First Things First pt. 2

Mark Finley: Is God calling you to something deeper than you can imagine? Have you been putting off a deeper experience with God in your own life? Oil provides the basis for the lamps. God will have an end-time people consecrated to him, healed within of inner attitudes that keep them from being the powerful witnesses that God wants to the world, who hold the torch of truth high to light the way for the coming of the bridegroom. God longs to have a group of people filled with his spirit, consecrated to him, healed of bitterness, envy, jealousy, competition, healed of pride, arrogance, self-inflated importance. A people who are not so interested in talking about what they do, but talking about what Jesus does. A people who witness to his grace, who are consumed with holding a lighted torch of truth to get ready for the coming of Jesus. Now there are three fatal mistakes of the false virgins, of the foolish virgins. Here they are: three fatal mistakes. One, they had some oil but not enough. They thought the limited supply of oil they had was sufficient enough. When the cry came, "Behold, the bridegroom comes," they cried out, "Our lamps are going out, we do not have enough." Their supply of oil was not sufficient for the unanticipated delay. Is it possible to assume that a superficial experience with God will get us through the great crisis ahead? Have we forgotten the words of the prophet? We will need an experience much broader or deeper than we possibly can imagine. The foolish virgins were part of the superficial conservative class. Are you depending on an experience with Jesus that you once had? Is your spiritual lamp going out? Are you depending on an experience with God that is in the past tense and not the present? Does your heart still burn within you when you open God's word? Is the most exciting precious time of your day the time you open God's word and spend more time with him? How is your devotional life? Do you know Jesus? Does Jesus live in your soul and move in your life? Do you still sense Jesus' presence when you get on your knees to pray, or has your prayer life become boring and ritualistic and something you hurry through as a ceremony? Do you still love to take those long walks alone, listen to the singing of the birds, see the magnificence of the flowers, and say, "Thank you, Jesus for nature," and just let him transform your life? You see, the foolish virgins put their trust in the wrong place. The foolish virgins trusted that their past experience that they once had would be sufficient to take them to the wedding feast. The height of Christian folly is neglecting personal soul culture and believing that everything is alright because I believe the right thing and because I'm a witness for Jesus. The foolish virgins were superficial and conservative, but the foolish virgins lacked something deep inside. In Christ's Object Lessons, page 411, she says the class represented by the foolish virgins are not hypocrites. When I read the next sentence, I spent significant time meditating on it, applying it to my own life. They have a regard for the truth. The foolish virgins have advocated the truth. They're involved in witnessing. They are attracted to those who believe the truth. But they have not yielded themselves to the Holy Spirit's working. They have not fallen upon the rock Christ Jesus and permitted their old nature to be broken up. Here is the issue. Although they believe the truth and witness, the old nature deep within their hearts is still dominant. The spirit works upon man's heart according to his desire and consent, implanting in him a new nature. But the class represented by the foolish virgins have been content with a superficial work. I fall upon my knees and I say, "God, help me not be content with a superficial work in my life." They do not know God. See, this is the issue with the foolish virgins: the oil of the Holy Spirit flowing from heaven's sanctuary. The function of the Holy Spirit is to witness of Jesus. The Holy Spirit's function has been neglected in their life. They have not been healed deep within. They believe truth, they accept truth, they may witness for the truth, but often they're prompted and motivated by the old nature rather than the new nature. They do not know God. They've not studied his character. They've not held communion with him. Therefore, they do not know how to trust, how to look and live. Their service to God degenerates into a form. The foolish virgins are content with a stale, superficial experience from the past, although they acknowledge the truth. The truth has not transformed their lives. The old nature dominates their thoughts and actions. On the outward appearance, everything looks fine. They have lamps in their hands. What more did they need? They thought they were ready for the coming of the bridegroom. But there is a difference, brothers and sisters, between having the Word of God in your hand to defend the truth and having the Word in your heart to live the truth. The foolish virgins were informed but not transformed. They were instructed by the Word but not changed through the Word. They were convicted of the truth but not changed by the truth. Has the truth which you believe, the truth which you share with others, has that radically impacted and transformed your life so you're a different man, a different woman? In the parable of the ten virgins, the ten virgins do not understand fully what genuine conversion is all about. The oil represents the sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit that transforms our character and enables us to be more like Jesus. Now here is the incredible good news: there's an abundant supply of heaven's oil for you and for me. There is no shortage of the power of the Holy Spirit to give us the victories that we long for in our own personal lives. Nobody else's prayers, though, can substitute for yours. Nobody else can study God's Word for you. Nobody else can have an intimate relationship with God for you. In the bridegroom's absence, there's a tendency to slumber. The greatest challenge that the Seventh-Day Adventist Church faces today is this: we are a church that should not be here. We have never been in it for the marathon; we've always been in it for the sprint. But the church since 1844 has gone on. It's gone on for 166 years. The longer the time goes on, the more the spiritual drowsiness and slumber increases. God is moving among his people today to bring a spiritual renewal and a spiritual revival through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that will bring to this people a mighty spiritual revival and usher in the coming of Jesus. But that does lead us to a question that we should not neglect this morning. The question is implied in Matthew chapter 25. I want you to notice it, please. Matthew chapter 25, verse 5. "But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept." There is a delay in the coming of the bridegroom. If the Seventh-Day Adventist Church answered one question, it probably is the most vital question that the church could answer and it's this: why is it that the second coming of Christ is delayed? Why didn't Jesus come in 1885 or why didn't he come in 1850? Why didn't he come in 1910, 1930? The answer to that question is not a single one-sentence answer. If you carefully study scripture, there at least three reasons why Jesus delays his coming. Let's briefly look at each of them. First, reason one: Christ waits in love, suffering himself over the pain, agony, sorrow, poverty, sickness, and death of our world, waiting for the gospel to be preached with all power so all humanity will have an opportunity to be saved. The evidence of that is found in Peter, second Peter chapter 3, verse 9. He waits in love. He longs for all humanity to be saved. He longs for all men and women everywhere to hear the gospel. He does not want one person to be lost. Take your Bible please and turn to the book of Peter. Second Peter, chapter 3, verse 9. "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us." God is not slack concerning his promise. Has he promised to come? Will he come? The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but all should come to repentance. Why hasn't Jesus come? Because he waits in love. He waits longing that all men and women everywhere will accept his love. He will not come until the gospel goes to the ends of the earth. Had the church of Christ done her appointed work as the Lord ordained, the whole world would before this have been warned, and the Lord Jesus would have come to earth in power and glory. By giving the gospel to the world, it is in our power to hasten our Lord's return. I don't know how the language could be clearer. God is looking for a people that are passionate about sharing his love with the world, passionate about sharing the light of truth with his world, a people that are consecrated by the oil of his grace, who are healed in their hearts of anger, bitterness, and jealousy, who focus on one thing and that is getting a world ready for the coming of Jesus. Why doesn't Jesus come? One, the gospel hasn't been preached to the world. Reason two: Christ waits for his church to reveal his incredible character of love to a waiting world and a watching universe. You see, the cross is the answer to the great controversy. Jesus' death on the cross answers Satan's charges and reveals that God is love. God now longs for a community of grace, his body, his church, to reveal that his way brings joy and happiness and Satan's way of selfishness brings death. Not only is he waiting for the gospel to be preached out there, but he's waiting for something to happen in his church. The Bible says, "When the harvest is fully ripe." Revelation 14 talks about two harvests: the harvest of golden grain and the harvest of gory grapes. The harvest of golden grain is the character of Jesus that he longs to reveal through his Holy Spirit to transform our lives so we become the loving people that are lights in this world in a world of hate and selfishness. Christ is waiting with longing desire for the manifestation of himself in his church. When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in his people, then he will come to claim them as his own. First, he waits for the gospel to go to the world. Secondly, for the gospel to penetrate our hearts so deeply that we reveal his love to a waiting world and the watching universe. But there is a third factor and it's this: not only will there be the proclamation of the gospel, not only will there be the harvest of golden grain, there will be the harvest of gory grapes. There will be a manifestation in this world of the wickedness and rebellion and selfishness of sin that brings devastation and destruction to the world. Although the church can hasten the coming of Jesus, the church cannot delay the coming of Jesus indefinitely. Christ waits not only for a full complete demonstration of his love to be revealed through his people, but also he must let wickedness, evil, sin run its course, so the whole universe will see the ultimate results of Satan's rebellion and be secure forever. Now listen to these powerful statements. Prophets and Kings 417: "There is a limit beyond which the judgments of Jehovah can no longer be delayed." God keeps a reckoning with the nations. When the time fully comes that iniquity shall have reached the stated boundary of God's mercy, his forbearance will cease. When the accumulated figures in heaven's record book shall mark the sum of transgression complete, wrath will come. There will be a convergence, and I believe that convergence is taking place now. There'll be convergence of a praying people whose hearts are passionate about preaching the gospel to the world, who are asking God to cleanse their hearts in unusual ways so that they can be everything that God wants them to be. At that same time that God is leading his church into a revival, into a commitment to reach the world with the gospel, with people praying and hearts broken and people on their knees, as that is taking place, Satan sees what's taking place in the church and he redoubles his efforts of wickedness in the world and transgression reaches its limit. And God says, "This is enough. This is enough." The greatest danger that the foolish virgins face and that we face is putting off a decision to let God deal with our hearts as he wants to, which is of enormous consequences. What happened to the foolish virgins? Spiritual complacency paralyzed them. They were locked in self-congratulation, telling how great they were. They were bathed in self-confidence. They were satisfied with what they had. They never dreamed that they'd be unprepared for the coming of the bridegroom. They failed to understand their lack. Sometime ago, I read a story about, and of course it's a fictitious story, Satan and he had a council meeting, a strategy meeting in heaven. And in that strategy meeting, he called the angels and he said, "Now tell me, what is your strategy to deceive God's people?" One evil angel says, "My strategy is to tell them there is no God." The devil says in this imaginary story, "Don't be so foolish. The evidence of nature, the Bible, prophecy, people know there's a God; they'll never accept that there is no God." Second angel says, "Well, tell them that there is no truth." The devil says, "Look, in science there's truth. You may fool some people with that but you're not going to fool all the people." Third angel says, "Well, tell them that there is no hurry. Tell them there is no hurry. Tell them that they've got plenty of time. Tell them that there is no urgency. Tell them to put off personal preparation. Tell them to wait till a more convenient time to deal with their attitudes. Tell them that they don't need now to be on their knees seeking God for broken hearts." Is God calling you to something deeper than you can imagine? Have we been putting off a deeper experience with God in our own life? Do you sense the spirit moving in your own personal heart to a deeper Bible study life, a deeper prayer life? The only way to get ready for the coming of Christ is to get ready today and stay ready. Is there anything lurking in the shadows of your heart that you may not be aware of? Are you willing to say today, "Lord, I want to surrender any habit, any attitude that's a barrier between me and anybody else. I want to surrender any habit in my life that's not in harmony with your will. Lord, I want you to do a work in me so I can hold the torch of truth high." Lord, I long for the oil of your grace to flow into my heart and life. I love that old song. There's something about these old hymns written out of the context of experience. Number 260: "Hover o'er me, Holy Spirit, bathe my trembling heart and brow. Fill me with your hallowed presence. Come, oh come and fill me now. Fill me now, fill me now. Jesus, come and fill me now." "I am weakness, full of weakness, at thy sacred feet I bow. Blest divine, eternal spirit fill with love and fill me now. Fill me now, oh fill me now. Jesus, come and fill me now." The spirit of God is touching hearts here and now. Right now, the spirit is rekindling in our hearts as we kneel before him a desire to know him more deeply, a desire to serve him more passionately, the desire to follow him. Oh Father, this morning, we thank you that you visited your people. We thank you that we may have at times all of us played the role of the foolish virgin. I know I have. Life at times seems to be so rushed, so busy, so hurried that at times we rush without your power. We minister without your strength. Just now we kneel before you and we believe that the spirit comes from the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary and that you are filling our hearts. You are calling us to a deeper experience with you. And Father, if we know our own hearts, that's what we long for. If we know our own hearts, that's what we want. We thank you that we can be wise virgins. We thank you that our hearts can be one with yours. We thank you that we can seek first the kingdom of God. We thank you that there is sufficient oil in heaven to fill our lamps to illuminate a dark world with the gospel. And we choose to leave this place seeking you first, living in your power, recognizing we're living in end-time to light the world for the coming of the bridegroom. In Jesus' name, amen.