The Minutemen

Good Morning and welcome in. Today we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture but before we do that I wanted to tell you a little story.

When I was in elementary school I can remember sitting in history class, and learning about a group of patriots who fought for this country. In October of 1774, towns were recruiting volunteers, who needed to be ready for battle at the shortest possible notice, so they could quickly respond to any military incursion that threatened their communities. As the students in the classroom took turns reading paragraphs, I remember staring at all of the colorful illustrations that were in our textbook. They captured my attention, because it reminded me of catching the bus each morning. When somebody yelled that the bus was in the driveway, you had about a minute to grab your things and get on board, otherwise the driver would leave without you. The minuteman needed to be ready at a moment’s notice, and to do this, they would prepare beforehand, setting out everything that they needed in an orderly fashion, so that they could quickly jump out of bed, and be out the door in under a minute. 

This reminds me of the Christian life.

Like the minute men, each of us need to be prepared for God’s coming kingdom. It’s going to happen very quickly, and the time to get ready is right now. We must fill our hearts with the Holy Spirit, keeping our lamps burning brightly, as we patiently wait for that great day of judgment which is most certainly coming in the future.

Matthew 25 ¹ Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.  ² And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

³ They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:

⁴ But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.  ⁵ While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.  ⁶ And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.

⁷ Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.  ⁸ And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.  ⁹ But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.  ¹⁰ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.

¹¹ Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.

¹² But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.  ¹³ Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

Oil has always been symbolic of the Holy Spirit, and the old lanterns needed fuel to burn brightly. In order to find our way home to Jesus, we will need light, to see where we are going. Each of our lamps must be fueled with the light of God’s truth, so we can keep ourselves on the narrow path of Christ. Like preparing to take a long trip in your car, you need to fuel up beforehand, being ready to leave immediately when your friend shows up in the morning. 

Mark 13. ³² But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. ³³ Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. ³⁴ For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.

³⁵ Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:

³⁶ Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.  ³⁷ And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.

It is the oil of the Holy Spirit that burns deep within us. Each of us are vessels, that must be filled up with the light of God’s truth, so we can find our way through the darkness of this world.

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”

  — 2 Corinthians 4:7

“That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;”

  — 1 Thessalonians 4:4

Every day, people have the opportunity to seek the things of God and prepare themselves for the world that is coming. They have the opportunity right now to repent, turn away from their sins, and obediently serve the will of God from their heart, but sadly, many will procrastinate and not even bother to ready themselves until it’s too late. Today is the day of salvation, not two years down the road. Humans have no control over the longevity of their lives, because God will reap a soul whenever He chooses. It can happen in a blink of an eye.

Luke 12 .¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.  ²⁰ But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

Noah prepared himself for many years, building his ark each day to save his family from God’s coming judgment. All around him, he was surrounded by people who were completely unconcerned about their spiritual future. Like Lot’s wife, they really didn’t care about God’s impending judgment. Instead of getting ready each day, they didn’t even bother to prepare themselves, and eventually were swept away in the flood which destroyed them all.

Matthew 24. ³⁶ But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. ³⁷ But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. ³⁸ For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, ³⁹ And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. ⁴⁰ Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. ⁴¹ Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. ⁴² Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

“Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.”.   — Revelation 3:3

“Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.”   — Luke 12:40

God is going to reward those who have pre-prepared themselves, and are patiently waiting for His return.

Luke 12. ³⁵ Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning;

³⁶ And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.  ³⁷ Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.

Like Earthly soldiers get ready beforehand, soldiers of God must do the same. We must watch and be prepared for God’s kingdom, ready at a moment’s notice for our spiritual deployment, just like…..

…..The Minutemen

Let’s think about these things for right now.  We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc  where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️

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