Participants: Pr. Mark Finley
Series Code: AOT
Program Code: AOT000092
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00:12 Welcome to Anchors Of Truth from the 3ABN Worship Center.
00:17 When The Spirit Falls with Mark Finley. 00:24 We certainly had a wonderful beginning last night. 00:28 The Spirit did fall here. 00:32 And it fell on our speaker and it fell upon those that were 00:35 here in the audience. 00:37 And we had a meeting afterwards, an afterglow, 00:40 where we talked about the Lord for quite a little while 00:45 after our meeting last night. 00:47 And then we had a prayer with Pastor John Lomacang. 00:52 And tonight, we are again expecting the power 00:57 of the Holy Spirit in this series. 01:01 The title of the series is, When The Spirit Falls. 01:05 You know, tonight we're going to hear a warning. 01:09 It is, Which Spirit Is Speaking? 01:13 Because there is a true Holy Spirit and a counterfeit. 01:18 And tonight, we'll be talking about which spirit is speaking. 01:25 Pastor Mark Finley has had experience preaching 01:29 all over the world. 01:30 He has literally held crusades in almost every major city 01:37 of the world. 01:39 God has blessed His ministry. 01:42 And for so many years, he was also the Speaker/Directory 01:45 of It Is Written while he was holding those meetings; 01:50 in places like Moscow, and Helsinki, and Stockholm, 01:56 and other places around the world. 02:00 Tonight, he is going to be presenting our message to us. 02:06 And we were talking last night about some of the 02:10 books that has written. 02:11 But right now one of my favorite books that Mark has written 02:16 is called, Studying Together. 02:19 It's a question and answer book that's an ideal thing 02:25 for people to have. 02:26 And as I was talking about that last night, 02:28 he told our group afterwards that there is now an app 02:34 that you can get for your iPhone, for your iPad, 02:38 for any smart device that you have. 02:41 And you simply go on the app store and put in 02:46 "Studying Together" and it will come up. 02:50 It's only like $4.99. 02:52 It is invaluable. 02:55 You can use it to study wherever you are. 02:58 And it is a tremendous tool for answering questions. 03:04 And so I hope that you will make yourself, have the privilege, 03:13 of taking that into your computer. 03:17 You know, you've got some apps you've never used. 03:19 Get rid of some of those and get this one. 03:22 Because you're going to use the app, Studying Together, 03:27 by Mark Finley. 03:29 Well tonight before Mark comes to speak, 03:32 and again his subject is, Which Spirit Is Speaking, 03:37 tonight Danny Shelton is going to come 03:40 and he's going to sing one of my favorite songs, 03:43 an old favorite, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus. 04:02 O soul, are you weary and troubled? 04:11 No light in the darkness you see? 04:21 There's light for a look at the Savior, 04:30 and life so abundant and free. 04:40 Turn your eyes upon Jesus, 04:48 look full in His wonderful face. 04:57 And the things of earth will grow strangely dim 05:07 in the light of His glory and grace. 05:21 His Word will not fail you, He's promised; 05:30 believe Him, and all will be well. 05:39 Then go to a world that is dying, 05:48 His perfect salvation to tell. 05:58 Turn your eyes upon Jesus, 06:06 look full in His wonderful face. 06:15 And the things of earth will grow strangely dim 06:25 in the light of His glory and grace. 06:38 In the light of His glory and grace. 06:52 Amen. 06:53 The Holy Spirit's roll is to lead us to Jesus. 06:59 Jesus said, "If I go away, I will send Him unto you. 07:03 And I will abide with you." 07:07 The role of the Holy Spirit is to turn our eyes upon Jesus. 07:13 We're studying about the Holy Spirit in a five part series. 07:16 Last evening, we looked at the Person of the Holy Spirit; 07:19 the work in ministry of the Holy Spirit. 07:22 Tonight, we'll talk about the urgency of the Spirit. 07:25 Tomorrow night, true and false and counterfeit 07:27 manifestations of the Spirit. 07:30 And then on Sabbath morning and Sabbath evening, 07:33 we'll talk about the finishing of God's work 07:35 and what God wants to do through us 07:38 in the ministry of the Holy Spirit. 07:40 Let's pray as we go into our presentation. 07:42 Father, we just thank You so much for the opportunity 07:47 of the gift of the Spirit. 07:49 Lord, in an age where so much passes for religion 07:54 that's sham and pretense, so much passes for religion 07:57 that's false and counterfeit, we are so thankful for the true 08:01 manifestation of the Holy Spirit. 08:03 We're so thankful for the promise that the Spirit is not 08:06 something that we can wait for in the future, 08:09 but it's a gift present for the church now. 08:12 That we can claim that promise of the Spirit now. 08:15 That we can open our hearts to receive the Spirit now. 08:19 And we pray Thee that this meeting would be 08:22 life changing for each one of us. 08:23 In Christ's name, amen. 08:26 Some time ago, I read quite a fascinating story. 08:30 A woman called up her insurance agent. 08:34 And she said to the insurance agent, 08:36 "I want to double the insurance on my house." 08:40 He said, "Well, I'm more than happy to help you. 08:42 I will be delighted, in fact, to come over and talk to you 08:47 about increasing your insurance on your house." 08:51 She said, "Look, this can't wait. 08:54 It has to be done now. 08:57 I want to do it over the phone. 08:58 I have my credit card, I can give you my credit card number. 09:02 I want to increase, I want to double my insurance coverage." 09:05 He said, "Look, I'll come tomorrow night." 09:07 But she didn't pay much attention to that man. 09:10 And he kept getting a little bit irritated with her and he said, 09:16 "Look, I told you I'd come tomorrow night. 09:18 We can't do it over the phone. 09:19 There is a lot that you have to sign." 09:21 She said, "Sir, you just do not understand. 09:25 Look mister, my house is on fire. 09:29 And I have to increase my insurance coverage right now." 09:35 There are some things that you have to do 09:39 that just can't be put off, right? 09:41 So things that you have to do, you have to do now. 09:45 One of those things is preparation 09:46 for the coming of Jesus. 09:48 Luther Warren, an early Seventh-day Adventist, 09:51 use to say this, "The only way to be ready for the 09:53 coming of Christ is to get ready today and to stay ready 09:57 for the coming of Christ." 09:59 The way to be ready is to get ready and stay ready. 10:02 There are some things that are urgent. 10:04 Some things it doesn't make any difference whether you do today 10:08 or do tomorrow or do the next day. 10:10 There are some things that you can put off. 10:13 There are some things that you cannot. 10:15 And that is, preparation for the coming of our Lord. 10:20 Jesus, in the book of Matthew, outlines the signs 10:24 of His return. 10:26 And those signs are all around us today 10:29 as we look at the signs. 10:30 Now there are two key chapters on the second coming of Christ 10:33 in the book of Matthew. 10:34 Entire chapters devoted to Jesus' return. 10:38 In Matthew chapter 24, we read the signs 10:43 of Christ's coming in the world. 10:45 In Matthew chapter 25, we read the preparation 10:48 for Christ's coming in the church. 10:51 So there are two distinct chapters about the 10:54 return of our Lord. 10:56 The signs in the world and preparation in the church. 11:00 As we go through Matthew chapter 24, 11:03 we observe there in the 24th chapter in the book of Matthew 11:06 that there would be wars and rumors of wars, 11:09 that there would be floods, that here would be natural disasters, 11:15 that there would be crime on every end. 11:18 As we look at those signs in the 24th chapter of the 11:22 book of Matthew, we see them being fulfilled 11:25 all around us today. 11:26 Lawlessness is abounding. 11:28 There is famine, earthquake, fire, flood. 11:30 There is terrorism. 11:33 And we stand on the knife edge of eternity. 11:38 Matthew chapter 24, though, concludes with a 11:42 solemn appeal by Christ. 11:44 And Christ says, let's read it together from the screen, 11:46 Matthew 24 verse 42. 11:54 Jesus says all these signs will be taking place around you. 11:57 We can know His coming is near, but we cannot know 12:01 the hour it is here. 12:03 We can know that it is... What, everybody? 12:06 ...near, but we cannot know the hour that it is here. 12:10 And so, Jesus shares with us the signs of His coming 12:14 so we'll be wise in preparation. 12:17 But He does not share with us the exact date of His return. 12:22 He says, "Watch you therefore, because you do not know the..." 12:25 What? ...hour of His return. 12:28 And He makes this appeal in Matthew 24 verse 44 12:30 when He says... 12:38 So the appeal of Jesus is not that we have a knowledge of 12:43 when Christ will come, but rather we are ready 12:47 when He comes. 12:48 Jesus outlines general signs of His coming. 12:52 But I get nervous when people begin to say, 12:54 "You know, I've been looking at a time chart 12:56 and I think I have all these dates figured out. 12:59 And He is going to come here or there or then." 13:02 That was not the emphasis of Jesus. 13:06 Jesus gives us the panoramic vision of signs. 13:11 He paints the big picture. 13:14 But then He appeals to our heart, 13:16 "Therefore, be also ready." 13:19 Matthew chapter 24 talks about the signs of Christ's coming. 13:24 Matthew 25 gives us three parables. 13:28 And in these parables, each one appeals to us to be ready. 13:34 The parable of the ten virgins talks about spiritual readiness. 13:38 The parable of the ten talents talks about using our gifts 13:42 that God has given us to serve others 13:44 in the context of readiness. 13:46 And the parable of the sheep and goats talks to us about 13:49 ministering to the needy and the poor, 13:52 being compassionate, in the context of readiness. 13:55 Let's look, though, at that first parable tonight. 13:59 And it's called, the parable of the ten virgins. 14:03 If you're a student to the Bible, 14:04 you remember the story well. 14:06 If you're not a Bible student, it's a story that Jesus picks up 14:10 from an ancient wedding. 14:11 As Jesus was talking to His disciples about the 14:13 signs of the times, Jesus looked out and He saw 14:16 an ancient wedding that was going to take place. 14:19 He saw these ten brides maids that would light the way 14:23 to the wedding. 14:25 Now in 14 of the 21 parables listed in the gospel of Matthew, 14:32 they refer to the kingdom of God. 14:34 They're kingdom of God parables. 14:36 Matthew wrote predominately to a Jewish audience. 14:40 And so he wrote about the church, the kingdom of God. 14:44 And the parable of the ten virgins is commented on by 14:49 Ellen White in "Review And Herald," August 19, 1890. 14:53 Notice this reference very carefully in which she says... 15:06 So here you have a divine comment on the 15:08 parable of the ten virgins. 15:10 And that this parable would be fulfilled to the divine letter. 15:13 And here you have a comment in which the messenger of the Lord 15:18 says to you and to me, to each church, and to the world, 15:21 that she was often referred to the parable of the ten virgins. 15:26 Now if God directed the mind of His special messenger, 15:29 the prophet of God, in this last generation 15:32 to the parable of the ten virgins, and if He brought it 15:34 back again and again and again, wouldn't that be a parable 15:38 worth studying for you and for me tonight? 15:41 This is a vital parable for a people preparing 15:44 for the coming of Jesus. 15:46 If Jesus Himself gave this parable as the first parable 15:51 after Matthew chapter 24 describing the condition 15:54 just before the coming of Christ and how to be ready for the 15:57 coming of Christ, this must be an incredibly vital story. 16:01 So let's look at it, Matthew 25 verse 1. 16:04 Read it together with me again, please. 16:15 Notice it's a kingdom of heaven parable. 16:17 So it's a parable that deals with the church. 16:20 It says, "The kingdom of heaven is likened to ten virgins." 16:25 Now when we look there at the idea of virgins, 16:28 in the Bible a woman represents the church. 16:32 You see this in the book of Revelation. 16:33 Chapter 12 in Revelation, you have the true church described 16:37 as a woman dressed in white, pure radiant garment. 16:41 Revelation 17, a harlot woman dressed in purple and scarlet, 16:46 and scantily clad. 16:47 So Revelation 12; the bride of Christ, the true church. 16:51 Revelation 17, the harlot woman. 16:53 So in the Bible, a woman represents the church. 16:56 A pure woman represents the true church. 16:59 A harlot woman represents a fallen church or apostasy. 17:04 Now there's something there that's very, very fascinating. 17:07 The Bible says, "The kingdom of heaven will be likened to..." 17:11 How many virgins? Ten. 17:13 Now numbers in the Bible are important. 17:15 Three indicates the Trinity; the Father, the Son, 17:19 and the Holy Spirit. 17:20 So in Revelation, you have the Father, the Son, 17:22 and the Holy Spirit. 17:24 You have the true Godhead, true Trinity, the Triumvirate. 17:28 In Revelation, you also have the dragon, 17:30 the beast, and the false prophet; 17:31 the false trinity, the false triumvirate. 17:33 So three represents the Godhead. 17:35 In the book of Revelation, seven represents what, everybody? 17:38 What does seven represent? Perfection. 17:40 Seven churches, seven seals, seven trumpets. 17:43 You know, the perfect working of God through history. 17:46 And in the book of Revelation, twelve indicates completeness. 17:50 You have the twelve tribes, the complete 17:53 Old Testament believers. 17:54 The twelve patriarchs in the Old Testament. 17:57 You have the twelve disciples representing the New Testament. 18:00 In the book of Revelation, you have again "four" 18:05 representing universality. 18:07 What in the Bible does ten represent? 18:11 It's not so easy, is it? 18:13 In the days of Jesus Christ, there is something 18:17 very, very fascinating. 18:27 If Jewish men were going to start a new synagogue, 18:30 they would have to have at least ten Jewish men. 18:35 Why did Jesus use the term "ten?" 18:38 To let you and me know that what He was describing 18:43 in it was the church, the synagogue of believers. 18:47 His true church at end time. 18:49 We have pointers to that. 18:51 Kingdom of heaven parable; church. 18:53 Ten virgins; church. 18:56 The number ten again; church. 18:58 And so we see that throughout Jesus' description there. 19:03 These ten virgins, or this group of believers, 19:07 the church, has something in their hand. 19:10 It is what? 19:11 They go out with their lamps. 19:13 And throughout Scripture, you know it well, 19:15 Psalm 119 verse 105. 19:17 Let's read it together. 19:18 If you're at home, join in with us as we read 19:20 Psalm 119 and verse 105. 19:24 Local audience, let's read together. 19:31 I thank God that we don't have to guess at Bible symbolism. 19:35 I thank God that He has made the symbols in Scripture 19:39 abundantly plain. 19:41 Kingdom of heaven; church. 19:42 Virgins; true church. 19:44 Ten; smallest number of Jewish men that comprise a synagogue. 19:49 Lamps in their hand; the Word of God. 19:52 Now this is pretty incredibly good news. 19:54 Isn't it? 19:55 Here's a group of people, ten virgins, 19:57 representing God's church. 19:59 They have His word. 20:00 These are Bible believing, Sabbath keeping, 20:03 Adventist Christians. 20:06 Here, this group of people, are not out there 20:09 in apostasy some place. 20:10 They're not out in rebellion. 20:12 They haven't turned their back on God's Word. 20:15 This is His church. 20:17 Well they must all be very wise, right? 20:20 If they're all in the church, they must be very wise. 20:22 If they're all virgins, they must be all ready 20:25 for the coming of Jesus. 20:26 They all must be saved by His grace, living a prayerful life, 20:30 obeying God. 20:31 I mean, not one of these ten could possibly be lost, 20:35 could they? 20:37 Let's see what Jesus says as we go on in the parable. 20:40 Matthew chapter 25 verse 2. 20:47 That leads me to a very significant 20:50 and important question. 20:53 Why were the wise, wise? 20:57 If they were all associated together, if they were all 21:03 part of believers, why were the wise, wise? 21:07 And why were the foolish, foolish? 21:09 I think I know. 21:11 The wise were wise because they were wide awake. 21:14 And the foolish were foolish because they were asleep. 21:18 What do you think? 21:20 Is that what the Bible says? 21:22 The Bible puts it this way. 21:24 Verse 5 in Matthew 25, read it with me. 21:32 A few of the slumbered and slept. 21:35 Five of them slumbered and slept. 21:37 What does it say? 21:38 All of them slumbered and slept. 21:40 So the wise weren't wise because they were awake. 21:43 And the foolish weren't foolish because they were sleeping. 21:46 As time went on and as the coming of our Lord was delayed, 21:53 there was a spiritual lethargy that swept over both 21:59 the wise and the foolish virgins. 22:02 There is a danger that the Christian church faces 22:06 today, in general. 22:08 And there's an incredible danger that the Seventh-day Adventist 22:11 church faces. 22:13 The longer time goes on, the more one can declare with 22:19 their lips that they believe Jesus is coming soon, 22:23 but in their heart of hearts sleep. 22:28 The longer the time goes on, the longer the delay takes place, 22:35 the greater the possibility to enter into spiritual lethargy. 22:41 Isn't that what Jesus is saying in this story? 22:45 He is warning the entire church, wise and foolish, 22:50 not to fall into a deep sleep on the knife edge of eternity. 22:57 The message of Isaiah the prophet 22:58 speaks to this generation. 23:00 Here it is, Isaiah 60 verses 1 to 4. 23:02 Isaiah says, "Arise and shine." 23:05 Do what? 23:07 Arise out of your sleep and shine. 23:15 Are we living the time when darkness covers the earth? 23:17 The darkness of spiritualism. 23:19 The darkness of Satanism. 23:21 The darkness of demonism. 23:22 We are living at a time when darkness is covering the earth. 23:26 And Jesus is speaking to His entire church today. 23:29 "Arise and shine, for your light has come." 23:32 This is our destiny. 23:33 This is our time to share the light of Christ 23:37 with the whole world. 23:38 This is our time to be filled with the Holy Spirit. 23:41 Look, deep darkness will cover the people. 23:43 But the Lord will rise upon you, and His glory 23:47 will be seen in you. 23:48 Thank God, God is going to yet do something 23:51 with His slumbering sleeping church. 23:54 God is yet going to do something. 23:57 He's going to move with His Holy Spirit. 23:58 There will be a powerful spiritual revival 24:01 in these last days of earth's history. 24:04 And what's going to happen when that revival takes place? 24:06 The Gentiles. Who are they? 24:07 The heathen shall come to your light. 24:10 Kings to the brightness of your rising. 24:12 What a prophecy. 24:14 The church will not flicker and go out in darkness. 24:17 His people will not sleep forever. 24:19 There will be a mighty Holy Ghost spiritual revival. 24:23 Jesus' power will move through His church. 24:26 Men and women will be on their knees seeking God. 24:30 And the reason more people do not come to be part of 24:34 God's true church now is not because they don't have 24:37 spiritual longings in their heart. 24:40 It is because they have not seen the light of Christ 24:43 in the fullness of the Spirit in our lives. 24:46 God cannot do something... 24:49 ...with you until He does something for you. 24:52 God cannot do something through you until 24:54 He does something to you. 24:56 What a prophecy. 24:57 The Gentiles, the heathen, will come to our light. 25:00 The light of Jesus Christ rising in His people. 25:03 The kings to the brightness of their rising. 25:06 We have not yet seen what God is going to do. 25:10 Lift up your eyes all around and see. 25:13 Jesus says to His sleeping church, "Lift up your eyes 25:17 all around and see." 25:18 They all gather together. 25:20 They're going to come to you. 25:21 The greatest revival in history is going to take place. 25:25 The greatest soul winning initiative that this church 25:29 in this world has ever seen is going to take place. 25:32 Pentecost is nothing in comparison 25:35 to what's going to happen. 25:37 3000 baptized in a day. 25:39 The early rain, according to Hosea, was moderate. 25:43 If you saw 3000 baptized in a day, that wouldn't be 25:46 very moderate, right? 25:47 It's only moderate in comparison to what's going to come. 25:50 We have not yet seen what God is going to do. 25:54 Because it is written in Revelation 18:1, 25:57 the earth will be lightened with the glory of God. 25:59 It is written in Habakkuk chapter 2 that the 26:01 glory of God will go from one end of the earth to the other. 26:05 What a day. 26:07 Would it not be a shame to sell your soul cheap 26:11 when we are on the verge of the greatest 26:13 outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 26:15 This is no time for lethargy. 26:17 This is no time for spiritual drowsiness. 26:19 This is no time for Laodicean complacency. 26:22 This is no time to drop out of the church now. 26:26 This is the time to recognize that God is about ready 26:29 to do something that's unusual. 26:31 Empowered by the Holy Spirit... 26:44 Christ will come and return to this world. 26:48 But why? 26:50 Why are some spiritually drowsy on the knife edge of eternity? 26:55 Why are some sleeping? 26:57 What do the wise virgins have that the foolish virgins lack? 27:04 And how can you and I keep from being foolish virgins? 27:09 You see, these foolish virgins believed the same thing 27:12 as the wise virgins. 27:14 They're all together. 27:15 They attend church together. 27:18 They all are anticipating the coming of the bridegroom. 27:22 They all have lamps in their hand and believe 27:25 biblical doctrine. 27:27 What is the essential difference between the foolish virgins 27:32 and the wise virgins? 27:34 Is it possible that I think I'm a wise virgin 27:37 and I'm really a foolish virgin? 27:39 Is it possible that my perception of my 27:41 spiritual experience is greater than in actuality it really is? 27:46 Let's study our passage and see if we can discover 27:49 the difference between the wise and the foolish virgins. 27:52 Matthew 25 verse 3 says... 27:58 Now it's not that the wise were awake and the 28:00 foolish were sleeping. 28:02 It's not that at all. 28:04 All slumbered and slept. 28:05 They had this spiritual drowsiness. 28:07 But there is something that the wise had 28:10 that the foolish did not have. 28:11 What was it? 28:13 Oil. 28:14 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil. 28:18 So they had some oil in their lamps before, didn't they? 28:22 But they ran out of oil. 28:26 I wonder what this means. 28:28 They had some oil, but their lamps burned dim. 28:33 They did not replenish the supply of oil 28:37 that they had previously had. 28:39 Now notice the text, Matthew 25 verses 5 to 13. 28:45 So there was this delay in the coming of Jesus. 29:05 Now this is a key point. 29:07 Their lamps have not yet gone out. 29:11 Their lamps have not yet gone out. 29:13 Don't miss that. 29:14 I read this parable for years, but I missed that point. 29:16 Their lamps have not yet gone out. 29:18 In other words, they still have a flickering 29:22 of spiritual experience. 29:25 They have not turned their backs in apostasy. 29:29 But their spiritual lamps are in the process of going out. 29:35 Their spiritual experience is waning. 29:39 Their prayer life is waved. 29:41 Their Bible study life is waved. 29:44 They have an intellectual knowledge of truth, 29:47 but their heart has not been transformed 29:50 by the grace of God and through the Holy Spirit. 29:53 The text goes on, "But the wise answered saying..." 29:58 The wise and foolish virgins are together. 30:01 One thing our parable teaches us is that whatever this oil is, 30:05 you cannot get it from somebody else. 30:07 A wife cannot get it from her husband. 30:10 A husband cannot get it from his wife. 30:13 Children cannot get it from their parents. 30:15 You cannot get it from your preacher. 30:17 You cannot get it from some TV program. 30:20 You can only get this oil from Jesus. 30:23 And every human being must come to Jesus 30:27 for an abundant supply of the oil of God's grace 30:29 and the Holy Spirit. 30:31 "Go rather to those who sell and buy for yourselves." 30:37 There will come a point that our destinies will be decided. 30:41 That either we will have fully committed to Christ 30:45 and been sold out for Jesus, or by repeated choices 30:50 we'll have anesthetized our brains spiritually 30:54 so we are locked in a Laodicean complacency. 30:56 Those that were ready went in with Him to the wedding. 30:58 And the door was what? 31:00 Shut. 31:02 Now the door of probation will not be shut 31:06 by some arbitrary act of God. 31:09 There are those Christians, and even some Adventists, 31:11 that say, "Oh, wait a minute. 31:12 What if the door has already been shut? 31:14 What if, what if... What if I'm lost? 31:16 What if, what if the door has been shut for me? 31:19 What if, what if my name has come up in judgment?" 31:21 Or, "Wait a minute. 31:22 Is it just some time on the calendar where God says, 31:24 'Okay, I'm going to shut the door. 31:26 If you're in, you're in. If you're out, you're out.'" 31:28 Not at all. 31:30 The door is shut when every human being on planet earth 31:36 has made their final irrevocable decision. 31:39 "He that is righteous, let him be..." What? 31:41 "...righteous still. 31:42 He that is holy, let him be holy still." 31:45 The shut door in the sanctuary of heaven 31:48 is the acknowledgement that if it were open any longer 31:52 nobody else would make a decision. 31:54 The shut door in the sanctuary in heaven 31:57 is God's acknowledgement that everybody has 32:00 sealed their destiny by the decisions they've made. 32:06 "He that is righteous, let him be righteous still. 32:10 He that is holy, let him be holy still. 32:13 He that is unholy, let him be unholy still." 32:16 Before the coming of Jesus, the events of this world 32:21 will catapult everybody in making some decision 32:26 for or against Christ. 32:27 And the decisions that we are making now 32:31 settle and determine our eternal destiny. 32:34 The decisions we make every day form grooves of character 32:39 in our brain. 32:41 Have you ever seen a sidewalk 32:44 that goes like this and like this? 32:46 It has a 90 degree angle. 32:48 But some people don't want to get that extra exercise 32:52 walking down the sidewalk like this, making the right turn, 32:55 and walking like this. 32:56 So this is what they do. 32:58 They walk down the sidewalk and they cut across the grass. 33:03 You ever see that? 33:04 And one person cuts across, and somebody else sees their 33:07 footprints and says, "I think I'm going to go there too." 33:10 Somebody else see their footprints and says, 33:11 "I think I'm going to go there too." 33:13 And after you do that long enough, 33:15 what happens over there? 33:18 You have a path down there, right? 33:20 In the neurons of the brain, every little decision you make 33:26 to compromise truth creates a pathway in the brain. 33:31 Every decision you make; not to pray when you get up 33:35 in the morning, to rush through your day, not to feast on 33:39 God's Word, creates a pathway of lethargy in the brain. 33:44 So I may be in church, I may believe the truth, 33:50 but something has happened in my spiritual life. 33:55 My soul has become barren. 33:58 My spiritual life has become empty. 34:02 The oil of the Spirit is gone. 34:06 That's the story of the foolish virgins. 34:09 They intellectually believe the truth. 34:13 They associate with the wise virgins, but something 34:16 in their heart is gone. 34:19 Because the pathway that they have worn in their brain 34:24 by conscious decisions that they have made 34:27 is one of spiritual complacency. 34:29 "Afterward, the virgins came and said, 34:31 'Lord, Lord, open to us.' 34:32 But he answered and said..." 34:35 This is the key to the whole parable right here. 34:37 "I do not..." What? "...know you." 34:40 They did not know Jesus. 34:44 The word "know" in the Bible is the intimate relationship 34:47 that a husband has with his wife and a wife has with her husband. 34:50 There was no intimacy with Jesus. 34:52 They had an intellectual knowledge, 34:54 but their hearts cold. 34:56 So Jesus says, "Watch therefore..." 35:01 Watch and pray. 35:02 Watch and study the Word. 35:04 Watch, lest your spiritual life be robbed 35:07 by the cares of this life. 35:08 Watch, lest the devil come and snatch away 35:12 your deep interest for Jesus and the things of God. 35:16 The foolish virgins lacked the all essential oil of the 35:20 Holy Spirit filling their lives and transforming their hearts. 35:24 What does the symbol of oil represent in Scripture? 35:29 And why does Jesus use the symbol of oil? 35:31 Now if I ask the average Christian audience 35:34 and the average Seventh-day Adventist audience, 35:36 "Why does Jesus use the symbol of oil 35:39 and what does oil represent?" 35:40 What is the typical answer? 35:42 The oil represents the... 35:44 Boy, I knew that this was a wonderful audience. 35:49 But I want to ask you a deeper question. 35:52 The oil represents the Holy Spirit. 35:54 The answer that you gave is correct. 35:58 I heard some of you saying it in your homes 36:01 and it came back. 36:04 But my next question is this. 36:07 Is fire a symbol of the Holy Spirit? 36:10 Is water a symbol of the Holy Spirit? 36:13 Why doesn't God use fire and why doesn't He use water? 36:16 Why does He choose oil? 36:19 You can only understand the impact of the parable 36:23 if you understand the three fold meaning of oil 36:26 in the Old and New Testament. 36:28 So let's look at it. 36:34 When the prophet comes to anoint David as king, 36:38 he sets him apart and anoints him with oil. 36:42 When the elements of the sanctuary are set apart, 36:47 they are anointed with oil, they're consecrated with oil. 36:53 When the high priest is set apart, oil is placed upon 36:56 his head, oil is placed upon his eyes, oil drips down his face, 37:00 oil is placed upon his hands, oil is placed upon his feet. 37:02 Why? 37:04 Oil is placed on his head; his brain is consecrated to Jesus. 37:08 Oil is placed on his eyes; the Holy Spirit symbolizing 37:11 that only he shall look at that which is anointed and holy. 37:15 And the oil is placed upon his mouth so he can only speak 37:18 that which is holy. 37:19 The oil is placed on his hands so his hands will reach out 37:22 in ministry of holiness. 37:24 Oil is placed on his feet so he shall go in the 37:26 pathways of holiness. 37:28 Oil is a symbol of consecration that this article, 37:32 this individual, is sold out totally consecrated 37:35 to Jesus Christ. 37:37 So the foolish virgins vacillated. 37:41 The wise virgins had one priority in their lives; 37:44 "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness." 37:46 They were totally consecrated to Jesus Christ. 37:50 Now there's a second aspect of healing. 37:52 You remember in the New Testament when the 37:56 good Samaritan went and he met that man by the 38:01 wayside, what did he do? 38:02 He poured in oil and wine. 38:04 Wine, there, was a symbol of the grace of Jesus Christ. 38:09 Oil was the symbol of the healing balm of Jesus. 38:13 Jesus' grace forgives us, but Jesus' grace heals us. 38:18 Oil is a symbol that the Holy Spirit has entered my life 38:22 and healed me from within. 38:25 That I am healed of anger. 38:27 I'm healed of bitterness. 38:29 I'm healed of resentment. 38:31 I'm healed of lust. 38:33 I'm healed of gossip. 38:36 When you come to Jesus and you consecrate your mind to Him 38:40 and open your heart to Him, and have an intimate experience 38:43 with Him, His grace flows into your life. 38:46 You're sold out for Jesus, you're consecrated to Him. 38:50 The healing balm of the Holy Spirit, the oil of the Spirit, 38:53 enters into your life. 38:55 It does a deep work of healing. 38:57 There is one other aspect of oil. 39:01 The candles in the sanctuary were illuminated 39:05 by the fuel, the oil. 39:07 So oil is a symbol of illumination, 39:09 or oil is a symbol of witnessing. 39:11 God longs to have a people that are filled with His Holy Spirit. 39:16 He longs to have a people that are totally consecrated to Him. 39:19 The oil has touched their head and their eyes 39:22 and their ears and their mouth, and the oil has set them apart. 39:25 God longs to have a people who totally are sold out for Him. 39:34 But they did not have a present experience with Jesus. 39:40 Matthew 25 verse 6 says... 39:43 You cannot get an experience when Jesus comes 39:45 that you don't have today. 39:47 You cannot get an experience then that you do not have now. 39:50 You cannot get an experience in the future 39:52 hoping and grasping for it. 39:53 Jesus invited us to know Him for today. 39:56 They said, "Our lamps are going out. 39:58 We do not have an experience sufficient for the time 40:02 of the coming of our Lord." 40:04 Look, Ellen White says, Gospel Workers, page 274... 40:14 I am not calling you tonight to the superficial. 40:16 I'm not calling you to wade to your ankles 40:19 in a kiddie wading pool up to your ankles to get pennies. 40:23 I am calling you tonight to something deeper, broader. 40:28 Something that is higher than you could ever imagine. 40:31 I'm calling you to dive for pearls. 40:33 To open God's Word. 40:35 Let God speak to you through His Word. 40:38 Let the Holy Spirit transform your life. 40:40 To be consecrated by the oil. 40:42 To be healed by the oil. 40:44 And let that oil fill your life, to illuminate you 40:48 to witness in a powerful way for Jesus Christ. 40:56 Does it? 41:04 Do you sense that presence of God closing you in? 41:07 The wise virgins do. 41:16 The wise virgins have one priority in their life. 41:19 And that's to know Jesus and to be filled with His Holy Spirit. 41:23 To be totally consecrated to Him. 41:25 To be healed within by the grace and power of the Spirit. 41:29 They long to have that intimate knowledge of Jesus. 41:32 Ellen White, in the book, "Christ's Object Lessons," 41:35 which is probably the best commentary ever written 41:39 on the parables. 41:40 Christ's Object Lessons, page 411, describes 41:43 those foolish virgins. 41:45 And she says... 41:55 So are the foolish virgins hypocrites, yes or no? 41:58 No. Do they have a regard for the truth? 42:00 Certainly, they have a regard for the truth. 42:04 Have these foolish virgins advocated truth? 42:06 Have they preached truth? Yes. 42:08 "They are attracted to those who believe the truth." 42:11 Wow! 42:12 "But they have not yielded themselves 42:14 to the Holy Spirit's working." 42:43 What is the difference between the wise and foolish virgins? 42:48 The foolish virgins are content with something superficial. 42:53 They do not know God. 42:56 Look, we continue. 42:58 "They have not studied His character..." 43:13 Now notice, the wise and foolish virgins are together 43:16 in the church. 43:19 They are together doing service for God. 43:24 One class does service with their hearts burning within them 43:29 because they have an intimate relationship with Jesus 43:32 and His love flows out of them. 43:34 The other class still does service, but their service 43:39 degenerates into a... What? 43:40 ...form. 43:42 Because they have a superficial religion. 43:44 They're still in the church, but it is a formal religion 43:48 that they have. 43:50 Notice Ezekiel 33 verse 31, talks about the ancient Jews. 43:53 Ezekiel the prophet said... 44:11 So ancient Judaism; their experiences repeated 44:14 in God's last day church. 44:16 In ancient Judaism their mouth went after God, 44:19 but their heart drifted... What?...from Him. 44:22 You remember what Timothy says about the last days 44:24 of earth's history? 44:26 He says this. 44:34 Are we living in those last days? 44:36 Have perilous times come? 44:49 These are the foolish virgins. 44:52 They pontificate with their lips, but their hearts 44:55 are far from God. 44:57 These are the foolish virgins. 44:58 They have a form of godliness. 44:59 Oh Jesus... 45:01 ...break my heart. 45:03 Lord, I don't want any form of godliness. 45:07 I don't want some superficial religious experience. 45:11 I don't want to be playing church. 45:13 I don't want to be playing church. 45:16 Oh God, break my heart. 45:18 Is that the desire you have tonight? 45:19 Oh God, break my heart. 45:22 God, give me a knowledge of Jesus that is so deep 45:26 and so full that I reveal Your love to the people around me, 45:31 and that the light of Your love shines to the people around me, 45:35 and the power of Your Spirit works through me. 45:38 Oh Lord, let me be that light, because the oil of the Spirit 45:44 is filling my soul to illuminate a world in darkness 45:48 and prepare it for the soon return of Jesus. 45:51 See, there is a difference between... 46:02 There is a difference between an intellectual cognitive knowledge 46:08 in the head and a knowledge that gets into your soul 46:12 so you passionately love Christ. 46:15 Look, has the truth which you believe... 46:25 Are you a wise virgin? 46:29 Or is your experience superficial? 46:32 Do you remember the times you use to pray and you use to 46:35 study the Bible? 46:37 You had that passionate love for Jesus. 46:39 But things have changed and you're kind of 46:42 just going through the motions. 46:44 Look at this reference. 47:14 Signs of the Times, February 17, 1890. 47:17 Look at this. 47:57 Look, the devils believe that Jesus Christ 48:00 was the Messiah. 48:01 They believe that He died on the cross. 48:04 They believe that He is coming again. 48:06 They believe that He's coming shortly. 48:13 "But will this faith save the demons of darkness?" 48:16 Will it? 48:17 "They have not the faith that works by love 48:19 and purifies the soul. 48:21 That faith, and that alone, which cleanses the 48:23 soul-temple is the genuine faith." 48:25 Signs Of The Times, February 17, 1890. 48:28 Genuine faith reaches up and not only believes, but accepts. 48:35 It accepts Jesus' grace. 48:37 It accepts His power. 48:39 It accepts the promise of the Spirit. 48:42 And genuine faith says, "All the promises in the Book are mine. 48:46 Every chapter, every verse, every line." 48:49 Genuine faith takes what God has said and internalizes it. 48:54 Genuine faith takes what God has said and believes it. 48:57 Genuine faith says, "Jesus, You're not only the Savior, 49:02 You are my Savior. 49:03 Jesus, You not only forgive sin, You forgive my sin. 49:07 Jesus, You not only give strength, You not only 49:10 open the eyes of the blind and unstop the ears of the deaf, 49:14 and touched the withered man's arms and it was healed, 49:17 You touched my withered soul and it was healed. 49:19 You touched my blind eyes and they were opened. 49:21 You touched my deaf ears and I heard divine realities. 49:25 My eyes were opened and I saw divine things. 49:31 You touched my palsy body and my palsy soul, 49:35 and bitterness and anger and resentment were gone. 49:38 The wise virgins have a living experience 49:42 with the living Christ. 49:49 But you can't do it. 49:51 Knowing Jesus is a personal individual experience. 50:03 And the wise said, "Go and buy for yourselves." 50:07 The oil represents the sanctifying grace 50:09 of the Holy Spirit. 50:11 Not the Holy Spirit in some vague way. 50:14 Not the Holy spirit in some general way. 50:16 Not the Holy Spirit in some ethereal way. 50:19 The oil represents the sanctifying grace 50:22 of the Holy Spirit... 50:34 Here is the good news, here is the incredible news, 50:39 here is the wonderful news for you and me. 50:49 The oil that flows from heaven's sanctuary, 50:53 the Spirit that flows from heaven's sanctuary; 50:56 that oil is for you. 50:58 Heaven's supply never runs out. 51:01 And as you and I kneel before Him and His throne, 51:04 we say, "Oh, Jesus, Jesus, You promised your Spirit. 51:09 Jesus, I don't want a superficial experience. 51:11 Jesus, I don't want the form of godliness. 51:15 Jesus, I don't want merely something external. 51:19 I don't want to be going through the motions. 51:22 Lord, I'm opening my heart to You." 51:24 And He says, "My child, anybody who has ever prayed 51:27 that prayer sincerely I have poured My Spirit out upon 51:32 and they have been transformed." 51:34 We need not slumber and sleep on the knife edge of eternity. 51:40 The Bridegroom has been delayed and the appeal goes out 51:43 to you and to me to wake up. 51:45 The greatest danger that you and I experience is the 51:49 danger of delay. 51:51 The greatest danger that we experience 51:53 is the danger of procrastination. 51:57 You may be at home watching this broadcast 52:00 on Three Angel's Broadcasting and you have thought 52:03 in your heart, "I really need to make things right with God." 52:09 Or you maybe have thought, "You know, my Christian 52:13 experience is waning. 52:14 My prayer life is weak. 52:17 I'm not studying in God's Word like I use to." 52:20 Or you may be here in this audience 52:22 and you're thinking, "You know, I've got to 52:24 get that right sometime. 52:27 I've got to get that right sometime." 52:30 The story is told of these ten virgins. 52:43 Many people are waiting when they should be preparing. 52:47 Did you ever hear that story, fictitious of course... 52:53 It's alright if the preacher tells you a fictitious story 52:56 as long as he tells you it's fictitious. 52:58 You've got to watch the ones that tell the fictitious stuff 53:00 and they don't tell you it's fictitious. 53:02 Did you ever hear that story... 53:05 The devil is going out of business. 53:08 And he says, "Come, let's decide the best way 53:14 that I can leave you some final instructions." 53:18 And he says to his angels, "Tell me, Tell me. 53:22 What do you think is the best counsel I could give you 53:27 on how to deceive the largest number of people?" 53:31 And one angel says, "I know what it is. 53:33 I'll fly from here and I'll tell everybody there is no God." 53:38 The devil says, "That's a very foolish approach 53:41 because they can see God in the sun, moon, and stars. 53:43 You may convince a few, but you're certainly not going to 53:44 convince many. 53:46 God has His Holy Spirit working on their hearts." 53:49 "Somebody else," the devil says. Another said, "I know what. 53:51 I know the best counsel you could give us. 53:53 Here is the best counsel you could give us. 53:55 I will tell them there is no God. 53:59 Why don't you say... 54:01 The best counsel you could give us is just go tell them 54:03 there is no truth. 54:05 That's it's all relative in everybody's mind." 54:06 The devil says, "Well, that's going to deceive some. 54:09 But it won't deceive everybody." 54:13 One angel says, "Wait a minute. 54:15 Maybe Lucifer, maybe Satan, the best counsel that 54:17 you could give us all is this." 54:20 They go on and on and on. 54:22 The devil says, "None of you are right. 54:24 None of you are right. 54:26 The best counsel I can give you is leave here 54:30 in the bowels of hell, the regions of outer darkness, 54:34 leave here, go from here, and tell them 54:37 there is no hurry. 54:42 Tell them to wait. 54:44 Tell them to put off eternal decisions." 54:49 I was preaching one night in one of the southern 54:52 states of the United States. 54:56 I preached on the parable of the ten virgins, 54:58 the urgency of making a decision. 55:01 A young woman came up to me and said, "Pastor Mark, 55:05 I'm one of those foolish virgins. 55:08 Brought up in an Adventist Christian home, but my 55:10 experience with God is superficial. 55:12 I'm a university student. 55:15 And I've just got so much to do in my studies. 55:17 I don't pray anymore, don't study the Bible anymore. 55:19 Can you help me?" 55:20 We sat down together and we opened God's Word. 55:23 I shared with her how to know Jesus, 55:26 how to have a meaningful prayer life, 55:28 how to open her Bible on her knees and pray through 55:31 the psalms and pray through the epistles of Paul and 55:34 pray through the gospels. 55:36 She wrote in the flyleaf of her Bible these words, 55:40 "I once was a foolish virgin, but tonight I'm leaving here 55:45 a wise virgin." 55:47 Six months later, I was preaching at a camp meeting 55:50 up in the New England states. 55:51 A girl came down the aisle that I kind of vaguely recognized, 55:54 but I didn't know who it was. 55:56 She said, "Do you remember me?" I said, "No." 55:57 She said, "I'm the sister of the girl you saw 56:01 six months ago. 56:03 Do you know what happened to her? 56:06 This girl, my sister, that you saw six months ago, 56:10 she went back to school. 56:13 When she came home for Thanksgiving 56:16 she had a terrible pain in her heart and fell over dead. 56:22 When we went to get her Bible, written in the flyleaf of 56:25 the Bible was, 'I was a foolish virgin, 56:29 but now I'm a wise virgin.'" 56:32 There is no time to fool around. 56:39 You are one heartbeat away from eternity. 56:42 You don't know what's in your body. 56:44 God longs to give you the deepest most intimate 56:50 experience with Him that you can imagine. 56:53 Don't miss what God wants to do for you. 56:57 Wallowing around in Laodicean complacency, 57:01 when you can have a vibrant experience 57:04 filled with His grace. 57:06 Why not make that decision right now as we pray. 57:08 Dear Father in heaven, thank You so much for Jesus. 57:12 Thank You that You long to pour Your Spirit upon us. 57:15 Thank You that You long to fill us with Your grace. 57:19 And oh Jesus, we open our hearts to receive 57:21 Your Spirit right now. 57:23 We don't want to fool around with our Christian experience. 57:25 We don't want to have a superficial experience. 57:28 Oh Jesus, we want one thing; to know You, 57:31 for whom to know is life eternal. |
Revised 2014-12-17