Sunday Service-March 14, 2010

Song-"And when before the throne, I stand in Him complete...Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe; Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow."

(Pastor Frank's sermon through my perception of what I think he said plus some of my additions . Someone recommended that I say this and sometimes I forget to do so.)

Opening comments:

When Nehemiah and the workers were rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, they built the first half of the wall for the sake of the city. When their enemies began to come against them, Nehemiah encouraged them to finish building the second half for the sake of their own family. (Sometimes, things need to become personal, in order for us to find the courage and godly anger to complete a task.)

The way the wall is built is our identity in the Kingdom.
We are not a people who do things halfway.

It is time to beat our denomination weapons into plowshares in order to till the soil and get it ready for seed time and harvest. It is time to lay down our weapons of differences and pick up the sickle as one man and bring the harvest in.
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Communion Service-Do not hurry through this process of remembering His life being poured out for the remission of our sins.

When you partake of His 'blood' and His 'body', receive an infusion of joy and healing and deliverance from discouragement and depression.

I felt like I had never heard the familiar communion words before.
It was as if I was having a favorite meal for the first time.
Perhaps this is what it means to have the joy of my salvation restored.

As I watched the people I love receive the cup and the bread,
I received everything Jesus blood had done for them and for me.
I don't want one drop of His blood to be wasted.
All of His blood was poured out for our sin, our sickness, our forgiveness and health.
We need it all and He paid it all.
Why would we refuse what has already been paid for?
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Revivals in the past have often centered around a church or a pastor. This is the reason that they fizzled out. The new move of God will have nothing to do with one man or a particular set of four walls.
On May 13 there will be another gathering of pastors in our area.
They will be encouraged to follow the call of God in their lives
and to finish building the wall in their particular community.
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Scripture Reading-Matthew 25:1-13-The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins

"May we hear the intent of the Spirit through the passage of these words today."

The word 'foolish' comes from the Greek word 'moro-'
which is the root of our word 'moron.'

To understand this scripture better, we look at the culture at the time Jesus told this parable. When a man was espoused or engaged to a woman, he would leave for about a year to get things prepared for the wedding and for their life together as husband and wife. Perhaps he would build a house or make some furniture. The groom paid for everything having to do with the wedding.

The bridesmaids were to hold the lanterns that would light the pathway to the wedding chamber and the pathway back to the brides house where there would be a celebration for several days.

The ten bridesmaids in this story had a job to do as they waited. They were to remain prepared so they would be ready to light the pathway at a moments notice.

Several things happened.

1)-The bridegroom was delayed.
We understand that the bridegroom represents Christ.
Jesus is delayed in His coming back.
He tarries because each day He waits,
thousands of people are being saved.
They are responding to His invitation to a wedding and it's celebration feast.

The church is His bridesmaids.
The Bridegroom is preparing things.
He is gathering pastors together.
He is unifying things for His presence to be revealed.

2)-The 10 bridesmaids looked alike.
They acted alike. They all had lamps and some oil. They were in the right place at the right time. They were called to be bridesmaids.
But five did not have enough oil to finish their task of lighting the pathway.

Augustine suggests that when Jesus used the term 'sleep', it implies death. Perhaps the Bridesmaids had 'fallen asleep' or died and when they woke up on the other side, they were found to be unprepared.
The last thing we want is to wake up on the other side and find out that we were not prepared.
Why the lack of oil?
The five foolish virgins were more concerned about the appearance of being prepared than in actually being prepared. They were more concerned about how they appeared to others than they were concerned about their appearance to their Savior.

Take inventory.
This is what the Kingdom of Heaven is like.

We come to church and act and look the part, but in our hearts, we are more concerned about looking the part and less concerned about Who it is we are worshiping.

The door was closed to keep out the foolish virgins just as the door was closed on Noah's ark to keep out the unrighteous.

The bridegroom had chosen these bridesmaids for this job.
But they neglected the One who had chosen them.

It is important to have the kind of faith that pursues the presence of God.
We need to want to be in His presence so much that we will 'push through a crowd'
or 'cut a hole in the roof', just to be with Him.

3)-You and I can't borrow oil from someone else.
Sometimes we don't want to pay the price to carry the presence of God; we want to be around those who have paid the price and borrow their oil.

Quote from ?-"Wisdom consists of anticipating the consequences."

The wise virgins anticipated the consequences of letting their lamps run out of oil.
The foolish virgins did not.
There are consequences with every decision we make.
The consequences for the foolish virgins?-No matter how much they knocked, they couldn't get in. How terrible the consequence of hearing Him say, "Depart from me, I never knew you."

4)-You can't put it off any longer.
The foolish virgins took the chance that what they had was enough.
Don't take that risk.
Seek God while He may be found.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
Keep your lamp filled daily; a continuous filling.
Live openly before the Lord; keep being cleansed.
There is no guarantee for tomorrow.
This could be the last sermon you hear.
Should He delay His coming,
I want to make sure I have enough oil to keep me through the day.

The number 5 represents the 5 senses.
Taste, Hearing, Touch, Smell, Sight-
The reason we need the oil of the Holy Spirit is so our senses are immersed in holiness.
I want to taste the goodness of the Lord.
I want to hear His voice.
I want to touch the hem of His garment.
I want to smell the sweet aroma of His presence.
I want to see His face.
We need to taste, hear, touch, smell, and see the world around us through the oil of the Holy Spirit. The senses that are drenched with the Oil of the Spirit will be alerted to the aroma of sin and want nothing to do with it. We will want to touch what God endorses as holy. Our eyes will know to turn away from evil and look on what is pure. Our ears will hear His voice and not the voice of another. We will know that the taste of sin would be bitter because just the fragrance of it makes us sick.
The senses covered with the oil will warn of what is evil and draw near to what is good.
Pour oil on your senses.

5)-If you don't do it,(keep oil in your lamp) you'll miss it.
There is no second chance.

The challenge for some of us is not getting ready, but in staying prepared.
The world has a way of deceiving us and draining our oil.

There is an urgency in this.
He's coming back and there are those who don't know Him.
Our wall is only halfway built. Our identity is only halfway completed.
Until we hear that final trumpet, we have work to do.

Do you have enough oil to keep you ready?

Priorities change when we are faced with a life or death situation.
When the Titanic hit the ice berg, an old lady asked if she could go back to her room to get a few things before she climbed into the life boat. They told her that she had 3 min. and then her last chance of survival would be lowered into the ocean.
She ran to her room and pushed aside her gold and jewels and reached in the back of her drawer for three oranges.
She made it to the lifeboat in time.
Her priorities had changed.
A short time earlier, her gold was important.
Now, she just wanted to survive.

You either have enough oil, or you don't.

Before God sends in the harvest, we have to allow Him to do something in us.
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I understand the concept of needing to have our lamps filled with oil.
I understand the 'why' of the need.
But I don't quite understand exactly how it's done.

There are people who love to be in God's presence and they talk to Him all day long and He talks back and they hear Him say all kinds of things and they are absolute fruitcakes.

And then there are others who love to be in God's presence and they talk to Him all day long and He talks back and they hear His voice and they are absolutely solid as a rock.

The fruitcakes may have the appearance of being full of oil and full of worship and full of fire and the solid as a rock folks may not have the same appearance but their flame burns bright and others are warmed by their light but they might be judged by those who say,"This is the way that it's done. This is the way that it looks," because they don't do or look the right way.

What makes the difference?
How do you know if you have enough oil?
What about desert times and dark nights of the soul?
What about sleepless nights with sick babies and empty emotions?
What about being in the middle of the process of forgiving someone?
What if you are angry with God?
Do we have to be so careful that we are not real?
Do we have to be afraid?
If He carries those who are with young, will He fill their lamps with oil?
Do we not get our oil from the Bridegroom we are waiting for?

I am not sure how full my lamp is with oil, but I am quite sure that I don't have a spare bucket of oil by my side and that worries me somewhat. Sometimes people (not you) call me and I know they want my oil and I feel like I barely have enough oil to keep my flame and you know what? I don't answer the call. I wait until I feel like I have a little bit of extra oil and then maybe, I call them back. I get frustrated with them because they have time to study and read and instead, they call lots of people and try to absorb their oil and I wish I had their time. Give me your time I want to yell at them! Get your own daggone oil!

And as I was thinking about this, I remembered something I read in 'The Celebration of Discipline' by Richard Foster. The Spiritual Disciplines he refers to are the inner disciplines of meditation, prayer, fasting, and study; the outward disciplines of simplicity, solitude, submission, and service, and the corporate disciplines of confession, worship, guidance, and celebration. I think some of the following quotes from him help explain how to keep our lamps filled with oil. I wish we would all read this book and practice its truths. Here goes:

"One word of caution, however, must be given at the outset; to know the mechanics does not mean that we are practicing the Disciplines. The Spiritual Disciplines are an inward and spiritual reality, and the inner attitude of the heart is far more crucial than the mechanics for coming into the reality of the spiritual life." I love that.

"In our enthusiasm to practice the Disciplines, we may fail to practice discipline. The life that is pleasing to God is not a series of religious duties. We have only one thing to do, namely, to experience a life of relationship and intimacy with God, "the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change" (James 1:17).

(!!!!!!!!!) "This is the way it is with the Spiritual Disciplines-they are a way of sowing to the Spirit. The Disciplines are God's way of getting us into the ground; they put us where He can work within us and transform us. By themselves the Spiritual Disciplines can do nothing; they can only get us to the place where something can be done. They are God's means of grace. The inner righteousness we seek is not something that is poured on our heads. God has ordained the Disciplines of the spiritual life as the means by which we place ourselves where He can bless us."

"In this regard it would be proper to speak of "the path of disciplined grace." It is "grace" because it is free; it is "disciplined" because there is something for us to do...The grace of God is unearned and unearnable, but if we ever expect to grow in grace, we must pay the price of a consciously chosen course of action which involves both individual and group life. Spiritual growth is the purpose of the Disciplines."
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Okay, I think I might be breaking copyright laws.

Back to the service.
Back to the altar.
My favorite part was being with that dear family who had lost everything in a fire. I didn't want to leave them because the presence of God was so strong around them. I think it was because they were so broken and vulnerable and their walls were down because they were in shock. I felt His comfort and love for them and I got a glimpse of the back of their Job Book. I know that what will come to pass for them is greater than any good they've ever experienced before. I know those children will love the Lord and do great things for Him. I know that the unity caused by the pulling together of the body to meet their needs will cause God to command a blessing.
It will flow down like oil and anoint our heads.
Our cup will run over. Oil to spare.
Thank you, Thank you God.