Fire in the lamps

Fire in the lamps

Scripture:

 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ² Five of them were foolish and five were wise. ³ The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. ⁴ The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. ⁵ The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

⁶ “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ ⁷ “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’

⁹ “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

¹¹ “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’ ¹² “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ ¹³ “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. Matthew 25:1-13

Observation:-

Continuing along the same vein of parables concerning His second coming, the Lord gives the parable of the wise and foolish virgins who went out to meet the bridegroom. 5 were foolish and took their lamps without bringing any oil while 5 were wise and remembered to take oil along with them. Presumably, these virgins were to be part of the bridegroom’s procession and were required to hold lighted lamps as part of the ceremony. The bridegroom was a long time in coming and the virgins fell asleep. At midnight, the bridegroom arrived to loud proclamation and the virgins hurried to meet him. As their lamps were going out, the foolish virgins rushed to buy more oil. The bridegroom arrived and was warmly greeted by the wise virgins who joined him in the wedding banquet. Later, when the foolish virgins came back again, they found the door shut, and the bridegroom refused to acknowledge them.

Similar to the previous parable of the good and faithful servant, this parable is about being prepared for the Lord’s coming. Throughout the Bible, oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit and reminds us of the importance of keeping ourselves filled with the Holy Spirit. Another Scripture warns us not to quench the Spirit, and Paul exhorts us to walk in the Spirit, to be filled with the Spirit, to keep in step with the Spirit. John the Baptist prophesied how Jesus would come after Him and would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. The presence of the Holy Spirit comes with fire, and again is consistent with the lamps being lit by oil to give fire and light in the parable.

Application:-

The Lord wants us to be Christians filled with His Spirit and on fire for Him. In Revelation, it is written how the Lord will spit the lukewarm out of his mouth. We need to never lose that fire, that passion, that desire to receive more and more from God. How do we get that fire? We need to earnestly desire it, and ask of God our Father. How much will the Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him. Its not about asking once or asking flippantly, but asking earnestly and with passionate desire, like the widow who would not stop knocking on the judges’ door. First desire, and then ask with all our heart.

How do we keep that fire? We must seek God in purity of heart, to ask God to purify our hearts, to purge out the dross, the distractions and desires of the world and its attractions. When our eyes and heart stray to worldly things, our fire dies down, and life becomes mundane and lifeless again in a spiritual sense. Do not be satisfied with that. Cry out for fire again from God! Do not give up! But call to Him “Lord, Fire! Fire! Fire!” It is His Spirit and His fire that will drive us and give us the strength and passion to overcome in the last days, when the love of most grows cold, and even loved ones may turn against us.

Prayer:-

We praise You, Heavenly Father, for You love us and give to us generously of Your precious Spirit who guides us and leads us and fills us with Your precious fire! Stir Your Spirit within us O Lord to seek You more to desire You more to want more and more from You. Let us not be satisfied with life in the doldrums, with a life that just goes through the motions without a genuine, passionate relationship with You. Give us more passion, more love, more fire for You, we pray, precious Lord Jesus! Kindle us with Your passion we pray. Set us aflame with Your fire, Lord! Do not let the flame die down within us, but stir that passion again to grow and burn and light up that Your glory may shine like a city on the hill! Pour out more of Your Spirit on us we pray. Let Your Spirit overflow in us, so that we may have Your might river flowing through us and out of us to bless others, to touch others, to bring Your healing and love to many. May Your name be praised forever, O Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.

From heaven or human origin

From heaven or human origin

Scripture:

Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?” Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.” Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things. Matthew 21:23-27

Observation:

Sullenly the chief priests and elders looked at Jesus, all the people fixated on the Lord’s every word as He taught them. They were all still very angry over the episode where their friends, the moneychangers and dove merchants had been insulted and chased out of the temple. Then, they rudely began to interrupt the Lord. “By what authority are you doing these things?” one Pharisee challenged him. “And who gave you this authority?” an Elder bellowed. Calmly, the Lord looks away from the crowd and addresses His accusers. “I will also ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do this. John’s baptism – where did it come from? Was it from heaven or of human origin?”

The chief priests discussed the question among themselves and realized they were caught in a Catch-22 situation. If they said “From heaven”, the Lord would ask them “Then why didn’t you believe him?” and if they said “Of human origin”, the crowd would turn against them because they all held that John was a true prophet of God. Unable to answer, they simply said “we don’t know”, and the Lord, true to form, replied “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things”.

In this passage, we are first drawn to the subject of authority. The Lord, just as John did before him, came from God in Heaven. He spoke with all the authority God the Father had given Him. In fact, the Lord spoke or did nothing apart from the will of His Father. When we serve in church or ministry, or wherever we are put in positions of authority or influence, we must realize that this authority comes from our Lord who has given it to us according to His will. Like the Lord, we need to learn not to speak out of human wisdom or our own limited intellect, but rather avail ourselves to the guidance of the Holy Spirit whom God has given us. Therein we will speak out of His authority, His power.

Secondly, we are reminded of John’s baptism and John’s ministry. He baptized the people as a sign of their repentance. In going under the water, they were stating their intention to do away with their old lives, and as they came out of the water, they set out to live new lives for God, starting everything again afresh. John also called them to look out for the Messiah who was coming, who would save them from their sins.  

Finally, this passage also reminds us of depending on the wisdom of the Holy Spirit in our dialogue with others, especially our enemies. The Lord promises us that we are to give no thought what to reply but rather receive what the Holy Spirit gives us to say. The wisdom of Jesus utterly confounded the Pharisees and Elders, who could say nothing. Sometimes, it is right to answer directly. Sometimes, we should answer a question with a question. And sometimes, we don’t need to answer at all. The occasion and timing of our answer are best left to the wisdom of our Holy Spirit, who is with us.

Application:

Remember that when we go out to serve as God’s people, we are His ambassadors, and we go forth in His authority, not our own. Therefore, we do not have to fear those who may go against us, or those who may try to despise and discourage us. Let us be true to our calling and lean on His authority, not ours. The policeman directing traffic raises his hand not on his own authority, but with the full authority of the government. Likewise, that should be our mindset even as we set out to serve the Lord!

Remember John’s call to repentance, that continues even for us today. We are human. We fall, we get distracted, we stumble along the way. However, the Spirit still calls us to come back to repentance, to come back to God and find the right ways,

In our encounters with others, where dialogues sometimes becomes heated, and we may even need to defend our faith, do not fear or worry but seek the answers from the Holy Spirit who is with us, who will teach us what to say. He is our precious Teacher.

Prayer

We praise You and thank You, Lord, for the great things You have done. You have given us authority in Your service, authority over every demon and principality and power, authority even over nature. Help us Lord always remember that it You who give us this authority. We have nothing on our own but only what you give us.

Help us we pray O Lord, draw us back to You again. Let our hearts continue in repentance, in turning to You as our Lord and God. Give us at the right time what we should say. Blessed be Your name O Lord. In Jesus name, Amen          

Wells of salvation

Wells of salvation

Scripture:- Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. Isaiah 12:3

Observation: Isaiah 12 is a very short chapter, that focuses mainly on the salvation of God and the great praise and joy that the redeemed people give unto their merciful God.

But what does salvation really mean? Traditionally we have a picture of a man doomed to die who is suddenly set free, pardoned, saved from the grim fate that had awaited him. What would be his natural response? Great joy, unparalleled sudden happiness, it would be hard to imagine the depths of his feelings in such a situation. Many of us, when we first realize we were saved from the consequences of our sins experienced that sudden great joy, like a prisoner set free, or a man under judgment suddenly pardoned. However, over the years, after many a church service and Bible Study and Prayer Meeting, suddenly, the joy level is no lo longer there. Quiet time is a chore, and prayer is mechanical. What happened to the joy?

Theologians often say that salvation is a process. We are “being” saved. As long as we are on earth, we are not perfect yet, we have not yet arrived at the promised land. We continue to sin, we need to repent and confess our sins every now and then. We struggle on to become more like Christ each day, and as we depend on the Holy Spirit, we do find ourselves being transformed. We are forgiven once and for all, yes, washed clean by the precious blood of Jesus Christ the one all-sufficient sacrifice. However, to be real, the truth that we know has to be applied and believed for it to be effective and we need the work of the Holy Spirit in us for that.

The picture given to us in Isaiah is that salvation is like water in the well. We are to draw water out of the wells of salvation. In the Book of Revelation, it is written that the Lamb will bring His people to springs of living water. When Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well, He told her of living water and that whosoever drinks the water He gives will never thirst, but will become a well of water springing up to eternal life. Later Jesus told His disciples – the words I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. When we receive Jesus Christ into our hearts, we receive the Holy Spirit, the Counselor He has sent to help us. The Holy Spirit is the living water given to us that gives us spiritual life.    

Application:- To draw water out of the wells of salvation is to draw from the Holy Spirit as we live our lives. As Paul exhorts us, live by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. As we learn to live and grow by the Spirit, we see His fruit become more and more evident in us, and the second characteristic of the Fruit of the Holy Spirit is Joy.

Prayer: Lord, pour forth Your Holy Spirit abundantly upon us that we might overflow with love, joy, peace, wisdom and every good thing. We ask You, Lord, for more and more of Your Holy Spirit, Your Spirit of life and salvation. Refresh us and fill us always with Your joy. In Jesus name, Amen.