Give Me Oil In My Lamp!

Matthew 25: 1-13

Joshua 24:14-15

These days we are hearing from President Bush that the nation must be ready. Ready for what? He is asking the government to assign 7.6 billion dollars for preparation to fight Bird Flu, a very dangerous epidemic that not only the US, but whole world is talking about.

When Katrina, and later Wilma hurricane hit the US, many were wondering if the government and individual states are prepared enough for catastrophes. I remember local Bay Area news stations were also concerned whether we are prepared for earthquakes. Do we have emergency plans?

Today’s passage talks about wise and foolish choices that one can make in his/her life.

What is one of the most foolish things you have ever done in your life? Buy something expensive, but never use it?

But who likes to be reminded of one’s foolishness?

What is one of wisest things you have ever done? Saying “Yes” to the right person when you got married. Or you said “No” the right one?

Jesus used these terms wise and fool in another parable in Matthew’s Gospel for the two house contractors when they were building their houses on rock or sand.

Well, the point of the parable is very simple, yet awakening. Are you ready when Jesus returns?

Have you seen the movie Left Behind? This month the second part is coming. Although I have some problem with this movie’s way of resenting the Arabs as “bad guys”, yet the movie makes it clear that when you are not prepared, you are left behind.

Let us study the parable.

As I mentioned in the Armenian sermon, these virgins are in the wedding and they took time to bring along their lamps. They wanted to be with the bride and the groom. I mean these people are “the Church people”. But some were well prepared some were not prepared.

1. Life is not borrowed.

As a church, as group of believers, we can pray for each other, we can help each other financially and psychologically. We can reach out to each other. But we can not believe in place of one another.

When I visit some people, they say to me: “Badveli, you pray on my behalf”. Or some say: “My wife is always in the church, she will do my part, too…” We can give oil to each other. Why not? But there is place where we can not give anymore. Each has to be responsible for his/her life.

YOU and I can not LIVE on someone else’s OIL.

Each person should have a personal experience with GOD.

Our parents, our friends can pray for us. But they can not take decisions in our place.

When the five virgins wanted to borrow oil, it was too late.

2. Jesus is warning us that there are some things one can not postpone.

One of the favorite ways of Satan to attack us is to make us postpone some important decisions in our lives.

I don’t know if CACC has earthquake insurance. Well, if we do not have one, we can not have it when the 20-second earthquake starts. I can not ask the Council and Building Committee to come and shop for different prices and on and on. TOO LATE.

You do not put on a baby’s diaper last moment.

You do not study for midyear exam in the morning of the exam.

There are decisions that can not be postponed.

I was visiting a family when I was youth worker. They attacked on me that I was not doing my job properly, because they daughter had eloped with a Muslim fellow. For years she was not attending Church. For years her friends were changed. It was easy to blame the church or the pastor.

Your marriage is not going well. If you postpone help you will reach a time when it will be too late.

Jesus wants us to charge our lamps. We have lamps. That is great, but we need to be charged by His Spirit. It is the daily duty of each responsible Christian to be charged by the Spirit of God.

According to the other parable of wise and fool men who built their houses on rock and sand, the wise is the one who listens and obeys God’s WORD and COMMAND. The fool is the one who hears but acts as if he did not hear anything.

3. Sometimes we think we are ready but we are using our energy in the wrong way. We are WASTING TIME and ENERGY.

There was this lighthouse on a shore. The responsible person had the duty to fill the oil in the lamp of the lighthouse. He was a generous man. He helped everyone. Someone came and asked him for oil for his oven. He gave some to that person. Someone came and needed oil for his car machine. He gave him oil. Someone else came and asked for oil for his heating. He gave him, too.

At the end, he did not have enough oil for the lighthouse and ships were in trouble because of his misuse of oil.

If you are in the church and hearing the Word of God and not obeying you, are wasting your oil. Being in the church, working for the bazaar, being on the Council, being on the Building Committee are not enough to charge your “LAMP”. To be ready for Jesus’ Second Coming means to please Jesus. To please Jesus means to be in HIS WILL. All the church responsibilities and activities are important and need to be done. But if your heart is not given to God, what a waste of time! You can be member of this church and you can be on the Council, you can be in the Sunday service every Sunday, but Jesus is not in your heart, what a waste of time!

Are you doing HIS WILL?

ARE YOU IN HIS WILL?

“Let your will be done, on earth as it in heaven”. We say these words every Sunday at least. Do we mean it? Do we really seek His will daily?

On Tuesday I was talking with Ed Medzian on the phone about the sudden death of his nephew. We were saying how life is. Are we prepared? We were chatting that what fool we are when we ignore important factors of life.

Someone was having a serious surgery. The pastor visited him before surgery to pray for him. This person was charged by God’s oil and said: “Pastor if everything goes well, that’s OK. If everything does not go well, that is OK, too.”

Today’s Old Testament reading great verse for being decisive in one’s choices. Joshua is tired of his people being ambiguous and indecisive.

“If serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”(Joshua 24:15)

Let us summarize.

All ten had lamps. Wise and fool. But some were prepared some were not.

How do we prepare?

Having faith in Jesus Christ son of God. Repentance. (Justification by faith)

Living Christian life by obeying the Word of God. (Growth in faith by the process of Sanctification)

Not postponing important decisions in life.

Watch if your thinking you are prepared and you are not and wasting your time and energy.

Do not leave without decision

Amen