Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today we are going to take a look at a passage of Scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to ask you a little question.
If you were going to take a voyage across the ocean, how many of you would get ready beforehand? A lot of us would go through our dressers and closets, and began to pack a few items of clothing or other sundries. You might even check your reservation days in advance, making sure that your ticket is readily available. More than likely you would arrive at the dock a few hours early, making sure that you were prepared at the moment the ship finally arrived.
This reminds me of Christian Life
Many people in this life are completely unconcerned about the judgment that is coming in the future. Rather than taking the opportunity right now to prepare themselves, they will put it off until it is too late. Instead of seizing the moment, it will pass them by, only to find out afterwards that their ship has sailed.
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.
A lot of people who are going on a trip, will gas up the day before. When people decide to go fishing on the weekend, they will fill up their cooler with goodies the night before. Wisdom dictates the wise usage of our time, thinking ahead of what you need to do, so that you are ready to go when the time comes. Christianity is about preparing yourself now for what is coming in the future. We must prepare ourselves by filling our vessels with the teachings of God’s Holy Word. This is so that we understand what God expects of us as His humble servants.
Ephesians 5 ¹⁵ See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, ¹⁶ Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
We must take advantage of the incredible grace of God, and use the time that we have been given, to repent from dead works, in order to serve the living God.
“How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” Hebrews 9:14
The New Testament teaches that all men need to come to a place of repentance, but the problem is that many people continue to put it off until tomorrow. For some of them, tomorrow will never come, and it will be too late. The opportunity that has been given to them will be gone. Repentance is something that cannot wait another day. God can take somebody anytime He desires, and the matters concerning our own salvation cannot be put off another moment. People in the days of Noah are an example of those who put it off until it was too late.
Matthew 24 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.
Jesus warned about a wealthy man who did the same thing, completely disregarding what was coming in the future.
Luke 12 ¹⁶ And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
¹⁷ And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
¹⁸ And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 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? ²¹ So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
It is time critical to take advantage of the teachings of the Gospel right now, filling up our lamps with the knowledge of God’s will, and burning brightly with the Holy Spirit.
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.
Today is the day of salvation.
2 Corinthians 6 ¹ We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. ² (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)
Some people will arrive on judgment day, and quickly realize that the time for repentance has passed. At that point there will be nothing that they can do about it, because it will be too late. There will be great weeping and gnashing of teeth when they finally realize that they have missed the boat, and…..
….. That Ship has Sailed
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 all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.♥️
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 