Worship

Anyway, okay. I want to see if you have a Bible. I'm going to have you open up to Matthew 25 might be in your bulletin to I believe but if you're getting there, I want to tell you an ancient story give you a little history lesson. Say what? It's out. Okay, we'll work on that sometime. Thank you.

Here's the history lesson. So the Babylonians that kind of Rose into power, right and after the Babylonians Rose into power than they were taking over by the medes and the Persians in the Persian Empire grew and overtook the Babylonian Empire became bigger and stronger and then how many of you all heard of Alexander the Great

And then two of those kingdoms became Syrian Empire and how many of you know of Syria.

Ordeal right now, right it didn't used to be that way. These guys were big these guys were huge. And so these two empires they would go back and forth and in wars and they would fight each other and finally towards the end. This evil came a rose and his name is an EOS just epiphanies has anybody ever heard of him? Bad guy Max knows Mexican be my van. I hear but this guy was evil. He was a master of Deceit and he came in and he was seeking to the to destroy Egypt. He was seeking to destroy all of these other different nations. And finally he went into Jerusalem and he destroyed the city. He went into the temple and he put an altar over God's Altar and he sacrificed pigs of all things how many of you know to a Jewish person that So we sacrifice pigs on the altar of God. Jesus and all this went on and on and on and finally there was a revolt. And these people these group of people are called The Maccabees they came in they revolted and they took back the temple. They took back the city and when they went in to clean out the temple, they went into to find the manure and they they had enough oil for one day one day. And they put it in. And I thought this is all we've got we can't make enough oil. It in the amount of time. It's going to take to keep this thing burning. 7 days after that that boy lamp is still burning. 7 days after that it's supernatural call it spiritual call it what you want but 7 Days Later the amount of oil that was only supposed to last for a day kept that lamp still burning. And today the Jewish people celebrate. That is Hanukkah, but I want to I want to bring that into today's relevancy. What does that mean for us as Christians today? And I can't help but believe that the times that were in a very scary, does anybody believe that the time to learn of scary? Okay. So I can't help but believe that some big things are coming. Big things are coming. Okay. So Jesus, they asked Jesus about all this stuff when Jesus began to tell him about in Time stuff and he began to tell him about all the things to look for and then afterwards he went into this Parable in Matthew 25, and if you want to read along in the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom five of them were foolish five of them were prudent. That means wise if you know, I had to look that up. Anyway for the foolish took their lamps. They took no oil with them, but The Prudent took oil and flask along with their lamps. Now while the bridegroom was delay. They all got drowsy began to sleep. But it midnight there was a shout before the bridegroom come out to meet him. All these versions Rose and trim their lamps the foolish said to The Prudent give us some of your oil for our lamps are going to go out but the fruit and answered no, there won't be enough for us and you to go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourself. And how many of you think who the heck is a dealer at midnight? I mean Walmart, and I guess I don't know. So why they were going away to make the purchase the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into him to the wedding feast and the door was shut later. The other virgin came saying Lord Lord open up for us, but he answered truly. I say to you. I do not know you. Be on alert then for you do not know the day or the hour. So this is a pretty standard Parable right? He's kind of you kind of get the basic idea. We kind of have the basic idea of being alert because we never know we've been we've been told this all the time. We never know when Christ is coming back. That's what the whole moral is. We never know. When when I want to say that there's more to this story than what meets the eye. Look on the front of your bulletin is that that that picture you see that that's a little oil lamp and that's the lamp that they would have had back then you know how big that thing is. It's like this big.

And then David was also we know.

David became

probably all in the

Probably in your head.

But I want to First.

Olive We're grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich route. of the Olive Tree So if Jesus is the Olive Tree then we are branches and shoots from what the Olive Tree. Now this the second question is what the heck does this have to do with anything about what you're talking about Jason? And here's the the biggest fiction of all what happens to olives that you don't eat on pizza and in salad, what is it get made into Take take one. Guess what the virgins used in their lamps. It is no coincidence. That you are the shoot of an olive tree. It's no coincidence that you the fruit that you bear is is Correlated or parallel to an olive tree or Olive because it gets pressed into olive oil and because it's the oil is that oil that you need to burn into your lamps? Okay, Jay this is this is called one word faith. And James puts it like this faith without works as what? Dead bait. So he saying you have to put oil in your lamp off. The oil lamp is going to run dry. So what why couldn't they borrow oil from the other five virgins that had enough? What what's the big deal? And why is it important? Because it was important for them to be a light you see in the culture. They went out to meet the bridegroom and when he came they led the way they prepare the way for the bridegroom to come back to the house to have the wedding Feast. That's what we're all waiting on. I don't know if you know that or not, but when it comes to the end of time went when all things come to an end, what we're waiting on most is the wedding Feast the return of Christ to come back and there are people who are call to prepare the way of the Lord and that's what these people were. They were Witnesses. And if you want to if you want a validation of that Revelations 11 talks about two witnesses, and and when he goes into the description of these two witnesses, they're called the olive trees and the lampstands now one wasn't it all the lamps and they were both each because they were both pouring oil into their lamps. They were both building their face each and every minute each and every day of their life because they needed to be a light in the Bible says that Darkness can't handle the light. Do you know that? Darkness can't handle the way if we were to shut the lights off in this in this room. If we were to close all the curtains and became completely dark in one of you lit your phone up turn on a flashlight or something. It could not be overcome. Darkness could not overtake it. Do you know why because the darkness is not tangible Darkness has nothing to it. It's void. But light is light is tangible and we as a church were called to be a light because it's tangible. You see it's tangible. And so the only way to turn that flashlight out. Would either be to let your battery go dead? Your oil lamps around dry or for you to just turn it off on your own What a Sad thing. That would be So if you want to know why you're going through the valley if you want to know why you and your struggles and things consider this. If Paul says in 2nd Corinthians, we have this treasure in Earthen vessels so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves. We are afflicted in every way but we're not crushed. We're perplexed but not despairing were persecuted but not forsaken struck down but not destroyed. What does that sound like? That song we just sang in the press down and not destroyed always caring about in the body the dying of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our body for we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus sake so that the life of Jesus Also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death Works in us but life in you get this picture. This is what pulse talking about I've ever watched somebody take down olives from a tree. They are seen that been done. There's about two ways to do it from what I'm familiar with. Do you need to take this big huge machine and go up to the tree and shake it like crazy. Or the older way would be to take this big wooden brush. Okay, and to pull each branch down and call me all is down, right and they laid out a big sheet that would gather the olives to think we all would fall to some of them fell down and guess what they got pressed. Did they get crushed?

See, that's what Paul is talking about. I might be pressed but I'm not crushed. I might be persecuted. I ain't abandoned. Okay, all of those olives are going to get used. I may be struck down but I'm not destroyed and I am that way because I am filling my lamp with fresh oil constantly filling my lamp so that I can be a witness so that I can be a a light that I called to be sober. There's I would love to talk more and more and more and more and more about how to be a witness. I don't have time this week, but I want to leave you with this challenge, okay? Are you ripe? We're talking about the fruit of I monolatry are you right? to be his witness and that's something if you could if you could leave with that thought in your head, are you right to be his witness? Because I bet he's calling you to all right, I bet it. Let's pray by the we love you so much and I thank you so much for the very fact that that your words Speak Life your words because truth and follow that we can gain that Faith from the word because faith comes from hearing the word and I pray father that that we would gain that face each and every person in this room would gain that face. Then I pray that your spirit would open up their eyes. The Bible says that we can't even confess that Jesus is Lord without the Holy Spirit. And so I believe that your spirit is ready and willing to to overwhelm the people in this room so that they can be the light that you've called him to be a father. I know that regardless of whether or yours or not. We're always going to go through life struggles. I'd rather go through the life struggles knowing that I have a purpose. I'd rather go through the life struggles knowing that there's a reason for everything that's going on and father. I just pray that something that we can all take the heart and we can all live in that piece and follow that we can carry that Joy with us and I pray all in Jesus name. Amen.