Are You Prepared?
“When my coming draws near, heaven’s kingdom realm can be compared to ten maidens who took their oil lamps and went outside to meet the bridegroom and his bride. Five of them were foolish and ill-prepared, for they took no extra oil for their lamps. Five of them were wise, for they took flasks of olive oil with their lamps. When the bridegroom didn’t come when they expected, they all grew drowsy and fell asleep. Then suddenly, in the middle of the night, they were awakened by the shout ‘Get up! The bridegroom is here! Come out and have an encounter with him!’ Matthew 25:1-6
GET UP! THE BRIDEGROOM IS HERE! COME OUT AND HAVE AN ENCOUNTER WITH HIM!
At any given moment the Holy Spirit will want to talk to you or show you something. Are you anticipating His voice? The importance of being aware of Him at all times can be a matter of life and death, not just for us but for those around us. Let’s look at the story of the ten maidens. In the scripture oil is a metaphor for the Holy Spirit. Five of the maidens chose not to take extra oil. Today this can be those of us who have a full schedule in life. Work, children, school, and social activities. We get drowsy to the presence of the Lord throughout the day because we are so busy. We miss His voice of guidance. We are ill prepared in carrying His presence around with us. Family, let me tell you our purpose on this earth is not about what He can do for us- it is about how brightly we can shine for Him. Lamps glow brighter the more oil they have in them.
Let me tell you a testimony about last week. I was ordering coffee at a stand. We were having a brief conversation with the lady about different coffees. When it was time to pay, she wouldn’t let us. I began to thank her and tell her how much I appreciated her. I could see a brightness in her eyes. I told her I pray that Jesus would bless her for her kindness to us. She said, “I pray every morning that He would allow His light to shine through me so people can see Him.” We held hands and both had tears as we talked about Jesus. The oil in both our lamps met and it was a glorious moment. I will never forget her. She is an example of someone who is prepared with extra oil each day.
We have to have our own encounters with Him to bring transformation to those around us. We must have our own oil burning in our lamps so we can be light to others. In the story of the maidens, the foolish ones wanted the others to share their oil with them. We cannot ride the coat tails of other people’s walk with Jesus. In the story, while they were out buying oil they missed the Bridegroom, then were unable to join the wedding feast. What are we missing out on with the Lord because we are not being intentional about our time with Him. It is vitally important to seek Him in all moments of the day so you can be light to others.
When we all continuously have extra oil and burning lamps throughout each day then when we come together on Sunday and Tuesday, I expect there would be a glory cloud that could change some things in the atmosphere of our city. At The Wilderness Place we are believing for families to be restored, for our youth to be safe and prosperous, for those bound by addiction to be set free, and violence to cease. This only happens when we are prepared with oil and carry the Holy Spirit throughout our day into the world around us. I encourage you to spend time asking the Holy Spirit to refill your oil and then be intentional in your walk with Him each day. The more you shine for Him the more oil He gives.
