Welcome today to the Weekend Sermon. Thank you for reading the blog. It is my hope and prayer that all of you are doing well.
I want to thank everyone for their prayers this last week. We had quite a bit of rain in my area, but there was no major flooding as had been anticipated. I am thankful to the Lord for that.
I would ask for your prayers in another matter. I am considering going back to working more hours in my writing business. I would then just work part-time at another job if necessary. This would involve me resigning from my current position. Please pray that I will have the Lord's wisdom concerning this matter.
Something of much greater importance that I would ask all of you to pray about is the situation in Syria. Please, be in earnest prayer for peace in this very troubled part of the world. Let us continue to pray for peace anywhere across the world where there is war.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let us all pray for the nations of Burkina Faso and Nepal. Pray that many people in these nations will hear the message of Jesus' love and forgiveness.
Most of the Weekend Sermons this year have been devoted to studying the parables of Jesus. That will be our focus today as well. However, since Palm Sunday is coming up as well, I wanted to tie that into our study of Jesus' parables. I think that our parable today will allow for that.
In Matthew 25:1-13, Jesus tells his listeners the parable of the wise and foolish virgins. Jesus said that this parable represented something of what the kingdom of heaven is like. The parable goes something like this. Ten virgins took there lamps and went out to await the arrival of the bridegroom at a wedding. They had the lamps so that they could light the way should the bridegroom arrive at night. Five of the virgins were wise and brought oil so that they would have fuel to light the lamp. Five virgins were foolish and had no fuel.
When the bridegroom arrived, the five foolish virgins asked the wise virgins if they could borrow some of their oil. The wise virgins said no, and entered into the wedding feast with the bridegroom. The foolish virgins went out looking for oil, and then when they tried to get into the wedding feast, they were not allowed to enter.
Jesus reminded His listeners in verse 13 that they needed to stay awake. No one knows the day or the hour when the Son of Man will return.
This parable is one of several, and we will study the others, that deal with the theme of being alert and prepared for the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus.
Jesus said Himself that He would return to this earth one day. Jesus said that no one knew when that day would come. It was the responsibility of all those who followed Him to be on the alert and be prepared should Jesus come at any moment.
As we approach Palm Sunday, we see that Jesus road into the city of Jerusalem riding on a donkey. He was praised by the people, and they placed the palm leaves in His path as they shouted out "Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord."
As we will see during the course of Holy Week, these shouts of praise turned around into shouts that said, "Crucify him. We have no king but Caesar."
When Jesus comes again, He will come in power and great glory. Everyone living on planet earth will see Him. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Jesus will reign forever and forever and His kingdom will have no end.
I look forward to the Second Coming of Jesus with great anticipation. When Jesus returns, all wars will cease. Peace will reign throughout the universe. All sickness, disease and death will be gone forever. Justice and righteousness will be throughout the cosmos.
So, what does this parable have to do with all of this. Jesus Second Coming in the Scriptures is imaged like a bridegroom coming for his bride to take her to the wedding feast. The church is the bride of Christ. All of those who have put their faith and trust in Jesus are part of the church of Jesus Christ.
In the parable, some of the virgins had oil and some did not. In the visible church, there are those who are truly followers of Jesus and those who are not. When Jesus returns at His Second Coming, the genuine believers will be evident as will those who did not have a true profession of faith in the Lord.
What is clear from this parable is that everyone has to have an experience with the risen Christ for themselves. Salvation is personal. The wise virgins could not share their oil. Everyone who would follow Jesus has to come to Him and repent of their sins and receive His forgiveness on an individual basis.
Jesus calls all of us to be ready should He come at any moment. Yes, this means that we need to make our calling and election sure, but it also means that we need to be acting in such a way that we would not be ashamed at His coming. I don't think that any follower of Jesus would want to be engaged in a sinful act when Jesus returned.
On a positive note, we should want to be found doing the Lord's will when He returns. That involves sharing the message of Jesus' love and working to make this world a better place by helping others.
As you reflect on all that happened on Palm Sunday, remember that Jesus is coming again. I hope He will come soon. As the Apostle John said, "Come Lord Jesus".
Next week we will have a different schedule on the blog due to Holy Week. I will post the verses on Monday, but there will not be a chapter of the book posted until next week. On Wednesday, there will not be a review. On Thursday, I will post about Maundy Thursday and on Friday the post will be about Good Friday. The Weekend Sermon will be posted on Saturday. May God bless you all. Amen.
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