Introduction:
Three Lies Unprepared People Tell Themselves (Matthew 25:1-13):
- I'll always have Time later. (Matthew 25:6,10)
- I'm prepared because I'm with the right Group . (Matthew 25:8,12)
Matthew 7:21-23 - "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' 2And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'"
- Oil isn't that important. (Matthew 25:8-9)
Five Evidences of Salvation:
- I love and long for God's Word .
1 Peter 2:2 - Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation...
- I live in Repentance .
Matthew 3:8 - Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.
- I am Growing more spiritually mature.
Philippians 1:6 - And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
- I love other Christians .
1 John 3:14 - We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.
- I love giving Money .
Matthew 6:21 - For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Revelation 19:9 - And the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb."
Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!
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01:08-01:11
We're going through this series, intentional hope.
01:11-01:12
What are we waiting for?
01:14-01:24
And we see in Matthew chapters 24 and 25, the very words of our Lord, talking about the signs leading to his second coming.
01:26-01:28
And the big question is, when's this gonna happen?
01:28-01:32
Well, we've already seen four times.
01:33-01:34
Jesus said, it's an unknown moment.
01:35-01:38
Verse 36, verse 42, verse 44, verse 50.
01:39-01:41
Jesus said it's sudden and unexpected.
01:43-01:45
So you need to be prepared.
01:47-01:53
And I want to remind you that the first time Jesus came, the world wasn't prepared.
01:57-01:59
Are you going to be ready for his return?
02:03-02:11
whether it's the rapture of the church, or whether it's his return in judgment, which we will be talking about today.
02:12-02:13
Are you gonna be ready for that?
02:15-02:16
I'd like you to bow your heads.
02:19-02:25
Just take a moment, please pray for me to clearly and accurately communicate God's word.
02:26-02:29
And I will pray for you to receive it.
02:33-02:36
And all of God's people said, amen.
02:37-02:44
Recently, one of our small groups hosted my family's sort of a how do you do, get to know you kind of thing.
02:45-02:49
And we were asked, what's the hardest part of ministry?
02:52-02:54
And I said, I don't know what the hardest part is, but I know what the worst part is.
02:54-02:56
I don't even have to think about it.
02:57-02:58
right off the top of my head.
02:59-03:04
I know the worst part of ministry, wedding rehearsals.
03:08-03:10
I would rather take a beating.
03:12-03:22
And I mean that with all sincerity, because you spend months with this couple and they outline it exactly, they outline everything exactly how they want it.
03:22-03:32
And then you have the wedding rehearsal and Aunt Petunia or whatever shows up They're like, "I think we should change everything." Like, "It says at your wedding." Sorry, sorry.
03:33-03:35
It did kind of feel good to get that out though.
03:37-03:43
But I don't want you to misunderstand me because in ministry, I'm just speaking of things from this side.
03:44-03:49
In ministry, weddings are the best and the worst thing.
03:50-03:52
Like, well, what makes the difference?
03:53-03:56
Weddings are amazing when you know the people.
03:57-04:01
When it's people you know and love, it's a celebration of what God is doing.
04:01-04:05
And it's such an honor for me to be a part of that.
04:05-04:14
But when it's a wedding for somebody that I don't know, and I have done a lot of weddings for people that I don't know, it is brutal.
04:17-04:20
And I'm so done doing weddings for people I don't know.
04:20-04:31
I've told Jillian, if somebody contacts the church and asks about a wedding and I don't know who they are and they're not a member of this church, $5,000 up front.
04:34-04:35
Cash.
04:37-04:41
And again, again, I mean that with all sincerity.
04:43-05:01
But you see, I was thinking about that this week because we're looking at a parable about a wedding and there's an aspect of this parable that really rings with that because it's about the relationship with the people in the wedding.
05:03-05:04
That's the story Jesus told.
05:04-05:12
Before we look at the text real quick, I need to remind you, they did weddings a little different in that day, in that area.
05:13-05:19
But in those days, some of this might seem strange to us, but our customs would certainly seem strange to them.
05:19-05:23
But in their day, a wedding happened in three phases.
05:24-05:24
All right?
05:25-05:30
The first phase was the fathers, father of the groom, father of the bride, they would actually sign a contract with each other.
05:31-05:34
And that was the official engagement of the couple.
05:35-05:37
And the second phase was the betrothal.
05:38-05:44
They would have a ceremony with family and friends where they would exchange vows.
05:44-05:56
And they were married, but they did not consummate the marriage Because what would happen at that point is the groom would go away to prepare a place for them to live as a married couple.
05:58-06:04
Whether that was buying land, whether that was building onto his father's house, he'd go away.
06:07-06:09
And he didn't say when he was coming back.
06:11-06:14
But then the third part, just call it the feast.
06:16-06:22
You see, the bride has been waiting with the bridesmaids.
06:22-06:25
And we're going to see they're referred to as virgins in this passage.
06:26-06:27
I'm gonna explain that in a moment.
06:27-06:30
But the bride has been waiting with the bridesmaids.
06:30-06:39
So the bridegroom comes unexpectedly and they have this big feast and it could last upwards of seven days.
06:42-06:48
For those of you who are ready to duck out of a wedding reception a half hour in, seven days.
06:49-06:55
And then they would be off to the home that was prepared for married life.
06:55-06:58
All right, so let's look Matthew 25.
06:59-07:13
This is a story that Jesus made up to teach us truths about all of these things he's been talking about in Matthew 24.
07:13-07:21
He says, then the kingdom of heaven will be like 10 virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.
07:21-07:28
OK, virgins, that's the story has nothing to do with that, really.
07:28-07:29
That's what they were.
07:30-07:31
How would they would refer to bridesmaids?
07:31-07:32
Why?
07:32-07:36
Because they were typically young, unmarried girls.
07:36-07:41
They were cousins and friends and sisters, other unmarried young girls.
07:42-07:42
All right.
07:43-07:45
They were, in your mind, these are the bridesmaids.
07:46-07:46
All right?
07:47-07:51
And it says they had lamps, and a better translation of that really is a torch.
07:52-07:58
There was a wood pole that had a mesh top, and you would use oil to burn the flame.
08:00-08:06
And they would carry extra oil to keep the flame burning.
08:06-08:08
That's gonna be important in a minute.
08:09-08:13
Well, they would go to the bride's house to meet the bridegroom.
08:14-08:18
And you see these 10 virgins, these 10 bridesmaids, they all look the same.
08:18-08:23
They were all present and they were all waiting and they all had their torch.
08:25-08:27
But all 10 were not alike.
08:27-08:28
Look at verse two.
08:29-08:38
It says, "Five of them were foolish and five were wise." That word for foolish in the Greek is moros.
08:39-08:42
That's where we get the English word, moron.
08:43-08:59
Jesus literally said, "Five of these ladies were morons and five were wise." And again, you couldn't tell by looking at them, life would be much easier if you could.
09:01-09:03
These things only show up by their actions.
09:04-09:05
Look at verses three and four.
09:07-09:11
It says, "For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them.
09:13-09:21
But the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps." See, here's the difference.
09:24-09:30
The wise were prepared, and the foolish were not.
09:31-09:39
Verse five, it says, "As the bridegroom was delayed, They all became drowsy and slept.
09:40-09:42
See, he didn't come when they expected.
09:42-09:47
They waited so long that they fell asleep.
09:48-09:53
Right? Verse six, he says, but at midnight there was a cry.
09:55-09:56
Here is the bridegroom.
09:56-09:57
Come out to meet him.
10:00-10:01
Like midnight.
10:03-10:05
That's a strange time for a wedding, isn't it?
10:07-10:08
I think that's Jesus point.
10:09-10:14
Look at verse 7 says, and all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps.
10:14-10:18
And the foolish said to the wise, give us some of your oil for our lamps are going out.
10:19-10:21
Oh, there's a problem.
10:22-10:25
The five foolish bridesmaids.
10:30-10:37
suddenly realized, oh, we didn't bring any oil.
10:40-10:41
And you're like, okay, okay, why not?
10:42-10:42
Why didn't they?
10:43-10:46
Look, this is a story that Jesus made up.
10:47-10:49
But that's a fair question, why didn't they?
10:50-10:54
And I would respond to that question with, why does anyone neglect something?
10:56-10:58
I thought I had enough.
10:59-11:07
I just didn't think about needing more or I never expected him to be delayed so long or.
11:09-11:16
It didn't seem important really at the time, but I think the biggest reason people neglect something.
11:19-11:23
Is this one, OK, I'll get it later, there's time.
11:24-11:27
There's time, I'll I'll I'll punch that for later.
11:28-11:50
Right? Look at verse nine. So the foolish ones were like, help. And verse nine says, but the wise answered, saying, since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves. They're like the wise were like, we look, we can't help you.
11:51-12:01
You're going to go after this yourself. You had opportunity to get oil just like we did. And I can't help it that you weren't prepared. That's that's not my problem.
12:04-12:24
Verse 10 says, and while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast and the door was shut. Okay, so the foolish bridesmaids, they had a last minute scramble. I imagine they did what the rest of us do.
12:24-12:26
They ran to sheets, right?
12:26-12:35
You see the five bridesmaids running into sheets, like, "Where's your oil?" Well, they came back and the door was shut.
12:38-12:39
It's too late.
12:41-12:58
Verse 11, "Afterward, the other virgins came also, "these foolish ones, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!' But he answered, truly I say to you, I do not know you.
13:01-13:09
The marriage feast begins and these foolish no oil girls, like, hey, hey, hey, we want in, we want in, we want in.
13:13-13:19
And the bridegroom's response doesn't seem to have any vindictiveness.
13:19-13:26
It just reveals something that's been true the entire time.
13:29-13:30
I don't know you.
13:35-13:39
And verse 13 is Jesus' application of this story.
13:39-13:42
Like Jesus, Jesus, why are you telling us this?
13:42-13:43
Here it is, verse 13.
13:44-13:48
Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
13:51-13:57
That's the fifth time in this passage, "You don't know." Like Pastor Taylor talked about last week.
13:57-13:58
You don't know.
14:00-14:01
Nobody knows.
14:03-14:10
Now here specifically, Jesus is speaking - listen closely, because there's a lot of people that have a lot of questions about this.
14:10-14:11
Listen please.
14:11-14:22
Jesus is speaking specifically here to people who come to faith in him during the tribulation, before his second coming and judgment.
14:25-14:36
He's not talking about the rapture here because we see the bridegroom say, "I do not know you," and there was no second chance.
14:36-14:45
Hypothetically, if you, Today, like I'm not a Christian and I'm not giving my life to Christ, the rapture happens.
14:45-14:47
You can come to Christ during the tribulation.
14:47-14:52
If that's your plan, I do not recommend that by the way, but that can happen.
14:53-14:57
But this indicates a door shut, no more chances thing.
14:57-14:58
You see what I mean?
14:59-15:02
He's speaking of his second coming in judgment.
15:02-15:11
But that said, there are principles here for all of us because you're going to meet Jesus Christ someday.
15:15-15:25
Whether you die, or the rapture happens, or here during the tribulation, he comes back in judgment.
15:25-15:30
At some point in your life, you are going to cross paths with Jesus Christ.
15:32-15:36
And the question that Jesus is putting in all of our laps is this.
15:37-15:38
Are you ready for that?
15:40-15:41
Are you prepared?
15:47-15:48
Are you sure?
15:55-15:57
Or maybe you're like these foolish bridesmaids.
16:00-16:01
You're lying to yourself.
16:04-16:07
You think you're ready and you're not.
16:09-16:16
So in your outline, here's three lies unprepared people tell themselves.
16:20-16:22
Three lies unprepared people tell themselves.
16:23-16:25
You're not ready, but you think you're ready.
16:26-16:28
And you're like, oh, is that me?
16:28-16:34
Well, I'll show you if that's you from the text here, because you might be lying to yourself.
16:34-16:37
You're not ready, but you're lying to yourself thinking you are.
16:37-16:39
Well, are you telling yourself these lies?
16:39-16:42
The first one is this, number one, we already touched on this quickly.
16:43-16:45
The first lie is this, I always have time later.
16:45-16:47
I always have time later.
16:48-16:49
There's always time.
16:50-16:51
There's always time.
16:51-16:54
Verse six, the bridegroom came at midnight.
16:55-16:56
Unexpected, right?
16:57-16:58
You don't know the time, it's unexpected.
16:59-17:00
And then verse 10.
17:04-17:06
They made their sheets run for the oil.
17:07-17:08
Then he showed up.
17:11-17:12
They ran out of time.
17:13-17:15
You see, that's the big lesson.
17:17-17:18
You don't know when Jesus is returning.
17:20-17:21
You don't know your death.
17:21-17:22
You don't know when the rapture is gonna happen.
17:22-17:28
You don't know, even the people alive during the tribulation aren't going to know exactly when he's going to return.
17:29-17:30
So you have to be ready now.
17:35-17:36
You're gonna meet him.
17:37-17:38
Are you ready?
17:42-17:45
See the foolish bridesmaids should have taken care of business when they could.
17:49-17:51
Again, this is a parable.
17:51-17:56
I don't know what these characters were thinking, but I do know how procrastinators think.
17:58-17:59
I'll get around to it.
18:01-18:02
You know what?
18:02-18:09
Yeah, someday, someday I'm gonna get real serious about my walk with God.
18:09-18:12
I'm gonna get real serious about seeking God someday.
18:12-18:14
I'm gonna get to that.
18:14-18:21
Someday I'm gonna get real serious about getting my life in order and getting on track and someday.
18:25-18:28
And that's one of Satan's greatest deceptions.
18:29-18:30
(sighs)
18:32-18:38
Right now there's somebody sitting here saying, you know what, I really need to get serious about this stuff.
18:38-18:40
And the devil's deceiving you again.
18:40-18:41
He's saying, just wait.
18:42-18:43
(snorts)
18:44-18:45
I think preacher boy's getting a little too excited.
18:46-18:47
Just wait.
18:47-18:48
You got time.
18:50-18:51
You got time.
18:52-18:53
You got all the time.
18:59-19:10
And I would say, "Yeah, yeah, you have time, but you don't have as much time as you think you do.
19:15-19:19
I always have time later." You saying that to yourself?
19:20-19:23
then you're one of these foolish bridesmaids 'cause that's what they thought.
19:25-19:29
Number two, here's another lie.
19:29-19:32
Unprepared people tell themselves, "I'm prepared because I'm with the right people.
19:35-19:37
I'm with the right people." Do you see that?
19:39-19:43
Verse five, it says, "They all became drowsy and slept." They had a slumber party.
19:44-19:45
Okay, he's late coming back.
19:45-19:47
We'll just have a slumber party.
19:48-19:50
but they were all with the right people, right?
19:50-19:52
Look at verse eight again.
19:54-19:56
The foolish said to the wise, give us some of your oil.
19:56-20:00
They thought, well, I'm okay because I'm with the right people.
20:02-20:10
See, these foolish bridesmaids apparently felt prepared because they were with bridesmaids who were prepared.
20:13-20:17
You heard of the phrase, guilty by association.
20:17-20:18
Have you ever heard that phrase?
20:19-20:22
They thought they were not guilty by association.
20:26-20:29
And I would say to you, my friends, this is exactly like church.
20:31-20:38
Because there are many people that are sitting here and are watching this stream, and are gonna be listening to this podcast.
20:38-20:44
There are many people are hearing this and you feel safe and secure.
20:45-20:53
and you feel like you're prepared for the return of the Lord simply for one reason, is because you're sitting with people who are.
20:58-21:15
And there is a huge danger in being exposed to God's truth and even liking the truth and being satisfied that you have some knowledge of the truth, but you've never personally received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
21:16-21:17
(audience laughing)
21:20-21:22
And you can read this parable like me.
21:23-21:27
Oh, I had a real treat with this parable all week.
21:27-21:29
I had so many questions.
21:30-21:31
That is so much reading and studying.
21:32-21:34
Maybe you had some of the same questions that I did.
21:37-21:40
But like, why did they need the torch for the feasts?
21:42-21:42
Right?
21:43-21:45
Was it like some kind of admission ticket?
21:45-21:49
Like no shoes, no shirt, no service, you know?
21:49-21:51
It's like no torch, no wedding feast.
21:51-21:52
Was it something like that?
21:56-21:58
Why couldn't they go in without the torch?
21:59-22:05
And then why was there a cutoff time for entering the wedding feast?
22:13-22:15
I had all kinds of questions about that.
22:16-22:24
I didn't really get any answers that satisfied me about that, except for one thing.
22:26-22:31
Verse 12 is really the bottom line of the whole deal.
22:35-22:41
The bridegroom, Jesus, in this story, he didn't know them.
22:42-22:43
That's the bottom line.
22:45-22:51
Whatever you think about the torches or whatever, he's like, "I don't know who you are." That is the issue.
22:53-22:57
You're like, "Man, that sounds, That sounds familiar.
22:58-22:58
It should.
22:59-23:01
Look at what Jesus said in Matthew chapter seven.
23:02-23:08
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father, who is in heaven.
23:09-23:23
On that day, many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and do many, many works in your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you.
23:24-23:26
Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.
23:30-23:31
Do you know why they couldn't go in?
23:35-23:37
It had nothing to do with the torch.
23:39-23:45
The reason they couldn't go in is because weddings are no place for a stranger.
23:50-23:58
You know, heaven is described in Revelation chapter 19 as the marriage supper of the lamb.
23:59-24:03
And I have to ask you, do you have a relationship with the bridegroom?
24:05-24:10
Because if you don't, you're not going in.
24:15-24:25
Many, many years ago, this is before I was married, but I was involved in prison ministry, but before I was in charge of it, there was another guy in charge of it.
24:27-24:35
Not gonna say his name in case he listens to this, but there was another guy in charge of the prison ministry.
24:38-24:42
And I remember the one week he called me up.
24:43-24:52
He's like, "Jeff, what are you doing?" I'm like, "Chilling like a villain, like always, man." And he goes, "Yes, I said that.
24:53-25:07
I want the story to be accurate." Anyways, he's like, "What are you doing?" I'm like, "You know, the thing." And he goes, "What are you doing on Friday?" I said, "Oh, Friday?
25:08-25:12
I don't think I'm gonna, anything going on Friday." He goes, "Here's the thing.
25:13-25:14
I'm gonna be having a bunch of friends over.
25:16-25:17
And we're gonna have all kinds of food.
25:18-25:24
we're gonna have all kind of games and I'm just like, all right.
25:24-25:28
He goes, so I was calling to see if you could cover the prison for me on Friday.
25:35-25:38
And all of God's people said, wah, wah.
25:43-25:46
Yes, ouch, Darla, yes, ouch.
25:48-25:49
(congregation laughing)
25:52-25:58
But you know, there are people that sit in church and they hear the description of heaven.
25:59-26:00
They're like me on the phone.
26:01-26:08
They hear the description, oh, and they're getting all excited, there's gonna be food, and there's gonna be games, and it's gonna be so much fun, and they're getting all excited for it.
26:08-26:16
And you're about to be so deflated when you find out that you weren't invited because the bridegroom doesn't know you.
26:20-26:23
That's a lie people tell themselves, unprepared people tell themselves.
26:24-26:26
I'm prepared because I'm with the right group.
26:29-26:30
Don't work that way.
26:32-26:37
And thirdly, three lies unprepared people tell themselves, oil isn't that important.
26:38-26:40
Oil isn't that important.
26:45-26:58
You see, looking at Jesus' story here, like I said, there's a whole lot of details and things that we can take a deep dive in understanding, but here's the bottom line of the parable is this.
26:58-27:11
Jesus said, "These foolish bridesmaids were foolish, "and they were foolish because they took no oil." Oil wasn't a priority for them.
27:11-27:12
That's what made them foolish.
27:13-27:19
oil didn't seem that important to them, did it?
27:21-27:27
But it turns out, oil turned out to be the most important thing of the story.
27:29-27:32
Like, well, what does the oil represent?
27:33-27:34
Right, what does the oil represent?
27:35-27:44
Well, some would say it represents the presence of the Holy Spirit based on Old Testament passages and the Holy Spirit.
27:45-27:47
Some people say the oil represents regeneration.
27:47-27:51
Some people say the oil represents being prepared.
27:51-27:52
And you're like, well, what do you think, Jeff?
27:53-27:54
My answer is this, all the above.
27:55-27:56
Oil represents salvation.
27:57-27:58
That's what it represents.
27:58-28:00
It represents salvation.
28:00-28:01
It represents being born again.
28:02-28:05
The oil represents being alive in Christ.
28:07-28:10
Do you remember when the foolish asked the wise for oil?
28:11-28:13
And the response, look at verse nine again.
28:13-28:15
Remember, look at the response of the wise.
28:15-28:30
The wise answered saying, "Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves." Jesus was not saying the wise were selfish.
28:32-28:32
That's not the point.
28:35-28:42
Jesus was speaking to the non-transferable aspect of salvation.
28:43-28:44
That's what he's talking about.
28:46-28:49
Now look, my friends, I know there's people here who don't know the Lord.
28:50-28:51
I can't save you.
28:52-28:56
I can't say, look, you know, I've been a Christian since 1995.
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I got this stockpile of salvation saved up.
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I'll give you some of my salvation.
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Let's, you know, go to heaven together.
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I can't do that.
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And believe me, I wish that I could, but I can't do that.
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Bowing the knee to Jesus Christ is something you have to do personally.
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Asking, "Are you ready for Jesus to return?" is the same question as asking, "Do you know Jesus personally?" Because a person being shot out of heaven is tragic, but more tragic as someone who thinks that they're going to heaven, but not because they're self-deceived. I just want to ask you, do you have oil?
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You hear a parable like this and you ask yourself, "Could I be shut out? Could that Could that be me?
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I mean, Jesus said that there are people that are going to show up and they're going to be completely wrong about their salvation.
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Could that be me?
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Could I be one of those people that's wrong about my salvation?
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I can't leave you hanging today.
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It's Mother's Day.
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So I'm gonna give you five evidences of salvation.
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This is a self-test.
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This is just, this is between you and the Lord.
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I'm gonna give you five evidences of salvation.
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Look, these are not my opinion.
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This is God's opinion.
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God's word gives us a whole list of things that are true of people who are saved.
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I'm just gonna give you five of them.
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There's a bunch.
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I just wanna give you five.
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Five things that the Bible says are indicators that you're saved.
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Five evidences of salvation.
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Letter A is this, I love and long for God's word.
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First Peter 2, 2 says, like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk that by it, you may grow up to salvation.
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Your attitude towards the word of God is a huge indicator on where your heart is according to God.
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because he compares the word to milk.
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Have you been around a baby, ladies and gentlemen?
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If you've been to this church, you've been around a lot of them.
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I love it, keep them coming.
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But here's something true about babies.
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Babies don't need sold on milk.
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They don't need sold on it.
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They don't need like a marketing campaign.
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You know, watch this commercial about milk.
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Here's a 30 minute infomercial about milk.
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And afterwards, the baby's like, I'm kind of convinced now I might have to give milk a try.
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It's a natural draw.
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They love it.
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And interestingly, the very thing that they naturally want and love is the very thing that grows them.
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So if I have to guilt you into reading your Bible, Something is seriously wrong.
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If I have to bribe you into reading your Bible, something is seriously wrong.
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Because if you don't have a natural love for the word of your creator and your savior, that's a good sign that you don't have oil.
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Because the love for God's word is an evidence of salvation.
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Letter B, here's an evidence of salvation.
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I live in repentance.
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Matthew 3, eight says, "Bear fruit in keeping with repentance." Repentance literally means to change your mind.
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Coming to Jesus Christ starts with a mind change and it's a mind change that lasts.
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Okay, like, did you repent?
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Like, yeah, I repented back in like 1978.
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Okay, great.
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but repentance isn't just a one-time thing.
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That's why Matthew three, I believe the same thing as in Luke three eight, bear fruit in keeping with repentance.
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This mind change stays.
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I used to think this way, but I don't think this way anymore.
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And there are times I'm tempted to go back to my old ways of thinking, but no, I'm not going to do that.
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That's bearing fruit in keeping with repentance.
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I don't think like I used to.
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I can't think like I used to.
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That's not me anymore.
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I don't love sin the way that I used to.
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And if you can't look at your life right now and say, you know, I'm really striving to live in repentance.
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If you can't do that, that means you don't have oil.
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because living in repentance is an evidence of salvation.
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Thirdly, I'm growing more spiritually mature.
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Philippians 1, 6 says, "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." Living things grow.
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Are you growing?
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Give yourself a little test.
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Ask yourself, am I more spiritually mature today than I was this time last year?
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And if you're not, that's a problem.
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You know, if you have a baby and that baby goes an entire year and hasn't grown or changed at all, you would take that baby to the doctor.
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Am I more spiritually mature today than I was even last month?
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Living things grow.
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And you know what, this is actually very encouraging because it's not as if you come to Christ and all of your growth and maturity happens in a single moment.
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That's just not how it works.
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I mean, yes, when you're born again, you instantly, instantly, you go from guilty to not guilty.
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You instantly become a child of God.
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Yes, those things are instant, but something that's not instant is your maturity.
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And that's what Paul is saying in Philippians 1.6.
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He says, God's starting something in you.
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He's gonna finish it.
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So if you're like, man, I gotta tell you, I'll be honest with you, Pastor Jeff, I didn't really see any growth in my life.
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I would say then that means you don't have oil.
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Because spiritual growth is an evidence of salvation.
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Letter D, evidence of salvation.
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I love other Christians.
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First John 3, 14 says, "We know that we have passed out of death into life." What does that mean?
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That's a euphemism for getting saved.
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You're dead in your sin, you're alive in Christ.
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He just said it in a different way, right?
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We know that we pass out of death into life because we love the brothers.
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Whoever does not love abides in death.
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How do you feel about the people that you're sitting around right now?
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How do you feel about them?
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Like, yeah, I don't like them at all.
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That's a problem.
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That's a huge problem.
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Because John says, hey, we know that we're saved because of the kind of love that we have for other Christians.
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(congregation laughing)
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Coming to church for the person that is saved, for the person that knows the Lord, coming to church is a delight.
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Like I can't wait.
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I can't wait to go and worship together.
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I can't wait to go and connect with so-and-so.
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I can't wait.
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Like you love these people.
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And that's something I love about this church.
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Church is over, like everybody's still here.
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It's not like, you know, mad rush to Denny's or anything like that.
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Don't do that anyways.
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But it's everybody stays here.
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Everybody stays here and hangs out.
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And it's like, oh, it's like you like each other.
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Yes.
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You do.
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That's an evidence of salvation.
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Coming to church is a delight, not a duty.
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Coming to prayer meeting, the picnic, the VBS.
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How about your small group?
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You should look at your small group and be like, man, I love these people.
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I'm so thankful for these people.
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If you don't have a genuine love for other Christians, you know what that means?
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That means you don't got oil.
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Because a genuine love for other Christians is an evidence of salvation.
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So many more, I'm just gonna give you one more.
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Letter E, I love giving money to the work of the Lord.
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That's an evidence of salvation, by the way, is you love to give to the work of the Lord.
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You love it.
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You love it.
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Again, not my opinion.
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This was Jesus' opinion.
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Matthew 6, 21 says, "For where your treasure is there, "your heart will be also." You know, this whole sermon we're evaluating, where's my heart?
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Where is my heart?
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Where is my heart?
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You wanna know where your heart is?
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Do you wanna know where your heart is?
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Jesus told you exactly where to find it.
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It's in your checkbook.
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That's where you'll find it there.
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You'll find it there.
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It's an objective test, by the way.
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I know when I talk about this and people are gonna be angry, whatever.
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It's an objective test.
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Be mad at God.
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'Cause I'm not making this up.
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It's an objective test.
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Jesus said where your treasure is, that's where you're gonna find your heart.
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So if you're like, "Oh, Pastor Jeff, "my heart is with missions.
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"I just love me some missions.
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"Oh, I have such a heart for missions." And I'm like, "Oh, so you give the missions." Like, "No, I don't give the missions." Then you're a liar.
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Your heart's not with missions if you don't give the missions.
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If you're like, "Oh, Pastor Jeff, I'm so excited about this property that the church just bought, and I'm so excited about the new church building.
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I'm so excited for the growth of the ministry.
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Oh, my heart is with you, Pastor Jeff." And I'm like, "How much have you given for the building and relocation?
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And how much have you given?" "Well, I haven't given anything." "Well, then you're lying to me.
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You're not excited about it.
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Your heart's not in it." because Jesus said, "Where your treasure is, that's where your heart is." You're like, "Well, where is my heart?" Again, give me your checkbook, I'll show you.
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I'll show you where your heart is.
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And if I open up your checkbook and it's nothing but sports equipment or fast food or exercise programs, the clothes, I'm like, "Well, there's where your heart is." Your heart's at Pantera Bread.
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Your heart's at Target.
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If that's where all your money's going.
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But if I'm looking in your checkbook and I see, oh, look, here's money given to the church, oh, money given to missions, oh, this was sent to Thailand, oh, look, here's money for choices.
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Wow, they're giving a lot of money to local outreach.
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Well, that tells me where your heart is.
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Your heart's for the kingdom of Jesus Christ, according to him.
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So if you're like, man, you know what?
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I don't really, you're like, I don't really give.
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I don't really give to God, missions, church.
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I don't really, I don't really give.
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That's a problem, my friend.
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That means you have no oil.
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Because loving to give to the work of the Lord is an evidence of salvation.
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So do you have oil?
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Do you have oil?
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Now, true confession time.
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I have never run out of oil on the way to a wedding.
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But I did run out of oil once on Route 19 in Cranberry.
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You're like, oh, do tell.
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Well, here's the thing.
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My Jeep burns oil, right?
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And Ben Mall, he told me that.
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And Ben said, "Hey, you gotta watch that.
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"You gotta watch it.
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your Jeep burns oil, you gotta watch it.
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But I ignored the signs.
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I ignored all the signs.
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You know, the little sticker that they put on the windshield about when to change your Earl.
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I promised myself I wouldn't say Earl.
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You know, the little sticker that they put on there, I ignored that.
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I ignored it.
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Oh, and on the Jeep, there's the little display that gives you the percentage of your oil life.
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I ignored that too.
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And then when the little display said, change your oil now, jefe, guess what?
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Like a moron, I ignored that too.
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And I'm driving north on Route 19 in Cranberry.
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And we broke down after a couple months of me saying, "Yeah, I'll get to it.
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I'll check it.
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You know what?
43:48-44:02
Next time I go to the store, I'll buy a quart like Ben told me to do and I'll keep it in the Jeep." I ignored every single sign and I broke down.
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Now, fortunately, I was close enough to a place where I could go buy some oil.
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But my point is this, my friends, I wasn't ready for the breakdown because I ignored every single sign.
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And that's what we've seen in Matthew 24 and 25.
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Jesus said to be watching the signs for his return.
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Are you ready?
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Do you have oil?
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Revelation 19, nine says, and the angel said to me, write this.
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Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.
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Let's pray.
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Father in heaven, this is a stunning story that Jesus told.
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Because Father, so often we are so foolish.
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We are the morons.
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We think there's time.
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We presume somebody else is gonna bail us out.
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And Jesus made it very clear that the day is coming of a cutoff, that it's gonna be too late, the door is going to shut.
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And we are the morons standing outside because we've squandered opportunities like this one right now.
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So Father, I pray, if there's anyone here who doesn't know you, that they have looked down and notice that they have no oil.
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I pray, Father, that you would not give them a moment's rest until they bow the knee before you, until they fall on their face before you, until they grab somebody from this church who knows you and says, "Tell me how to receive Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior." Father, for those of us who do know you, I pray that you would give us opportunity because the time is near, because there will be a cutoff.
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Father, give us opportunity and give us boldness for the sake of your gospel, for the sake of your kingdom.
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Father, let us represent you as you make your appeal through us.
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We pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Small Group Discussion
Read Matthew 25:1-13
What was your big take-away from this passage / message?
How do we know this passage is about final judgment and not the rapture? (Hint: See Matt 25:12).How do these principles apply for us today?
What does the oil represent? What does this have to do with the foolish virgins not being allowed into the marriage feast?
What evidence of salvation (of those listed) do you struggle with the most? Is this a point of growth in your walk, or does this make you question if you have a true walk with Christ at all?
Breakout
Pray for one another.
Want more eschatology teaching?
Catch up on the previous verse by verse teaching through Revelation
Catch up on the previous verse by verse teaching through 2 Thessalonians