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So, I need everybody that has had a driver's license or has a driver's license to stand

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up.

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Stand up.

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Don't worry, it's not going to be very long.

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Well, for some of you it might be long.

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How?

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Think about when you first got your driver's license, when you were maybe 16 years old

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or 18 years old or somewhere along that range.

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Think how much did gas cost, a gallon of gas, when you first started driving.

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If gas cost $4 or more, sit down.

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Okay, I didn't see anybody sit down.

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There was a little while where it was $4 or more.

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What about $3 or more?

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When you started driving, did gas cost $3 or more?

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You can sit down.

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What about $2.50, $2.50 for a gallon?

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Did gas cost more than that when you started driving?

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Okay, we still got lots of people.

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What about $2?

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Did gas cost $2?

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Okay, let's go a little, we'll pick up the pace.

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What about $1.50?

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If gas cost $1.50 or more when you started driving, you may sit down.

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We're getting a little more gray hair as we go down here.

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What about $1?

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Did gas cost $1 or more when you started driving?

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Sit down.

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Okay, what about $0.80?

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$0.80.

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All right, a few more.

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$0.60, that would be me.

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I would sit down.

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It was about $0.59, I think.

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$0.50, $0.50.

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$0.45, $0.35.

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A few more, $0.30, $0.25.

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Okay, a bunch sat down then.

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$0.20.

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Okay, another.

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Was it free at one point?

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Did they pay you to drive?

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Two people, how much did gas cost when you started to drive?

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$0.17.

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$0.19, all right.

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Thank you guys for participating.

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We'll give you a free gallon of gas at your original cost there, so $0.19 and $0.17.

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We recognize that times change, that anytime there's war in the Middle East or a hurricane

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maybe blowing through or a holiday weekend, that that gas price can fluctuate.

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It can change.

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We recognize that it goes up a lot faster than it comes back down.

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It'll go up for no reason, and they'll say it was for something, and it goes up in a

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day, and then three weeks later it's trickling back down, but maybe not quite to where it

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was at that one point.

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Now, there was a time, some of you remember this, I do not.

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It was just a little over 50 years ago.

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It was in 1973, and there was an oil shortage.

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There was an embargo.

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Those nations that produce oil and gas, they decided they weren't going to produce as much,

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and so that caused lots of challenges and lots of problems in this nation.

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Some of you may remember or have heard on the news that the price of gas went up, not

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as much as it is today, but it went higher than it was, and there were long lines that

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went off the gas station, and you'd be waiting in these gas-guzzling cars waiting to get

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in line to get gas, and there was even rationing, so you could only get so many gallons when

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you got gas.

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There was another thing that was called alternate days, and so depending on what your license

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plate ended with, if it was an even number or an odd number, if it was an even number

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you could get gas on a certain day, if it was an odd number you could get gas on the

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other day, but that was an oil shortage or an oil crisis that was happening, and believe

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it or not, that's even when and why they changed the speed limit, they lowered the

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speed limit to 55.

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It wasn't for safety and for protection.

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It was because you got better gas mileage when you went a little bit slower, and so

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that's why that speed limit initially went down to 55, because of an oil crisis, because

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a shortage of oil.

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We're going to look today, we've already seen a little bit about it, about a story

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in the Bible when there was an oil shortage, when there was an oil crisis, so we're going

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to turn to Matthew chapter 25, and that's where we're going to spend most of our time

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today.

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We've been looking at the theme all week long during VBS, we've been talking about parables,

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we've been looking at different parables, and so today we're going to continue that

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thought of looking at a parable.

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Now in Matthew 24, Matthew 24, if you were to glance through that, it talks about the

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signs of the times, what's going to be happening in the world before Jesus comes, what's going

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to be happening in the world before Jesus comes.

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But in Matthew chapter 25, it contains three parables about what God's people, what the

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church is supposed to be doing while we await that second coming of Jesus.

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So Matthew 24 looks at the conditions of the world, but Matthew 25 looks at the conditions

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of the heart.

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Now if you were to look in Matthew 24 towards the very end, let's see verse 42, it says,

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watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.

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That's Matthew 24 verse 42.

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And then verse 44, it says, therefore you also be ready for the Son of Man is coming

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at an hour you do not expect.

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And then that leads us directly into Matthew 25.

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Matthew 24 conditions of the world, Matthew 25 conditions of the heart, conditions of

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the church.

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So let's dive into Matthew 25 and verse 1.

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It says, then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to 10 virgins who took their lamps

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and went out to meet the bridegroom.

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So we've already heard this story, we've been reminded of this story, but let's look

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at it again.

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It begins by talking about the kingdom of heaven.

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Now there's about 20 different parables which are parables of the kingdom.

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And they begin like that, the kingdom of heaven is like this, the kingdom of heaven is like

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that.

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And so those parables indicate what God's people, what the church will be like as we're

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living on this earth.

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And so here we have a description of God's people, what God's people will be doing in

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the days approaching the second coming.

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Now that's why a church exists, that's why this church exists, to help people be ready

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for that second coming.

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That's why we come and sing songs together.

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That's why we come and worship and pray and have fellowship dinners.

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Not just to be friendly with each other, but to prepare each one of us to know that Jesus

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is coming soon.

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And then here in verse 25, chapter one, excuse me, chapter 25 verse one, it says the kingdom

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of heaven shall be like 10 virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.

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Now in scripture in several different places, when it talks about a woman, it often refers

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to a body of believers, a group of people, a church.

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In Revelation, for instance, there's two different women that are included there.

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There's an unfaithful woman, a harlot woman, and that represents those who are chasing

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after things that are leading them away from God, a false system of belief.

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And then in Revelation 12, there's a pure woman that represents God's people down through

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the ages.

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And so here we have a description of this group of people, these women who are awaiting

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the coming of the bridegroom, awaiting the coming of Jesus.

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That's who the bridegroom represents.

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And it says as it goes on in verse two, that five of them were wise and five were foolish.

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Now there's something that sets these two groups apart.

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There's ten, there's five that are wise, and five that are foolish.

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And the next verse tells us what the difference is.

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Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil

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in their vessels with their lamps.

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So this is a little clay lamp that Jolie and I got when we were over in Israel a few years

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ago.

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And so their lamp may look something like this.

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You put oil in it, maybe there's a little wick in the hole there, and you have a little

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lamp that gives you a little bit of light.

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Now there's not a lot of volume in there for oil.

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And so it says the wise virgins, hello, the wise virgins took their oil and they had some

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extra oil, and they carried extra with them.

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But the foolish ones, they only had this little amount.

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So they had oil, but it was not enough.

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It was only a small amount.

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So we've got these two groups of people, and what set them apart was how much oil they

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had with them.

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Now what does oil represent in Scripture?

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Holy Spirit, all right, very good.

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Keep your finger in Matthew 25.

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We're going to turn over to Psalm 119, the longest chapter in all of the Bible.

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Psalm 119 verse 105, some of you may be able to sing a little song that goes along with

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this.

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Psalm 119, 105, it says, your word is a lamp to my feet and a light unto my path.

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And so as we are walking with God, we want to have our way illuminated.

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We want God's word, God's truth to guide us on our way.

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And as we already heard mentioned, the Holy Spirit, or excuse me, oil represents the Holy

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Spirit.

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Now why is that?

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Oil is used in a lot of different ways in the Bible.

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If you look in the Old Testament when they talk about the sanctuary service, they use

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oil there, and it is often used to consecrate.

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So the priest, or the priest, they would put oil on their head.

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They would drip oil upon them.

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The furniture that was used, they would anoint that with oil, and that was consecrating it,

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setting it apart for holy use.

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That's what that oil was used for, to set apart for holy use.

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It was consecrating.

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Oil in the Bible is also used for healing.

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Earlier this week, we talked about, let's see if the young people remember, there was

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a story where someone was walking along a path and he got beat up by some other people.

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Do you remember what that story was called?

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The Good Samaritan.

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In that story, as the one gentleman is beat up by the robbers, when the Good Samaritan

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comes along, it says he put oil on his wounds, and that oil would cleanse the wounds, or

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wash the dirt out, or disinfect the things that were in there, or seal it off to keep

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it clean so that it wouldn't get infected.

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So oil was for consecration and also for healing, but as we see, it's also for illumination.

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In the Old Testament sanctuary, one of the articles of furniture was a candlestick, and

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that candlestick would burn oil and it would tell you exactly what kind of oil to put in

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there, and it was supposed to remain burning at all times.

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So in this parable, we have a picture of a people who are consecrated, who are set apart,

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a people who are healed because the oil has been applied, a people who are supposed to

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hold a torch of truth high to illuminate the world before Jesus comes.

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Someone already mentioned it during the skit, you know, this little light of mine, I'm going

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to let it shine.

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Don't let Satan, oh that was loud, don't let Satan blow it out.

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We got to let it shine.

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We got to illuminate the world.

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But then as we go back to Matthew chapter 25, if we go back to this parable that we're

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looking at today, it says, the foolish took their lamps but took no oil, the wise took

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oil in their vessels with their lamps, but verse 5, it says, while the bridegroom was

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delayed, they all slumbered.

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How many people slumbered?

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All, all ten of these young ladies fell asleep.

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They all fell asleep.

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You know, sometimes in life we do strange things when we're asleep.

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Some people don't raise your hands, some people maybe talk in their sleep and they say things

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that are not always coherent when they're talking in their sleep.

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Some people maybe get up at night and walk through the house.

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They walk in their sleep.

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I remember one time when I was in Pathfinders years ago, we were on a late night drive,

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we'd been camping or something and I was sitting in the back of a car, there were several cars,

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and I remember this distinctly, that there's several of us sleeping in the back of this

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car.

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The guy next to me was not asleep.

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His eyes were open.

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He was leaning forward like this, looking out the front window.

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And I remember in my sleep that I started to do this.

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Started to reach.

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And my hand went across his face.

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I was just going like this.

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And he whipped his head around like what in the world and stared at me.

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And I remember saying this.

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I said, don't look at me.

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I don't know what I'm doing.

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And I went back to sleep.

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But I woke up and I remembered doing that strange, weird, odd thing.

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Because sometimes when we're asleep, we do strange things.

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And sometimes we misunderstand this part of the parable because it says they all fell

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asleep.

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All ten of these young ladies which represent God's church, all of them fell asleep.

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And so here we have a church on the verge of the second coming.

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And yet sometimes there's a spiritual drowsiness.

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There's a church raised up as a people to shine a light to the world.

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And yet sometimes we're sleeping instead of proclaiming.

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Now verse five it says, while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.

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Why a delay?

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Now we know Jesus walked on this earth like 2,000 years ago.

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Why a delay?

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We talked a few weeks ago about what Jesus is doing now that Jesus always lives to intercede

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for us as it says in Hebrews chapter seven.

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But what else is going on?

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Let's turn over to 2 Peter for a moment.

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2 Peter chapter three.

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That's way back towards Revelation.

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2 Peter chapter three and verse nine.

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It says in 2 Peter three verse nine, it says the Lord is not slack or the Lord is not lazy.

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The Lord is not unfaithful concerning his promise as some count slackness.

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But the Lord is long suffering.

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The Lord is patient toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should

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come to repentance.

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Why a delay?

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There's a delay in love because God wants each one of us, God wants the entire world

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to have the opportunity to hear the message of grace, to hear the message of truth.

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But soon as in this story, time is going to run out.

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The time will come and Jesus will return.

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Let's go back there to Matthew chapter 25.

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Matthew chapter 25.

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How did that next verse go?

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Verse six.

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It says they all slumbered and slept.

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Verse six says, and at midnight a cry was heard, behold the bridegroom is coming, go

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out to meet him.

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At midnight, in the middle of the night, perhaps the darkest part of the night.

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Was anybody awake at midnight last night?

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I was awake at midnight.

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Did you see outside at midnight last night?

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There was a bright full moon that was shining on this second day of summer.

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But most often at midnight, it's not a bright full moon.

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Usually it's dark because that's the darkest part of the night.

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And it's at midnight when the world is full of turmoil and spiritual confusion that that

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is when Jesus is going to come.

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And it goes on in verse seven and says, then they heard the voice.

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He's coming.

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Get up.

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Go out to meet him.

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And it says then in verse seven, all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.

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They got their little lamps ready.

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They worked on the wick.

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They made sure it was burning the proper brightness and it wasn't smoking too much.

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They got their little lamp to shine perfectly.

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In verse eight, it says the foolish said to the wise, give us some of your oil for our

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lamp is going out.

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But the wise answered saying, no, lest there should not be enough for us and you.

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But go rather to those who sell and buy for yourselves.

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Did everybody have oil?

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Everybody at the beginning had a little bit of oil.

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But half of them did not have enough.

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And they were told go and buy oil.

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What time was it?

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Midnight.

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Do you think any place is open to buy oil?

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If you're selling something that is used to make things bright, are you going to stay

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open all night?

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Probably not because you're going to be using up all of your product.

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So that was a fruitless search for them to go and hopefully find something.

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All of them brought some oil, but the foolish did not bring enough.

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And I think maybe we can recognize that a superficial relationship with Jesus is not

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enough.

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We can't just show up in this building or in some other church for one or two hours

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a week, sing songs and think that's enough.

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Now let me be clear, that's good to show up and to sing songs.

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That's a beautiful, wonderful start to either show up here or to some other church each

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and every week.

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But if you think that's enough, it's not because that's just superficial.

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If you walk out these doors and forget about Jesus, then you're forgetting what is most

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important.

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It's also not enough to count on someone else's relationship, whether it's your parents, your

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spouse, your grandparents.

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That's not enough.

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You cannot use someone else's oil.

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You have to have this Holy Spirit, this connection on your own.

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You can't depend on an experience you've had in the past.

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You can't depend on someone else's experience.

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And so in this story, how many are wise?

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Five.

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How many are foolish?

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Five.

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What percentage is that?

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50%.

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Now I don't know if we can't, you guys are good at math.

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I don't know if we can use a parable to draw conclusions totally and completely, because

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the next parable, there's three and one of them, so that would be a third, that would

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be 33%.

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One of them is not doing good things.

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So whether it's 50% or 33%, neither of those numbers is good.

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Because look around.

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I don't want 50% to say, oh, sorry.

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We weren't ready.

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No, I hope that each one of us here, that each family that's here, that each family

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that we represent will commit themselves saying, God, I need to serve you.

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God, I need your Holy Spirit in my life.

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God, I want to be ready when you come.

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We can read that there's a group that has a regard for the truth, but they have not

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yielded to the power of the Holy Spirit.

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Is your spiritual life stale?

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Is it superficial?

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Are you not letting the power of God change your life?

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We go on in verse 10, and it says, while they went to buy, so these foolish ones went to

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try to find somewhere to knock on a door, try to find some oil, while they were gone,

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the bridegroom came and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding and the door

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was shut.

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And afterward, the other virgins came also saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.

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But he answered and said, assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.

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That was our scripture, but that was my mistake.

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I wanted our scripture to be verse 13, the very next verse, because verse 12 can sound

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a little depressing.

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Sorry, I didn't know you.

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But that's the danger.

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That's the concern.

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But verse 13 says, watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which

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the Son of Man is coming.

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We have an assurance, we have a promise that there's a warning.

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Jesus is coming.

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Are we ready?

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Are we going to be ready?

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It can't be somebody else's oil.

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It's got to be your own.

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Jesus is coming and we need to wake up.

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Now this week, we've been having VBS as we've mentioned numerous times.

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Thanks again to the volunteers.

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And we've been reminding ourselves, kids, let's see.

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The first night was about a lost sheep.

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What was the lesson you were supposed to learn?

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That you are, a few of you got it.

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You are important that Jesus was willing to leave everyone to come and find one person

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to find you.

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The second night we looked at a prodigal son.

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And the lesson was that you are forgiven.

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I heard it over there that no matter what we've done in the past, that Jesus was willing

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to come for you.

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That Jesus loves each and every one of us.

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And then we looked at the story of the Good Samaritan and we were reminded that we need

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to be friends.

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We need to treat everybody with love and respect just as God did for us.

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And then Thursday night we looked at two different people who were building a house, one on a

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rock and one on the sand, the wise and the foolish.

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And what are we supposed to be?

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Wise.

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Thank you.

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We're supposed to be wise as we hear the words of God and to do them.

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And today as we look at this parable of these young ladies, we need to be ready for Jesus

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to come.

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I want to look at one more passage here from 2 Timothy chapter 3.

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Second Timothy chapter 3.

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Second Timothy chapter 3 and verse 1.

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It says, but know this, that in the last days perilous times will come.

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You think we're living in the last days?

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As we look at headlines, as we look at news, as we look at troubles and trials in this

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world, do you think we're living in the last days?

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In the last days perilous times will come.

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And then the next couple of verses, as we read them, you can picture headlines, you

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can picture stories.

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It says, for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemous,

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disobedient to parents, have mercy, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers,

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without self-control, brutal, despisers of good.

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Does this sound like a newscast?

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Traders, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.

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And then verse 5 kind of sums it up.

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It says, having a form of godliness but denying its power from such people turn away.

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Having a form of godliness but denying its power.

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Those five foolish girls, they had a form of godliness.

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They had a little bit of oil.

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They had enough to get started.

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They had enough to know that they needed a little bit more.

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But they chose not to.

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They chose to go along.

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They chose to be distracted.

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They chose to do their own thing.

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We as a church should not be asleep.

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We have a message to share to this world.

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A message of the character of Jesus' love.

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A message that that loving creator Jesus is coming again very, very soon.

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There's a story I heard not long ago about a couple that lives in the hills of Southern

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California.

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If you've ever seen the news or lived in California, I know as few people here have, oftentimes,

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including now, there's forest fires raging across those mountains of California.

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And this couple, in this story, it was one of those times when the fires were burning.

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And they could see it over the ridge, the smoke, the glow.

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And it was getting closer and closer.

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They could see it go up the next ridge and come down.

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But they weren't too concerned because the firefighters were in place.

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They were putting the fire lines out where they needed to be.

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They were putting out the brush fires that were kicking up.

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They could see the planes swooping in and dropping that retardant onto the fire.

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And the husband was just enthralled by this, seeing the glow of the fire, seeing the planes

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as the flames got closer and closer and closer.

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That's what the man was doing.

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The woman was not watching.

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She was in the house.

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And she was gathering up important papers and photo albums and putting them in the trunk

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of the car.

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She was getting changes of clothes and putting them in the car.

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She was making sure that all was ready in case an evacuation was needed.

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She was preparing while the husband, the man, was distracted, was looking at what was going

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on but was not getting ready.

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We need to make sure that in all that we are doing, we are letting our light shine.

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And not just a little bit, but we need to be praying each and every day, Lord, pour

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00:29:02,480 --> 00:29:04,720
out your Spirit upon me.

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00:29:04,720 --> 00:29:11,000
Jesus says that God desires to give the Holy Spirit more than we desire to give a gift

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to the people that we love.

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That's what God wants to do for us.

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We need to pray.

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00:29:16,040 --> 00:29:20,080
God, help me to hunger and thirst for righteousness.

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00:29:20,080 --> 00:29:25,280
Help me to want to get into your word just a little bit.

436
00:29:25,280 --> 00:29:26,680
Five minutes more than you're doing.

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If you're doing zero, then five minutes is amazing.

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Just God, give me a passion to learn more about you.

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00:29:34,640 --> 00:29:40,040
Help me to wake up and to recognize that you're coming soon.

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00:29:40,040 --> 00:29:41,880
You want to be ready when Jesus comes?

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I think Jesus wants each one of us there, and all we have to do is say, Lord, save me.

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00:29:48,280 --> 00:29:50,400
Lord, fill me with your Spirit.

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Lord, wake me up.

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Let's bow our heads for a prayer.

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Dear God, thank you so much for promises.

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Thank you for all that you do for us.

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00:30:00,720 --> 00:30:02,780
And Lord, forgive us.

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00:30:02,780 --> 00:30:10,320
Forgive me for times when I've been distracted, when I've been sleeping, when I've failed

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to share with somebody else.

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But Lord, help me today and every day to want to stand fully and totally for you.

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Be with each one of us here today.

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In your name we pray.

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Amen.