Matthew 25:1,13
25:1 "Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
25:13 "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
Church of God or the virgins must be watchful in order to be ready in welcoming Jesus' second coming in glory as the King of kings, Heavenly Bridegroom, on the glorious clouds.
What must we keep? We must keep ourLAMP TO BURN CONTINUALLY.
There are two requirements to keep our lamp to burn continually as follows:
It means we overflow in Holy Spirit.
The Church of God is as ten virgins who can be divided into two groups below:
1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishnessto those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
The daily practice of being foolish virgin is rejecting the cross of the Lord.
The example of one rejecting the cross is Peter.
Matthew 16:21-23
16:21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.
16:22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!"
16:23 But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."
Peter is the description of a great servant of God but he rejected the cross because he did not want to suffer in the flesh together with Jesus. In such a manner, he kept his sins because Jesus had to suffer in the flesh until being dead on the cross in order to finish the sins.
The sins many people often keep are lying and murdering, that is to say hatred, revenge, jealousy, bitterness in heart. Keeping such sins, one becomes same with Satan and goes into perdition.
Revelation 20:10
20:10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
On the contrary, the wise Church will take up the crossto suffer in the flesh together with Jesus.
Matthew 16:24
16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
Why do we have to take up the cross although we have been faithful and sacrificed for the Lord?
1 Peter 1:6-7
1:6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,
1:7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,
It is to get a firm, pure, and perfect faithas gold tested by fire.
Such pure faith is as a lamp burning continually to be able to welcome Jesus' second coming in glory as Heavenly Bridegroom on the glorious clouds.
Romans 10:17
10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
A righteous faith comes by hearing the Word in anointing of Holy Spirit. We can consume the Word, i.e. hearing, understanding, and believing in it because of the anointing of Holy Spirit. Believing in the Word, we have a righteous faith in our lives.
Nevertheless, the righteous faith has not been enough. It must become a firm faith through suffering.
Philippians 1:29
1:29 For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,
The righteous faith + suffering = a firm and pure faith.
The faith will be unsteady if there is no suffering.
2 Corinthians 5:7-10
5:7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.
5:8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.
5:9 Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.
5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
The signs of having the pure and firm faith as a pure gold are below:
25:1 "Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
25:13 "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
Church of God or the virgins must be watchful in order to be ready in welcoming Jesus' second coming in glory as the King of kings, Heavenly Bridegroom, on the glorious clouds.
What must we keep? We must keep ourLAMP TO BURN CONTINUALLY.
There are two requirements to keep our lamp to burn continually as follows:
- [Matthew 25:5-7] Receiving Bride Tidings or the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.
Matthew 25:6
25:6 "And at midnight a cry was heard: 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!' - Having oil for supply in the vessel.
Matthew 25:2-4
25:2 "Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
25:3 "Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them,
25:4 "but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
It means we overflow in Holy Spirit.
The Church of God is as ten virgins who can be divided into two groups below:
- Five wise virgins having the oil for supply who are successful to welcome Jesus' second coming on the glorious clouds.
- Five foolish virgins having no oil for supply who will be left when Jesus comes a second time and perish forever.
1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishnessto those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
The daily practice of being foolish virgin is rejecting the cross of the Lord.
The example of one rejecting the cross is Peter.
Matthew 16:21-23
16:21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.
16:22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!"
16:23 But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."
Peter is the description of a great servant of God but he rejected the cross because he did not want to suffer in the flesh together with Jesus. In such a manner, he kept his sins because Jesus had to suffer in the flesh until being dead on the cross in order to finish the sins.
The sins many people often keep are lying and murdering, that is to say hatred, revenge, jealousy, bitterness in heart. Keeping such sins, one becomes same with Satan and goes into perdition.
Revelation 20:10
20:10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
On the contrary, the wise Church will take up the crossto suffer in the flesh together with Jesus.
Matthew 16:24
16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
Why do we have to take up the cross although we have been faithful and sacrificed for the Lord?
1 Peter 1:6-7
1:6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,
1:7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,
It is to get a firm, pure, and perfect faithas gold tested by fire.
Such pure faith is as a lamp burning continually to be able to welcome Jesus' second coming in glory as Heavenly Bridegroom on the glorious clouds.
Romans 10:17
10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
A righteous faith comes by hearing the Word in anointing of Holy Spirit. We can consume the Word, i.e. hearing, understanding, and believing in it because of the anointing of Holy Spirit. Believing in the Word, we have a righteous faith in our lives.
Nevertheless, the righteous faith has not been enough. It must become a firm faith through suffering.
Philippians 1:29
1:29 For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,
The righteous faith + suffering = a firm and pure faith.
The faith will be unsteady if there is no suffering.
2 Corinthians 5:7-10
5:7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.
5:8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.
5:9 Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.
5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
The signs of having the pure and firm faith as a pure gold are below:
- [2 Corinthians 5:8] Being confident = being strong and of good courage.
Job is the example.
Job had to experience the test or suffering because of these reasons:- Physical problems concerning economics and illness.
- Problems about marriage and children.
- False teachings.
The false teaching was brought by his wife as Salomo had experienced. We have to be watchful always.
Job 2:9
2:9Then his wife said to him, "Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!"
Job 23:10-12
23:10 But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.
23:11 My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside.
23:12 I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth More than my necessary food.
Job was confident in suffering, not being hopeless or desperate but coming forth as gold.
The practice of being confident is below:- Living in righteousness according to the righteous teaching [Job 23:12].
Our heart, saying, conduct, and way of life are righteous according to the true teaching Word. [Job 23:11].
There is only a dead-lock and perdition outside the Word. - Being patient in shepherding, in committing service and ministry.
James 5:10-11
5:10 My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience.
5:11 Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord--that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.
It means the perseverance in the Holy Place of Tabernacle. We have to have it although we face great temptation now because God sees our perseverance.
Being righteous and patient, we live in the merciful hand of High Priest. Job, referring to the Church of God, was blessed doubly, that is to say the physical blessings and the spiritual ones up to the eternal life. - Physical problems concerning economics and illness.
- [2 Corinthians 5:10] Believing and being ready to appear before the judgment seat of Christ.
The judgment seat of Christ is to judge unfinished sins in conduct, saying, or thought, include the sin of judging other people. All sins must be accounted for and judged in perdition.
Having the pure faith, we will believe in the judgment seat of Christ and be ready to appear before it.
Matthew 5:23-25
5:23 "Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,
5:24 "leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
5:25 "Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison.
Being ready means making reconciliation while we are on the way to go to the judgment seat of Christ. We finish all sins and do not sin anymore.
The process of making reconciliation is below:- We confess our sins to God and man because of the encouragement of the true teaching Word and not repeating them after being forgiven.
- We forgive the sins of other people and forget them because of the encouragement of the true teaching Word.
Confessing sins and forgiving other's sins, we will live in peace.
We have to correct ourselves to confess our sins and to forgive other's sins when there is no peace in our heart.
Acts 7:55,59-60
7:55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,
7:59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."
7:60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin." And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
As the High Priest, Jesus should sit at the right side of God but He stands to honor a peaceful one.
Making reconciliation through confessing or forgiving sins, High Priest is standing at the right hand of God, meaning below:- Jesus is honoring us.
- Jesus is ready to hold our lives so we never fall.
Being peaceful, our hands are hold by the Great Shepherd and all things become easy and light.
The sin makes our lives burdened.
Matthew 11:28-30
11:28 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
11:29 "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
11:30 "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
Keeping sins, there is an atmosphere of prison, meaning a dead-lock, heavy burden and weariness until being in the judgment seat to be judged and perished. - We confess our sins to God and man because of the encouragement of the true teaching Word and not repeating them after being forgiven.
- [2 Corinthians 5:9] Being well pleasing always to the Lord.
Isaiah 42:1
42:1"Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.
1 Peter 2:9
2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
Those who are well pleasing to the Lord are those who have priest's offices/ministries.
Be careful! Not all ministries are received by God. The ministry of Cain was rejected but Abel's ministry was received.
Acts 13:22-23
13:22 "And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, 'I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.'
13:23 "From this man's seed, according to the promise, God raised up for Israel a Savior--Jesus--.
The ministry which is well pleasing to the Lord is the one with obedience to the righteous teaching Word.
Isaiah 55:3
55:3 Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you--The sure merciesof David.
Being obedient, we are in the hand of High Priest whose promise and mercy will never change.
The results will be real as follows:- The merciful hand of God protects and preserves our lives in facing all shakings.
Isaiah 54:10
54:10 For the mountains shall depart And the hills be removed, But My kindness shall not depart from you, Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed," Says the LORD, who has mercy on you. - The merciful hand of God will never change as long as the day and the night never change.
Jeremiah 33:19-21
33:19 And the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,
33:20 "Thus says the LORD: 'If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so that there will not be day and night in their season,
33:21 'then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levites, the priests, My ministers.
The merciful hand of the Lord will never change as long as we become the priests and kings who are well pleasing to Him; we only need to wait His time.
The covenant of the Lord with the day and the night means His merciful hand will work continually until the Church appears with the sun, moon, and stars to become a perfect Bride of God.
Revelation 12:1
12:1Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. - Previously, David could receive Jesus' first coming and now we may receive His second coming on the glorious clouds.
Acts 13:22-23
13:22 "And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, 'I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.'
13:23 "From this man's seed, according to the promise, God raised up for Israel a Savior--Jesus--.
- The merciful hand of God protects and preserves our lives in facing all shakings.