Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten
virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet
the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five
were foolish.
They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil
with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with
their lamps.
While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and
slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold,
the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
And the foolish said unto the wise, give us of your oil;
for our lamps are gone out. 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.
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.
Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord,
Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say
unto you, I know you not.
Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour
wherein the Son of man cometh.
Matthew 25:1-13
1. Be a wise virgin: Like the ten virgins, you have been
invited to a great and happy wedding feast.
Your invitation to Christ is like the invitation to a wedding
feast.
Coming to Christ is not a bad and nasty experience. It is
more painful and costly to reject Jesus Christ.
Being born again will be the greatest and happiest experience
of your life. The day you are born again is greater than your
birthday, your graduation or your wedding day.
Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper,
and bade many:
Luke 14:16
2. Be a wise virgin: Out of the ten virgins invited to the
wedding feast only the wise were admitted. So also,
out of the billions invited to Christ only the wise will
be admitted to Heaven.
If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou
scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.
Proverbs 9:12
It takes wisdom to receive Jesus Christ. The fool says in his
heart, “There is no God.” Out of the billions invited some are
foolish enough to reject the invitation. When Jesus was born
wise men went to seek Him. Today, it is still wise men who seek
Jesus.
The devil is waiting to push you into hell. Without wisdom
you will not escape from hell. The wisdom you need today is the
wisdom of humbling yourself before the cross of Jesus Christ.
Only those who are wise enough to seek Jesus Christ today will
be saved.
3. Just as the ten virgins had to meet certain requirements
in order to attend the wedding, you will have to meet
certain requirements to be able to go to Heaven.
The simple requirement for the wedding was to have lamps
with oil. There are also requirements for heaven.
a. You need to acknowledge that you are a sinner: “For all
have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
Romans 3:23
b. You need to acknowledge that the wages of sin is death:
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal
life through Jesus Christ our Lord”.
Romans 6:23
c. You need to know that God loves you and does not want
you to perish: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should
not perish, but have everlasting life.”
John 3:16
d. You need to have your sins washed by the blood of Jesus:
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us
our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
1 John 1:9
e. You need to receive Christ: “But as many as received him,
to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to
them that believe on his name.”
John 1:12
f. You need to confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour:
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,
and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him
from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man
believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession
is made unto salvation.”
Romans 10:9-10
4. Just as the ten virgins were surprised at the time the
bridegroom came, many people will be surprised at
the time the Son of God will come.
My first few days in Medical School were challenging, to say
the least. I looked ahead and saw only seven long, dreary years.
I wondered when I would ever finish school and become a doctor.
One day, I turned around, looked across to my colleague and
asked her whether we were in the right school. I simply could
not imagine that seven years would come to pass. And yet today,
as I write this book, it has been more than thirty years since I sat
in the classroom asking my friend whether we were in the right
place. Indeed, our lives will be over before we realise what has
happened.
I heard Billy Graham speak about the one thing that had really
surprised him in his life. He said one of the greatest surprises of
his life was “the brevity of life”.
The bridegroom, in the parable of the Ten Virgins, took a long
time but he eventually came. The coming of Christ may take
a long time but it will come. The Day of Judgment may take a
long time in coming but it will eventually come. The end of your
life may take a long time to come but it will eventually come.
The day of your death may take a long time to come but it will
eventually come. The coming of the Lord is scheduled for a time
that no one expects. Do not forget that the bridegroom came at
midnight!
For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it
shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because
it will surely come, it will not tarry.
Habakkuk 2:3
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some
men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not
willing that any should perish, but that all should come to
repentance.
2 Peter 3:9
