Matthew 25:1-13
The 10 virgins - 5 were prepared and ready, with extra oil, 5 were not. Those who were not ready missed the bridegroom entirely.
Matthew 26:36-45
Jesus asked His disciples to keep watch and pray. However, they could not keep their eyes open and kept falling asleep.
We are much like the disciples who grew tired and the 5 virgins who grew lackadaisical in their desire to see Christ, in turn, causing them to be unprepared for Christ’s return. We need to recognize that God is not calling us to a spiritual sprint, but rather to a spiritual marathon battle.
Several months ago, attended an intercessory prayer meeting. The entire goal of the meeting was to seek the face of God for revival, unity, and healing for this divided and broken nation. The portion of the meeting I was able to attend lasted just over six hours. I found it truly interesting just how many times I had to continually refocus my attention back on Christ. I found myself drifting away into thoughts of how tired I was. In those moments of my non-engagement, I realized I was nothing more than an unprepared virgin and a sleepy disciple. It’s hard work to keep our attention on the face of Christ. This is the very reason why He calls us to these types of intense times of intercession. Jesus knows that it is a true sacrifice of our flesh. Our flesh can always come up with a million other things that it could be doing that seems to be more fun than interceding for a lost and dying nation, but the fact of the matter is this, if we don’t, who will?
The burning of my heart has always been for the lost, but lately, it seems more urgent and more desperate. I am not one who has studied out the “end times,” but all I know is that there is a groaning in the spirit realm. The heavens are roaring for God’s people to rise up and take hold of the altar, to storm the gates of hell for the unsaved! The breaking of God’s heart can be heard in the spirit realm. It’s like a woman in labor screaming in pain, desiring so desperately to see her baby in her arms. God desires so deeply to see a generation who will rise up and stand for righteousness, not grow weary in well doing, but to reap a harvest. We will never reap a harvest by warming a pew! What are we doing about it? Are we shaking heaven, or are we being shaken up by the storms we see raging around us? We need to grab hold of Christ, keep our eyes focused on His face and He will never let us down! The heavens are calling us to wage war like no other time before! As we look around us we see our culture making a drastic shift towards unrighteousness. Why does it seem like we are seeing people frantically sprinting toward hell convinced that they are racing towards heaven? I’m not sure I have the answer to this question, but I know that we, as born-again Christians, have an immense responsibility toward these people. We have sat back and watched too many people go to the grave only to spend eternity separated from their maker with little to no regard for them. When are we going to learn that sitting back was never meant to be something we are to be lukewarm about? The condition of people’s souls is something that will affect them for eternity.
It is a scary thought to think that we are all going to stand before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10) and give an account for the life that we have lived here on earth. Are we going to hear, well done good and faithful servant, or will the Father ask us about each and every person He placed in our path that we just let walk away without uttering a word, with no regard to the eternal implications? We don’t make the decision of who goes to heaven and who doesn’t, but we can make the decision whether or not those around us will hear about heaven from us. Silence is the gravest of sins in these final days. As Christians, we hold the words of life and death on the tips of our tongues. For some people in our paths, our silence is like us sentencing them to death. For some, we may very well have been their chance at heaven. Eternity is too big a thing to risk staying silent about.
Prepare your oil, be ready to stay awake in the dead of night when Christ calls you to the prayer room. We do not know whose lives we will be able to save all because we were ready.
Heavenly Father, we know that your heart breaks for the most vilest of sinners! Give us the desire to get ourselves into a position of readiness. Help us to speak life to those around us. We know there is a sense of urgency in the spirit realm. Let us not grow weary or lukewarm, but rather to be steadfast and blazing hot for the things of your kingdom. We ask these things in the precious name of Jesus Christ.
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