From Time To Time - Part Thirty Jun 02, 2024 by: John Herbert | Series: From Time to Time Audio Study Notes PDF https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/T011_20240602.mp3 Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Mt 25:1 “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. We will continue to look at the parable of the ten virgins. The full text of this message can be found by clicking the PDF button. Sunday June 2nd 2024 From Time to Time – Part 30 1). Mt 25:1 “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. 6 “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ 7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And 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. 11 “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ 12 But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. Last time we had started to look at the parable of the ten virgins, which is the third in a sequence of four parables that the Lord gave concerning Christians in response to His disciples’ question about the sign of His coming and the end of the age. And there are essentially two things in view throughout all four parables; a time of present preparation in anticipation of impending judgment at the resurrection/rapture of all Christians as Christ returns. And those who will stand at Christ’s Judgment Seat, all Christians from the two thousand years of this dispensation, will fall into one of two categories, they will either be found faithful or unfaithful with respect to that which they have heard, the Word of the Kingdom, the gospel of Christ, the Word of Christ. a). In the Book of the Revelation the faithful are called ‘overcomers’ – Re 3:18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. 21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. And those who are not ‘overcomers’, the unfaithful, will have been overcome by the world, the flesh and the devil because of their unfaithfulness. And in the counsel given to buy from the Lord gold refined in the fire we will hear an echo of the foolish virgins being sent to buy more oil for their lamps. This we will come back to later. b). It will be the faithful, for reasons which will become obvious, who will be victorious in the spiritual warfare and the unfaithful who will have been defeated – 2 Ti 2:5 And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. The faithful will have competed in the race of the faith according to the rules and the unfaithful will not. The faithful will have held fast to what they have, and the unfaithful will have allowed their crown to be taken. And as we can see, the parable of the ten virgins begins with rulership in view, Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened. And the phrase, ‘the kingdom of heaven’ refers to the rule of the heavens over the earth, as we know from – Da 4:26…….that the Heavens do rule. [KJV] This statement encompasses the invisible heavenly realm of the Kingdom presently occupied by Satan and his angels, from which the earth is governed through human counterparts and then beyond that, to the third heaven, the farthest recesses of the north, from which God exercises His Sovereign control over all the provinces in the Universe. And it is the invisible heavenly realm and its rule over the earth that we see described in – Col 1:16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And it is this invisible heavenly realm that is about to experience a change of occupancy, when Christ and His co-heirs replace Satan and his angels – Heb 2:5 For He has not put the [inhabited] world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. 6 But one testified in a certain place, saying: “What is man that You are mindful of him, Or the son of man that You take care of him? 7 You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, And set him over the works of Your hands. 8 You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him. And it is within the context of the replacement of Satan and his angels and the rulership of the earth in the Seventh Day that we find our ten virgins. So then, with the offer of rulership from the heavens with Christ as a co-heir in view, five of the virgins were wise and five were foolish. And we will remember that the Greek word translated foolish is the word from which we get the English word ‘moron’. For the foolish, as we consider the indescribable privilege of ascending Christ’s throne in the heavens with Him and being adopted as God’s firstborn son, their unfaithfulness with respect to this, can only be described as moronic. 2). As we had seen last time, all ten virgins ‘went out to meet the bridegroom’. And this pictures the present time of preparation. And it is worthy of our attention to note that ‘going out to meet the Bridegroom’ is to be the sole focus of Christian activity for those who have embraced their heavenly calling. The Bridegroom is coming and all the virgins, all Christians, have gone out into the world to prepare for the day of His arrival, which is soon to come. And from the previous parables, this would be that seen through those in the field and grinding at the mill, along with providing meat to the master’s household in due season. Then with these things in mind we can add through the experience of the ten virgins that this time of preparation, because of the impending judgment that awaits us, has to do with having an extra supply of ‘oil’ beyond that already contained in our lamps. And this extra supply of oil we had seen described for us in – Eph 5:15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be continually filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God. And as we continue in Ephesians Chapters 5 and 6, we are given examples of what it looks like to be continually filled with the Spirit for those preparing to meet the Bridegroom on His threshing floor – Eph 5:22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. The wife who is continually filled with the Spirit will be in submission to her husband, and the husband who is continually filled with the Spirit will love his wife as Christ loved the church – Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her………. Children continually filled with the Spirit will be obedient to their parents and fathers continually filled with the Spirit will not provoke their children to wrath but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord – Eph 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right…………. 4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. Bondservants, continually filled with the Spirit will be obedient to their masters, and the master, continually filled with the Spirit will treat those in his service with equity and justice – Eph 6:5 Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ……………9 And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him. And it is these verses that lead us into those that describe the spiritual warfare – Eph 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. It will become obvious to us as we read these verses that the only way we can be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might and be able to put on the whole armor of God, is by being continually filled with the Spirit. Should we choose to do so then we can be certain of victory in the spiritual warfare, and should we choose not to do so, then our defeat is just as certain. a). Although there is no mention of the spiritual warfare in the parable, being victorious is implicit through the wise virgins having an extra supply of oil and going into the wedding festivities with the Bridegroom. And in the same way, defeat in the spiritual warfare is implicit through the failure of the foolish to have the extra supply of oil and their exclusion from the wedding festivities. b). It is really important for us to remember that from the beginning of Genesis all things have been inexorably moving toward the Seventh Day and Christ’s Kingdom when Christ and His co-heirs will take the Kingdom of the heavens from Satan and his angels. Man was created for this purpose, and we have been saved, and are presently being saved for this same purpose, and our present preparation is to be focused on fulfilling this purpose. Consequently, we don’t live and run the race of the faith in a benign environment. Satan and his angles have held the scepter of rulership over the earth from a time before the creation of Adam. They know that God is calling out a new order of rulers to replace them and they will stop at nothing to maintain their grip on the scepter, even to the attempted annihilation of the entire Jewish race during the tribulation. And during this dispensation Satan can only be focused on the seed of Abraham by faith. Those to whom the Kingdom of the heavens is being offered, following it being taken from Israel. Those who have heard the Word of the Kingdom and have set their face like flint toward the city God has prepared for them, those who are being continually filled with the Spirit in anticipation of their meeting with the Bridegroom. And this is why the Lord admonishes us so many times to – Mt 25:13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. Mt 26:41 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Lk 21:36 Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.” 1 Co 16:13 Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. 1 Th 5:6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. And along with these comes the warning – Re 3:3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. I think it would be fair to say, that if we choose to ignore what we have just read, we will have to be a moron. c). So then, we can readily see how vital it is to be continually filled with the Spirit if we are to have victory in the spiritual warfare so that no one may take our crown. And if we do so then the battle is not ours it belongs to the Lord, we are to be strong in Him and the power of His might, not in ourselves – 1 Pe 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls. And right alongside the spiritual warfare, and inseparable from it, is the ‘metamorphosis’ – Ro 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. That seen in these verses is an integral part of going out to meet the Bridegroom and is essential for us if we are to go into the wedding festivities. And all must begin by presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice. And as we consider this, we might call to mind what we had looked at last time concerning Cain and Abel. The sacrifice we are to bring that will be acceptable to God, is the organization of our lives by having faith to the saving of the soul. And in order to have faith to the saving of the soul, two concurrent things must happen. We must, on the one hand, stop being conformed, stop patterning ourselves according to this world, the way we think, the way we conduct ourselves, where we put our focus. And we should do this because – 1 Jn 5:19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. To pattern ourselves according to this world would be to embrace the strategies and wiles of our enemy who has set in place those things he sees as necessary to retain his position of rulership. And we will remember what he has done to the Word of the Kingdom and the Church with a view to the same end. Remembering the Laodicean leftovers, we must watch that we are not continuing to follow the pattern of ‘church’ as it used to be transplanting it into our current setting. The Laodicean church and the world are inseparable, and all lies under the sway of the wicked one. d). And in order to recognize this conformity and to escape from it, we must be transformed, the ‘metamorphosis’, by the renewing of our mind – 2 Co 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. Eph 4:22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. Col 3:9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge [epignosis] according to the image of Him who created him……… Our renewal, our ‘metamorphosis’, is to take place day by day, a continual process that will enable us to use our mind within the spiritual realm rather than the fleshly. And this takes place through ‘epignosis’ knowledge, mature knowledge concerning Christ’s return and His Kingdom in the Seventh Day. And it should be pretty obvious that these things can only happen if we are continually filled with the Spirit, if we continually allow the Word of Christ to dwell in us richly in all wisdom. The connection between the renewing of our mind and putting on the whole armor of God should also be obvious, particularly as we consider taking up the shield of faith and putting on the helmet of salvation. 3). Let’s recall some verses from the parable - Mt 25:1 “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. Now, as we read v5 we might be reminded of a verse from the previous parable – Mt 24:48 But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ And the ‘delay’ spoken of is the same in both places. It deals with that time from the Lord’s ascension to His return, pictured for us in foundation through the first generation of Israel and the golden calf incident – Ex 32:1 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”…………… 6 Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. And we will remember from the parable that the ‘evil’ servant then began to beat his fellow servants and eat and drink with the drunkards. And in both Exodus Chapter 32 and Matthew Chapter 24, it is not eating and drinking of itself that is the issue, but what it is that is being eaten and drunk. It will either be that which God has provided or that which seems right in our own eyes, the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Jn 6:53 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. 56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. We are to eat His flesh and drink His blood, a symbolic representation of the Word of Christ, the Scriptures. As Christ is the Word made flesh, then this is what we are to eat if we are to have life for the age. a). The gospel of Christ, the Word of Christ, the Word of the Kingdom is pictured in John Chapter 6 as Christ’s flesh. This is one way it is described. And dealing with the same gospel of Christ, the Word of Christ, the Word of the Kingdom, it is described this way in – 2 Ti 3:16 All Scripture is God breathed, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. All Scripture is God’s breath, that which He has spoken, remembering that the word ‘breath’ is the same word that can be translated ‘spirit’. So, God’s breath is God’s Spirit. That with which we are to be continually filled. And as we have seen in the parable of the ten virgins, the Spirit of God is symbolized in the oil that the virgins possessed. All were indwelt by the Spirit, but the foolish were not continually filled with the Spirit beyond that. b). As we look for the explanation as to why one was taken and one left, and why the wise servant became an evil servant, it would have to be because of what we see with the foolish virgins, not being continually filled with the Spirit. c). Or to say this another way, they were not prepared for their meeting with their Master/Bridegroom. Or another way still, they were defeated in the spiritual warfare. Or yet another way, they were overcome by the world, the flesh, and the devil. Or again, they conducted themselves apart from having faith to the saving of the soul. d). All had the opportunity to be taken alongside, to give meat in due season and to be wise, but this was not what they chose. 2 Pe 1:16 For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 18 And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. 19 And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts……. We will continue with this next time if we remain and the Lord is willing, and we have prayed. From Time To Time - Part Thirty Jun 02, 2024 Speaker: John Herbert Series: From Time to Time Category: Sunday Morning https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/T011_20240602.mp3 Download Audio x
Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Mt 25:1 “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. We will continue to look at the parable of the ten virgins. The full text of this message can be found by clicking the PDF button. Sunday June 2nd 2024 From Time to Time – Part 30 1). Mt 25:1 “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. 6 “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ 7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And 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. 11 “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ 12 But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. Last time we had started to look at the parable of the ten virgins, which is the third in a sequence of four parables that the Lord gave concerning Christians in response to His disciples’ question about the sign of His coming and the end of the age. And there are essentially two things in view throughout all four parables; a time of present preparation in anticipation of impending judgment at the resurrection/rapture of all Christians as Christ returns. And those who will stand at Christ’s Judgment Seat, all Christians from the two thousand years of this dispensation, will fall into one of two categories, they will either be found faithful or unfaithful with respect to that which they have heard, the Word of the Kingdom, the gospel of Christ, the Word of Christ. a). In the Book of the Revelation the faithful are called ‘overcomers’ – Re 3:18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. 21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. And those who are not ‘overcomers’, the unfaithful, will have been overcome by the world, the flesh and the devil because of their unfaithfulness. And in the counsel given to buy from the Lord gold refined in the fire we will hear an echo of the foolish virgins being sent to buy more oil for their lamps. This we will come back to later. b). It will be the faithful, for reasons which will become obvious, who will be victorious in the spiritual warfare and the unfaithful who will have been defeated – 2 Ti 2:5 And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. The faithful will have competed in the race of the faith according to the rules and the unfaithful will not. The faithful will have held fast to what they have, and the unfaithful will have allowed their crown to be taken. And as we can see, the parable of the ten virgins begins with rulership in view, Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened. And the phrase, ‘the kingdom of heaven’ refers to the rule of the heavens over the earth, as we know from – Da 4:26…….that the Heavens do rule. [KJV] This statement encompasses the invisible heavenly realm of the Kingdom presently occupied by Satan and his angels, from which the earth is governed through human counterparts and then beyond that, to the third heaven, the farthest recesses of the north, from which God exercises His Sovereign control over all the provinces in the Universe. And it is the invisible heavenly realm and its rule over the earth that we see described in – Col 1:16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And it is this invisible heavenly realm that is about to experience a change of occupancy, when Christ and His co-heirs replace Satan and his angels – Heb 2:5 For He has not put the [inhabited] world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. 6 But one testified in a certain place, saying: “What is man that You are mindful of him, Or the son of man that You take care of him? 7 You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, And set him over the works of Your hands. 8 You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him. And it is within the context of the replacement of Satan and his angels and the rulership of the earth in the Seventh Day that we find our ten virgins. So then, with the offer of rulership from the heavens with Christ as a co-heir in view, five of the virgins were wise and five were foolish. And we will remember that the Greek word translated foolish is the word from which we get the English word ‘moron’. For the foolish, as we consider the indescribable privilege of ascending Christ’s throne in the heavens with Him and being adopted as God’s firstborn son, their unfaithfulness with respect to this, can only be described as moronic. 2). As we had seen last time, all ten virgins ‘went out to meet the bridegroom’. And this pictures the present time of preparation. And it is worthy of our attention to note that ‘going out to meet the Bridegroom’ is to be the sole focus of Christian activity for those who have embraced their heavenly calling. The Bridegroom is coming and all the virgins, all Christians, have gone out into the world to prepare for the day of His arrival, which is soon to come. And from the previous parables, this would be that seen through those in the field and grinding at the mill, along with providing meat to the master’s household in due season. Then with these things in mind we can add through the experience of the ten virgins that this time of preparation, because of the impending judgment that awaits us, has to do with having an extra supply of ‘oil’ beyond that already contained in our lamps. And this extra supply of oil we had seen described for us in – Eph 5:15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be continually filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God. And as we continue in Ephesians Chapters 5 and 6, we are given examples of what it looks like to be continually filled with the Spirit for those preparing to meet the Bridegroom on His threshing floor – Eph 5:22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. The wife who is continually filled with the Spirit will be in submission to her husband, and the husband who is continually filled with the Spirit will love his wife as Christ loved the church – Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her………. Children continually filled with the Spirit will be obedient to their parents and fathers continually filled with the Spirit will not provoke their children to wrath but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord – Eph 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right…………. 4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. Bondservants, continually filled with the Spirit will be obedient to their masters, and the master, continually filled with the Spirit will treat those in his service with equity and justice – Eph 6:5 Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ……………9 And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him. And it is these verses that lead us into those that describe the spiritual warfare – Eph 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. It will become obvious to us as we read these verses that the only way we can be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might and be able to put on the whole armor of God, is by being continually filled with the Spirit. Should we choose to do so then we can be certain of victory in the spiritual warfare, and should we choose not to do so, then our defeat is just as certain. a). Although there is no mention of the spiritual warfare in the parable, being victorious is implicit through the wise virgins having an extra supply of oil and going into the wedding festivities with the Bridegroom. And in the same way, defeat in the spiritual warfare is implicit through the failure of the foolish to have the extra supply of oil and their exclusion from the wedding festivities. b). It is really important for us to remember that from the beginning of Genesis all things have been inexorably moving toward the Seventh Day and Christ’s Kingdom when Christ and His co-heirs will take the Kingdom of the heavens from Satan and his angels. Man was created for this purpose, and we have been saved, and are presently being saved for this same purpose, and our present preparation is to be focused on fulfilling this purpose. Consequently, we don’t live and run the race of the faith in a benign environment. Satan and his angles have held the scepter of rulership over the earth from a time before the creation of Adam. They know that God is calling out a new order of rulers to replace them and they will stop at nothing to maintain their grip on the scepter, even to the attempted annihilation of the entire Jewish race during the tribulation. And during this dispensation Satan can only be focused on the seed of Abraham by faith. Those to whom the Kingdom of the heavens is being offered, following it being taken from Israel. Those who have heard the Word of the Kingdom and have set their face like flint toward the city God has prepared for them, those who are being continually filled with the Spirit in anticipation of their meeting with the Bridegroom. And this is why the Lord admonishes us so many times to – Mt 25:13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. Mt 26:41 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Lk 21:36 Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.” 1 Co 16:13 Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. 1 Th 5:6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. And along with these comes the warning – Re 3:3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. I think it would be fair to say, that if we choose to ignore what we have just read, we will have to be a moron. c). So then, we can readily see how vital it is to be continually filled with the Spirit if we are to have victory in the spiritual warfare so that no one may take our crown. And if we do so then the battle is not ours it belongs to the Lord, we are to be strong in Him and the power of His might, not in ourselves – 1 Pe 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls. And right alongside the spiritual warfare, and inseparable from it, is the ‘metamorphosis’ – Ro 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. That seen in these verses is an integral part of going out to meet the Bridegroom and is essential for us if we are to go into the wedding festivities. And all must begin by presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice. And as we consider this, we might call to mind what we had looked at last time concerning Cain and Abel. The sacrifice we are to bring that will be acceptable to God, is the organization of our lives by having faith to the saving of the soul. And in order to have faith to the saving of the soul, two concurrent things must happen. We must, on the one hand, stop being conformed, stop patterning ourselves according to this world, the way we think, the way we conduct ourselves, where we put our focus. And we should do this because – 1 Jn 5:19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. To pattern ourselves according to this world would be to embrace the strategies and wiles of our enemy who has set in place those things he sees as necessary to retain his position of rulership. And we will remember what he has done to the Word of the Kingdom and the Church with a view to the same end. Remembering the Laodicean leftovers, we must watch that we are not continuing to follow the pattern of ‘church’ as it used to be transplanting it into our current setting. The Laodicean church and the world are inseparable, and all lies under the sway of the wicked one. d). And in order to recognize this conformity and to escape from it, we must be transformed, the ‘metamorphosis’, by the renewing of our mind – 2 Co 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. Eph 4:22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. Col 3:9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge [epignosis] according to the image of Him who created him……… Our renewal, our ‘metamorphosis’, is to take place day by day, a continual process that will enable us to use our mind within the spiritual realm rather than the fleshly. And this takes place through ‘epignosis’ knowledge, mature knowledge concerning Christ’s return and His Kingdom in the Seventh Day. And it should be pretty obvious that these things can only happen if we are continually filled with the Spirit, if we continually allow the Word of Christ to dwell in us richly in all wisdom. The connection between the renewing of our mind and putting on the whole armor of God should also be obvious, particularly as we consider taking up the shield of faith and putting on the helmet of salvation. 3). Let’s recall some verses from the parable - Mt 25:1 “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. Now, as we read v5 we might be reminded of a verse from the previous parable – Mt 24:48 But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ And the ‘delay’ spoken of is the same in both places. It deals with that time from the Lord’s ascension to His return, pictured for us in foundation through the first generation of Israel and the golden calf incident – Ex 32:1 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”…………… 6 Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. And we will remember from the parable that the ‘evil’ servant then began to beat his fellow servants and eat and drink with the drunkards. And in both Exodus Chapter 32 and Matthew Chapter 24, it is not eating and drinking of itself that is the issue, but what it is that is being eaten and drunk. It will either be that which God has provided or that which seems right in our own eyes, the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Jn 6:53 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. 56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. We are to eat His flesh and drink His blood, a symbolic representation of the Word of Christ, the Scriptures. As Christ is the Word made flesh, then this is what we are to eat if we are to have life for the age. a). The gospel of Christ, the Word of Christ, the Word of the Kingdom is pictured in John Chapter 6 as Christ’s flesh. This is one way it is described. And dealing with the same gospel of Christ, the Word of Christ, the Word of the Kingdom, it is described this way in – 2 Ti 3:16 All Scripture is God breathed, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. All Scripture is God’s breath, that which He has spoken, remembering that the word ‘breath’ is the same word that can be translated ‘spirit’. So, God’s breath is God’s Spirit. That with which we are to be continually filled. And as we have seen in the parable of the ten virgins, the Spirit of God is symbolized in the oil that the virgins possessed. All were indwelt by the Spirit, but the foolish were not continually filled with the Spirit beyond that. b). As we look for the explanation as to why one was taken and one left, and why the wise servant became an evil servant, it would have to be because of what we see with the foolish virgins, not being continually filled with the Spirit. c). Or to say this another way, they were not prepared for their meeting with their Master/Bridegroom. Or another way still, they were defeated in the spiritual warfare. Or yet another way, they were overcome by the world, the flesh, and the devil. Or again, they conducted themselves apart from having faith to the saving of the soul. d). All had the opportunity to be taken alongside, to give meat in due season and to be wise, but this was not what they chose. 2 Pe 1:16 For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 18 And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. 19 And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts……. We will continue with this next time if we remain and the Lord is willing, and we have prayed.