March 26, Fourth Sunday in Lent

Lesson: Matthew 25.1-13

Sermon Title: Give Me Oil for My Lamp!

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INTRODUCTION:

Meatless Fridays (1)

John Smith was the only Protestant to move into a large Catholic neighborhood. On the first Friday of Lent, John was outside grilling a big juicy steak on his grill.

Meanwhile, all of his neighbors were eating cold tuna fish for supper. This went on each Friday of Lent. On the last Friday of Lent, the neighborhood men got together and decided that something had to be done about John. He was tempting them to eat meat each Friday of Lent, and they couldn't take it anymore.

They decided to try and convert John to Catholicism.

They went over and talked to him. John decided to join all of his neighbors and become a Catholic, which made them all very happy. They took him to church, and the priest sprinkled some water over him, and said, "You were born a Baptist, you were raised a Baptist, and now you are a Catholic."

The men were so relieved, now their biggest Lenten temptation was resolved.

The next year's Lenten season rolled around. The first Friday of Lent came, and, just at supper time, when the neighborhood was settling down to their cold tuna fish dinner, the smell of steak cooking on a grill came wafting into their homes. The neighborhood men could not believe their noses! WHAT WAS GOING ON?

They called each other up and decided to meet over in John's yard to see if he had forgotten it was the first Friday of Lent. The group arrived just in time to see John standing over his grill with a small pitcher of water. He was sprinkling some water over his steak on the grill, saying, "You were born a cow, you were raised a cow, and now you are a fish."

  1. If only it were that easy.

    1. Its not we know.

    2. Transformation takes time, effort and a lot of experience.

Swanky Dining (2)

The couple entered the resort's swanky dining room. "I'm sorry," apologized the Maitre d, "but there are no tables available."

"One moment, my friend," said the man, drawing himself up. "I happen to be Gregory R. Carruthers, the sportsman."

"I'd like to accommodate you, Mr. Carruthers, but there just isn't a table available this evening."

"I bet if President Bush came in and asked for a table, there'd be one available."

"Yes-s-s," the other admitted, "I suppose there would be a table available for President Bush."

"Good! I'll take it. George isn't coming!"

George may not be coming but the Bridegroom is coming.

  1. George may not be coming, but the bridegroom is coming.

  2. This parable is about the preparation and tenacity needed to be ready to meet the bridegroom.

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MAIN BODY:

  1. It is a simple story.

    1. We do not want to allegorize the story.

      1. An allegory is defined as:

Allegory (3)

Allegory, in literature, symbolic story that serves as a disguised representation for meanings other than those indicated on the surface. The characters in an allegory often have no individual personality, but are embodiments of moral qualities and other abstractions. The allegory is closely related to the parable, fable, and metaphor, differing from them largely in intricacy and length...John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, a prose narrative, is an allegory of man's spiritual salvation.

      1. This would distort the meaning.

        1. We desire the meaning that is on the surface.

        2. We wish to know the characters to see if we see ourselves in them.

    1. We seek to understand the story with its significant parts.

      1. "Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this.

        1. The kingdom of heaven is the Second Coming of Jesus.

        2. This is what we have been concentrating on to understand all the implications for the Christian.

      2. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.

        1. The bridesmaids are not intimate friends of the bride..

        2. They are acquaintances of the bride who would be welcome to join the procession.

        3. They would be able to share in the festivities.

      3. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.

        1. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them;

        2. ...The wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.

      4. As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept.

      5. But at midnight there was a shout, 'Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.'

      6. Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps.

        1. The clay lamps had been burning for some time.

        2. The lamp needed to be refilled.

        3. The wicks needed to be trimmed.

      7. The foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.'

      8. But the wise replied, 'No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.'

      9. And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut.

      10. Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, 'Lord, lord, open to us.'

      11. But he replied, 'Truly I tell you, I do not know you.'

      12. Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

  1. If you were going to characterize the ten bridesmaids, you could do it this way; it is the way of contrasts.

    1. First it has to do with faith.

      1. Faith is not acceptance of the unknown.

      2. Faith is not a leap in the dark.

      3. Faith is a relationship.

        1. The wise maidens are going Forward in Faith

        2. The foolish maidens are stagnant in their faith.

    2. Second it has to do with grace.

GRACE Undeserved acceptance and love received from another, especially the characteristic attitude of God in providing salvation for sinners. For Christians, the word "grace" is virtually synonymous with the gospel of God's gift of unmerited salvation in Jesus Christ. To express this, the New Testament writers used the Greek word charis, which had a long previous history in secular Greek. Related to the word for joy or pleasure, charis originally referred to something delightful or attractive in a person, something which brought pleasure to others. From this it came to have the idea of a favor or kindness done to another or of a gift which brought pleasure to another. Viewed from the standpoint of the recipient, it was used to refer to the thankfulness felt for a gift or favor. These meanings also appear in the biblical use of charis, but only in the New Testament does it come to have the familiar sense which "grace" bears for Christians.

A state of mind that sees God in everything is evidence of growth in grace and a thankful heart. --Charles G. Finney (1792-1875)

Grace is God himself, his loving energy at work within his church and within our souls. --Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941)

      1. The wise maidens are Growing in Grace

      2. The foolish maidens are satisfied with their grace.

    1. Third, it has to do with love.

      1. Love is the ultimate principle of relationships.

        1. The wise maidens are Lavish in Love

        2. The foolish maidens are skimpy in their love.

    2. The results are open and to clear to be misunderstood.,

      1. The wise maidens are constantly ready for the coming of the Bridegroom.

      2. The foolish maidens are caught unprepared.

    3. The door is the means of entrance.

      1. The wise maidens are welcomed through an open door.

      2. The foolish maidens find that the door is shut and cannot be opened.

      3. The foolish are not known by the bridegroom.

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  1. The wise bridesmaids are not good; the foolish bridesmaids are not evil.

    1. The bridesmaids represent all those who profess a pure faith in Jesus Christ.

    2. They are all believers, but with one difference.

      1. The foolish are like the people who have come to believe in eternal security, "ONCE SAVED, ALWAYS SAVED."

      2. Once I've got it, I don't need anything more.

      3. Baptized, Confirmed, I'm saved! Really?

        1. This cannot be.

        2. Jesus responds to the rationalizations of those who would follow, but do not.

Luke 9:57-62 (NRSVA)

57As they were going along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." 58And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." 59To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." 60But Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." 61Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home." 62Jesus said to him, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."

        1. Paul speaks of those who have been enlightened by the good news of the Gospel and backslide.

Hebrews 5:8-14 (NRSVA)

8Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; 9and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, 10having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

11About this we have much to say that is hard to explain, since you have become dull in understanding. 12For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic elements of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food; 13for everyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is unskilled in the word of righteousness. 14But solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties have been trained by practice to distinguish good from evil.

Hebrews 6:1-8 (NRSVA)

1Therefore let us go on toward perfection, leaving behind the basic teaching about Christ, and not laying again the foundation: repentance from dead works and faith toward God, 2instruction about baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3And we will do this, if God permits. 4For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6and then have fallen away, since on their own they are crucifying again the Son of God and are holding him up to contempt. 7Ground that drinks up the rain falling on it repeatedly, and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. 8But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and on the verge of being cursed; its end is to be burned over.

      1. The foolish want others to do what only they can do for themselves.

        1. We cannot share our oil with another.

        2. We can witness to the power of the oil.

        3. We can help another through the presence of the Holy Spirit, but we can save only ourselves.

      2. The foolish do not comprehend that salvation is not an event it is a process.

    1. The wise recognize that there is a preparation that is necessary.

      1. Even if you fall asleep, you are prepared.

      2. You are prepared because you know that you will eventually meet the bridegroom.

  1. This is the way that my grandmother put it.

You are on an around the world cruise. The ship is severely damaged in a storm and is sinking. You are fortunate to find space in a lifeboat. You drift for a time and then are picked up by another ship. You are not safe until you have landed on the shore.

    1. We are safe, but we are not fully saved.

    2. We have the hope and a promise now.

    3. The fulfillment of the promise comes when we enter through the door into the wedding feast.

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CONCLUSION

  1. The finality of the situation is related by Jesus in these words:

13Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

    1. Understand!

    2. Apply!

    3. Wait with patience.

    4. The day is coming!

Amen!

1. Beliefnet Religious Jokes [BeliefnetReligiousJokes@partner.beliefnet.com]

2. Pastor Tim [posts@cybersaltlists.org]

3. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press.

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