us to prepare for his coming. Let us wisely utilize the time of God’s favor. Yes, character is good, going to church is good but Jesus said we need to have enough oil in our vessels to be ready for his coming. Have you got the Oil? Are you ready? If not let us turn back to God and prepare ourselves for his coming. Amen!