Wise or Foolish - it's a matter of whether you have EXTRA Oil!
According to Jesus’ parable of the 10 virgins, the difference between the 5 wise and the 5 foolish virgins was that the wise had extra oil and the foolish had no extra oil.
(Mat 25:3 GW) The foolish bridesmaids took their lamps, but they didn't take any extra oil.
(Mat 25:4 GW) The wise bridesmaids, however, took along extra oil for their lamps.
That difference MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE!
It was a difference of being IN or OUT of the wedding feast!
It will make a difference between HEAVEN or HELL!
But how do you and I know that we have extra oil now.
Oil is necessary for light.
No more oil meant no more light.
Fire and light is absolutely vital in the dark, especially in the dark jungle or wilderness where wild animals roam in the dark to hunt their preys.
Spiritually we will be easy targets of demons when our lives have no more oil to burn.
WHAT IS OUR LIGHT?
If you have oil you will shine!
Jesus said in (Mat 5:14 NKJV) "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
(Mat 5:16 NKJV) Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
So oil will give light and the light is our good works. Good works done with the love, hope and faith poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Good works that God has prepared beforehand for us to walk in. Ep 2:10 The good works are the righteous deeds of the saints that are described as being “arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints” Rev 19:8 The righteous acts are described by Jesus as acks of kindness shown to the poor and needy , the “least of My brethren”. Matt 25:40
HOW TO MEASURE IF YOU HAVE EXTRA OIL
Using the conclusion that light is our good works done in His name, with His love and life to help the poor and needy, a way to measure whether we have extra oil is to see if your life still continues to shine forth love and goodness after you have done some good works. If after doing some good works you don’t want to have anything to do with helping others. Or you show impatience and selfishness towards people around you, then you have run out of oil. That is, you have no extra oil in your life.
A worst scenario would be if the call or opportunity to do good works comes before us and we totally ignore it or feel no urge whatsoever to do some charity. It meant we have no oil to begin with in the first place.
HOW DO YOU GET EXTRA OIL
Jesus seems to have a reserviour of oil in His life. He seems to be continuously doing good. Even when He gets weary and tired He will still be doing good to meet the desperate needs of the poor. A main key to Him having so much oil to shine even in the darkest and longest “night” is found in His prayer life. Jesus often rose early before dawn to pray and seek the face of God. Often He withdrew Himself from the crowds and busyness to spend time with the Father. Sometimes He would spend the whole night in prayer. At the Garden of Gethsemane (which means an olive press where olives are crushed to squeeze out the oil) Jesus prayed till His sweat became like drops of blood. Oil was virtually crushed out from Him. He was collecting so much more oil, so much extra oil to perform His greatest act of love, His greatest “good work” on the cross.
How do you and I get the extra oil? By spending time in prayer with God. By humbling ourselves in total submission to His will in our lives. By being filled again and again by the Holy Spirit.
WHAT THE EXTRA OIL CAN DO
Jesus had the extra oil, in fact He had the fullness of the Holy Spirit, to give His life as a willing, loving sacrifice, as a perfect and total ransom for all the sinners of the world. He collected so much oil that on the cross, He can pray for the forgiveness of those who crucified Him. He had so much oil that He did not revile back at those who mocked Him but blessed them. He had so much oil He saved one of the murderer crucified next to Him. He had so much oil that He took care of Mary, His earthly mother while bearing all the stripes and wounds all over His body. Extraordinary? Indeed! And it’s only possible because He had the extra oil!
In the same way when you and I have the extra oil we can forgive those hurt us, cheat us, abuse us, use us and curse us. We can continue to give to them, to bless them, to help them and love them. We can still go on being good and kind even when we ourselves are suffering and in pain. Even though we may get so tired, we will still continue to serve God and others in His name.
According to Jesus’ parable of the 10 virgins, the difference between the 5 wise and the 5 foolish virgins was that the wise had extra oil and the foolish had no extra oil.
(Mat 25:3 GW) The foolish bridesmaids took their lamps, but they didn't take any extra oil.
(Mat 25:4 GW) The wise bridesmaids, however, took along extra oil for their lamps.
That difference MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE!
It was a difference of being IN or OUT of the wedding feast!
It will make a difference between HEAVEN or HELL!
But how do you and I know that we have extra oil now.
Oil is necessary for light.
No more oil meant no more light.
Fire and light is absolutely vital in the dark, especially in the dark jungle or wilderness where wild animals roam in the dark to hunt their preys.
Spiritually we will be easy targets of demons when our lives have no more oil to burn.
WHAT IS OUR LIGHT?
If you have oil you will shine!
Jesus said in (Mat 5:14 NKJV) "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
(Mat 5:16 NKJV) Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
So oil will give light and the light is our good works. Good works done with the love, hope and faith poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Good works that God has prepared beforehand for us to walk in. Ep 2:10 The good works are the righteous deeds of the saints that are described as being “arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints” Rev 19:8 The righteous acts are described by Jesus as acks of kindness shown to the poor and needy , the “least of My brethren”. Matt 25:40
HOW TO MEASURE IF YOU HAVE EXTRA OIL
Using the conclusion that light is our good works done in His name, with His love and life to help the poor and needy, a way to measure whether we have extra oil is to see if your life still continues to shine forth love and goodness after you have done some good works. If after doing some good works you don’t want to have anything to do with helping others. Or you show impatience and selfishness towards people around you, then you have run out of oil. That is, you have no extra oil in your life.
A worst scenario would be if the call or opportunity to do good works comes before us and we totally ignore it or feel no urge whatsoever to do some charity. It meant we have no oil to begin with in the first place.
HOW DO YOU GET EXTRA OIL
Jesus seems to have a reserviour of oil in His life. He seems to be continuously doing good. Even when He gets weary and tired He will still be doing good to meet the desperate needs of the poor. A main key to Him having so much oil to shine even in the darkest and longest “night” is found in His prayer life. Jesus often rose early before dawn to pray and seek the face of God. Often He withdrew Himself from the crowds and busyness to spend time with the Father. Sometimes He would spend the whole night in prayer. At the Garden of Gethsemane (which means an olive press where olives are crushed to squeeze out the oil) Jesus prayed till His sweat became like drops of blood. Oil was virtually crushed out from Him. He was collecting so much more oil, so much extra oil to perform His greatest act of love, His greatest “good work” on the cross.
How do you and I get the extra oil? By spending time in prayer with God. By humbling ourselves in total submission to His will in our lives. By being filled again and again by the Holy Spirit.
WHAT THE EXTRA OIL CAN DO
Jesus had the extra oil, in fact He had the fullness of the Holy Spirit, to give His life as a willing, loving sacrifice, as a perfect and total ransom for all the sinners of the world. He collected so much oil that on the cross, He can pray for the forgiveness of those who crucified Him. He had so much oil that He did not revile back at those who mocked Him but blessed them. He had so much oil He saved one of the murderer crucified next to Him. He had so much oil that He took care of Mary, His earthly mother while bearing all the stripes and wounds all over His body. Extraordinary? Indeed! And it’s only possible because He had the extra oil!
In the same way when you and I have the extra oil we can forgive those hurt us, cheat us, abuse us, use us and curse us. We can continue to give to them, to bless them, to help them and love them. We can still go on being good and kind even when we ourselves are suffering and in pain. Even though we may get so tired, we will still continue to serve God and others in His name.
No comments:
Post a Comment