1.
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our
Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. The
message from God’s Word this morning is taken from Matthew 25:1-13 and is
entitled, “The Bridegroom is Coming.” Today, Jesus tells us that His coming is
sure (vv. 6, 10–13) and is your preparation sure? (vv. 1–5, 7–9) Dear brothers
and sisters in Christ.
2.
After
the bombing of the Twin Trade Towers in New York, and the sabotage of the
Pentagon in Washington D.C., and the plane crash in Pennsylvania, these events
caused thousands to immediately re-examine their lives. In fact, on the first
Sunday following September 11, 2001 there was an approximate 20 percent
increase in church attendance across the United States. But then, researchers
tell us, on the second Sunday following September 11, 2001 nationwide church
attendance began to drop off. Within a few weeks, church attendance was once
again roughly back to where it had been, before these tragic events occurred.
3.
Modern
man's memory of events, even national tragedies, is very short-lived. In fact,
we treat real life and death tragedies very much the way we treat fictional
tragedy on TV. It affects us emotionally for the moment. But then it all
quickly passes. But short-term memory is related not only to tragedies.
Fleeting memory, this spiritual sleeping sickness, is a daily deception of the
devil. You see, the devil desires to direct our daily thoughts away from our loving
heavenly Father.
4.
This
temptation you you must oppose it vigorously! Our heavenly Father has created
each of us. He’s the One who helps us every day. Our gracious God is the One
who has given us all things: blessings you and I don't deserve. And, Satan
works at nothing more diligently than to get your mind away from the love of
God in Jesus Christ. How tightly we must cling to the Good News that "if anyone is in Christ he is a new
creature; the old things passed away, new things have come. All these things
are from God who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ. Yes,
the Bible says that God was in Christ,
reconciling you and the world to Himself. God has made Jesus who knew no sin,
to be sin for you, so that you might become the righteousness of God in
Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:17-19, 21). Upon Christ's back, God the
Father has laid all of your sins, and over your shoulders, your heavenly Father
has placed the robe of Christ's perfect righteousness. Now you see, the devil
wants you to forget God's Good News, and to forget that without God your future
is without hope. In fact, even people who attend church regularly are often
like the disciples--like those who were with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.
5.
Remember
that scene just before Jesus went to trial and to His death. Well, first Jesus
went off by Himself in the garden to pray. But when Jesus left His closest
followers in order to be alone to pray, they fell asleep. This happened three
times! The fact that Jesus asked His closest followers to stay awake and watch
and pray, yet they repeatedly succumbed to the devil and dozed off, is a solemn
reminder of the power of Satan. You and I better not brag. This can happen to
us also. In his letter to the Corinthian Christians, St. Paul writes: "Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest
he fall" (1 Corinthians 10:12).
6.
You
see, every time you are tempted to brag about your commitment to Jesus, then,
remember Peter. Peter was temporarily deceived by the devil and denied Christ.
But, our Savior Jesus graciously restored His beloved disciple. Most horrible
of all, however, is the devil's deception of Judas. The devil tempted Judas who
then in despair took his own life.
7.
Staying
spiritually awake is absolutely crucial for you and your entire family because
Jesus says that the He, the Bridegroom is coming. In fact, in the Gospel of
Matthew, chapter 25, Jesus told His disciples to "watch." Jesus then
told the parable of the 10 virgins. Jesus said, "The kingdom of heaven can be likened unto 10 virgins. These virgins
prepared to meet the bridegroom by taking their lamps." Now Jesus
explained five of these virgins were wise and five were foolish. The five
foolish virgins took their lamps but didn’t take any oil with them. "On the other hand, the five wise virgins
took oil in their vessels with their lamps." The Bible says this is
what happened. Jesus said, "The
bridegroom was delayed. And consequently, all 10 virgins fell asleep. Suddenly,
however, at midnight, there was a loud cry, 'Behold the bridegroom is coming.
Let's go out to meet him.'" "Then" the Bible tells us, "all 10 virgins got up from their
sleep. They trimmed their lamps." "At this point, however, a
major crisis occurred. The foolish virgins had run out of oil. And so these
foolish virgins said to the wise virgins, 'Give
us some of your oil because our lamps have gone out.' However, the wise virgins
answered, 'Not so. There is not enough oil for us and for you. You must go to
those who sell oil and buy oil for yourselves.'"
8.
The
Bible tells us "while these foolish
virgins were gone buying oil, suddenly the bridegroom arrived. Those who had
their lamps ready went in with the bridegroom to the marriage feast, and the
door was shut. "Sometime later the foolish virgins arrived at the door and
said, 'Lord, Lord, open to us.' But the bridegroom answered, 'Verily I say unto
you, I know you not.'" Then Jesus told all who were listening the
powerful point of His parable, "Watch
therefore because you know neither the day nor the hour when the Son of man
will return."
9.
Jesus'
words couldn’t be more appropriate than for our generation. God is calling all
of us to be spiritually awake. On our own, we’re spiritually dead. You and I
can no more make ourselves alive, than a child can decide to be born. But,
through His life-giving Word, God brings us new life in Christ. Yes, in Christ,
you and I can rejoice in the words of the apostle Peter when he writes, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy, has caused us to be born again
to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead; to
obtain an inheritance, which is imperishable and undefiled, and that will never
fade away. This inheritance," friends, the Bible says, "is reserved
in heaven for you" (1 Peter 1:3-4.).
10.
Now,
some of you in the past may have been awakened spiritually, by a tragedy or
some other event in your life. God often does this. He often permits personal
tragedies to wake us up. Maybe you lost a loved one in a car accident. Or maybe,
your friend or a parent died from cancer. Or, maybe you were seriously injured.
In these special moments, you may have been truly spiritually awakened. Yet, in more recent months or years, like the
disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane, or the virgins at the wedding feast, you
have become spiritually drowsy and maybe have even fallen spiritually asleep. Yes,
maybe you are one of the many thousands who went to Sunday school as a child,
or, maybe you used to go to church regularly. But now, you are spiritually
inactive. Be careful, friends. Be very careful because Jesus said you may be on
the very doorstop of spiritual death. As
CS Lewis has written in his book the Screwtape Letters, “Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope,
soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without
signposts.”
11.
If
this is true for you, let the words of the apostle Paul speak to your heart.
"It is already the hour for you to
awaken from sleep. The night is almost gone and the day is near. Put on the
Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts"
(Romans 13:11-14). Turn away, the Bible says. Turn away from all those things
in the world which now demand your time and money. Turn instead to Jesus.
Listen to His call as He says to you, "Repent,
and believe the GOOD NEWS, the Gospel of God." The Lord Jesus is more important than money.
Jesus is more crucial than the lottery, more necessary than good clothes, and
more critical than being famous.
12.
Therefore,
if the devil has directed you away from Christ, the church’s bridegroom, listen
to St. Paul's words: "Awaken from
your spiritual sleep." Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, by going to
church, by listening to His life-giving Word faithfully, and by becoming
involved in a group of believers in the Lord Jesus, whose primary purpose is to
serve others. Alone, there’s no way you
can stay spiritually awake. But, when the living Word of God occupies your
mind, this Word will work like a "spiritual" Red Bull energy drink.
Your mind will be occupied by God’s Word and the Good News of Jesus Christ as
your Lord and Savior. This is also why the
apostle Paul urges that all believers in Christ occupy their mind with
Christ-centered "psalms and hymns,
and spiritual songs, singing, and making melody to the Lord in your heart,
always giving thanks for all things, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ"
(Ephesians 5:19-20).
13.
Yes,
the Living Word of God is your hope! You see, every time you sin through His
living Word, God reminds you: He sent His
Son to die on the cross for you. And, when Jesus died, God the Father accepted
the sacrifice of His Son as a complete payment--a complete pardon for all of
your sins. This same Word consoles your heart, assuring your Spirit, that Jesus
is at the very throne of God, hourly interceding on your behalf. This Word will
also enable you to stay spiritually alert as we await the coming of Jesus the
Church’s bridegroom. Please pray with me.
O Lord, we pray, let not one of us today
fall spiritually. Instead, enable each of us to be aware of Your love, mercy,
and Your total forgiveness in Jesus Christ. O Lord, keep us awake. Enable us to "watch" for the glorious
return of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Help us, O Lord, for our help is in You.
Jesus is our hope. He is the Author of forgiveness. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment