Thank you, Craig. Good morning,
everyone. As Craig said, I am feeling a
little bit under the weather, so I apologize in advance for
any coughing epidemics that might arise, so he'll have to bear
with me. For our Bible study this morning,
you can open your Bibles to Matthew, chapter 25. The 25th chapter
of Matthew. And I want to just read the first
13 verses and bring out a few things and I pray the Lord will
bless it to your heart. I ask that you continue to pray
for me, continue to ask for God's blessing upon me and any other
man who stands here to preach. I'm so often reminded just what
an unprofitable servant I am. I don't say that pretentiously,
but when the Lord makes you realize your own weakness, He puts you
down in the dirt. He makes you know that it's not
of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that
showeth mercy. And that's not just talking about salvation,
but gospel preaching. That could be applied to anything.
So I just ask that you continue to pray for me. Alright, Matthew
chapter 25. Let's start reading at verse
1. Then shall the kingdom of heaven
be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps and went
forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and
five were foolish. They that were foolish took their
lamps and took no oil with them. But the wise took oil in their
vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried,
they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry
made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh. Go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose
and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the
wise, Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out. But the
wise answered, saying, Not so, lest there be not enough for
us and you. But go ye rather to them that
sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the
bridegroom came. And they that were ready went
in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut. Afterward
came also the other virgins, those five foolish virgins, saying,
Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily
I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for you know
neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh.
Watch therefore. The Lord often spoke, as in these
13 verses, He often spoke, especially in the Gospels, in parables. He often spoke in parables, both
to His disciples and those who professed to be His disciples.
I ask you, why did He do this? Why did He do this? Well, for
one, it was to fulfill the Old Testament prophecy that He would
speak dark sayings, which is a reference to His parables.
But the reason why is found in Matthew chapter 13, if you'll
turn there with me. I find this so interesting. Why
did the Lord speak in parables? He could have spoken clearly.
He could have used plain, simple language to try to explain what
the Kingdom of Heaven was like. He often, He gave many parables
about the Kingdom of Heaven and other things. But He tells us
why here in Matthew Chapter 13. Look at verse 9. Who hath ears to hear, let him
hear. Oh, I pray the Lord would give
me ears to hear this morning, don't you? Lord, I'm so dumb. I'm so deaf. I've heard the gospel
by your grace so many times. And how soon I forget what I've
heard. How quickly my heart grows cold
and indifferent to the things of God. How quickly my flesh
becomes so entangled with this world. I'm like that thorny ground. Oh, Lord. Don't leave me to myself. Give me ears to hear. I'm just
a sheep. He who hath ears to hear, let
him hear. And the disciples came and said unto him, Master, why
speakest thou unto them in parables? They're asking, well, why are
you always speaking in parables? Verse 11, He answered and said
unto them, I bet they weren't expecting this answer. Because
it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom
of heaven, but to them it is not given. Well, I thought God
wanted to save everybody. I thought God wanted to make
the gospel of His grace clear to everybody. That's not what
Christ said here. The reason why He spoke in parables
was that He might make the unsearchable riches of His grace known to
His people, while in the same step, confounding and blinding
the wise and the prudent. He answered and said unto them,
Because it is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom
of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath
to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance, but
whosoever hath not from him shall be taken away even that which
he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables, because they
see you not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand."
Alright, now back to Matthew chapter 25. Now that's the reason why the
Lord so often spoke in parables, and that's the reason why He
speaks in a parable here in our text in Matthew 25. So that we
might understand the unsearchable, some understanding. Obviously
we don't have a perfect understanding of anything in God's Word. I
mean, when you think about it, what do we really understand
about God? Now we believe many things by
faith, but who can understand or comprehend the Trinity? What
man can explain it thoroughly? There is one God. There's not
three gods. One God. But three distinct persons. The Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit. Who can explain that? We can't
understand that. That's just one example of the
many things we believe, but we can't understand in our carnal
minds. I'm so thankful He gives us faith,
aren't you? I'm so thankful that He gives
His sheep ears to hear. And I pray that He'll do that
for us in this passage of Scripture. What is the Lord trying to tell
us here? And my prayer this morning is to more clearly see the importance
of patiently waiting for the second coming of Christ. That's
obviously the main lesson in this passage of Scripture. Christ
is coming again, brethren. He's coming again. John said
in the book of Revelation, Behold, He cometh. You know what that
word means? He's on His way. He doesn't just
say, He will come, or He's coming. That's certainly true. He said,
Behold, He cometh. He's on His way right now as
we speak. He's coming. Behold, I come quickly. That's
why the Lord said in verse 13 of our text, Watch therefore,
for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man
cometh. The five wise virgins in our
text, they represent all true believers. All those who have
been born again by the Holy Spirit of God. And the five foolish
virgins, they represent all professing believers. Those who profess
faith in Christ, but don't actually possess faith in Christ. And
the first lesson in this text is this. God's church and kingdom
in this world is made up of a mixture of believers and unbelievers. You go around this country and
this world to every local gospel church, whether it's here, it's
where You know, where we are there in Kannapolis, where Tim
James is, Todd Niebuhr, Don Ford. You go to any local church, each
local assembly is a mixture of God's people and unbelievers,
of goat and sheep, of wheat and tares. And I hope that doesn't
come as a shock to anyone here. We know that there is no such
thing in this world. There's no such thing as a perfect
church. There's no such thing. It is God's purpose. This wasn't
by accident, as we're going to see again back in Matthew 13.
It's not an accident that God has purposed believers and unbelievers
to be together. He said, It's necessary that
heresies be among you. Why? That those who are of the
faith might be made manifest. You see, God's people are made
manifest in the presence of unbelief. They recognize one another. That's
why the wheat can't really see the importance of it. It was
God's purpose for the wheat and the tares to grow together. God
has purposed that the wheat and the tares grow together and He
will separate them in the end. Not us. No one has the spiritual wherewithal
to determine who truly is a child of God and who's just a pretender. We like to think that we know,
don't we? That person, boy, he's not a
believer. A believer wouldn't do that. Brethren, we must never try to
separate the goats from the sheep in our own power. We must never
try to separate the tares and the wheat. The Lord says in doing
so, we will pluck up the believers along with the unbelievers. Turn
back to Matthew chapter 13. We were just there a minute ago.
I want you to read it for yourself. Because we're so prone to this
in our flesh to try to You know, that person's an unbeliever.
I've got to try to get him out of here. Be careful. You're going
to pluck up the wheat with the tares. Do you think you're that
wise that you can decipher between God's people and unbelievers?
The tares look like the wheat. Look at Matthew 13, verse 25. But while men slept, his enemy
came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But
when the blade was sprung up and brought forth fruit, then
appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder
came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed
in thy field from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them,
An enemy hath done this. The servant said unto him, Wilt
thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay, lest
while you gather up the tares, you root up also the wheat with
them. Let both grow together until
the harvest." What's that? Until the end of the world. Let
both grow together until the harvest. And in the time of the
harvest, I will say to the reapers, that's the angels, gather ye
together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn
them. But gather the wheat into my barn. You see, only God can
tell the difference. Only God can tell the difference.
If it wasn't for the New Testament account that told us that Lot,
Abraham's nephew in the Old Testament, if the New Testament didn't tell
us that Lot was a just man, we would have no reason to believe
that he was a believer at all. He lived in Sodom. He was drunken and committed
incest with both of his daughters. Man, a believer would never do
that. You see, we judge on outward appearance, don't we? God looks
on the heart. My point is this, we can't determine
who's a wise virgin and who's a foolish virgin. Judge not that
you be not judged. We are to examine ourselves.
Examine yourselves whether you be in the faith. But don't try
to judge others as if you have some spiritual insight. That
you are somehow wiser than others. That you are able to distinguish
between the weak and the tares. You and I should not take this
fact lightly. that right in this very place,
here this morning, there are wheat and there are tares. And
as we're going to see in the next message, there's only two
groups of people in the eyes of God. Only two distinctions.
Those who are blessed of God and those who are cursed of God.
I want to know what I am. And Lord, is it I? Lord, am I one of the wheat? Isn't that what God's people
think when they... Isn't that what you think when you come
across a passage of Scripture? If any man sin against the Son
of Man, it shall be forgiven him. But if he sin against the
Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him. No, not in this
life, nor in the life to come. And you read that and you think,
Oh Lord, have I committed this unforgivable sin? And Lord, is
it I? The self-righteous Pharisees
don't think that. They are assured of their salvation, aren't they?
But they have built their hope on shifting sand. It's a delusion.
They have no hope. But God's people say, Lord, is
it I? Why? Because they know their own great propensity to
sin. You know how easy it is to just, apart from the grace
of God, you know there's nothing you wouldn't do. That's why we're
bound to say, Lord, is it I? Lord, have mercy on me. Lord,
don't leave me to myself. Don't leave me to my own understanding. If you do, I'll just be one of
these foolish virgins. That's what we are by nature.
Now notice this word lamp in our text, verse 3. Now notice
that both the wise and the foolish virgins had lamps. But also notice that a lamp is
the only thing the foolish virgins had. What is this lamp? Again,
remember, Christ is speaking in parables. We must understand
these things spiritually. What is this lamp that both unbelievers
and believers have? Well, it's a profession of faith,
isn't it? It's an outward, visible profession of faith. But a profession of faith is
not enough to be saved. It's one thing to be baptized
in water. That's good. If you believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ with all your heart, you may. Isn't that
what Philip told that Ethiopian eunuch? What doth hinder me to
be baptized? Oh, I believe this gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ, Philip. What doth hinder me to be baptized?
That's good. If you believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, confess Him in baptism. But you know Judas Iscariot was
baptized? That didn't save him. The waters of baptism don't wash
away your sins. Just like partaking the Lord's
table, eating that unleavened bread and drinking that wine.
That doesn't convey grace. It's just a remembrance. It's
written right here, this do in remembrance of me. It's just
an ordinance that we do in remembrance of Him. It's one thing to be
baptized in water and make a profession. It's something else, entirely,
to be baptized into Christ. And as we're going to see, these
foolish virgins were among the same crowd of people who cried,
Lord, Lord, in Matthew chapter 7. Remember that passage of Scripture? Many will say to me in that day,
Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?
What a pathetic righteousness that must be. People looking
to their own preaching. Have we not prophesied in thy
name? Oh Lord, I don't want to be accepted based on my preaching.
My best preaching is filth. Have we not prophesied in thy
name? Have we not cast out demons in thy name? They were... I mean, wonderful works. Which
one of us can cast out demons? They were able to. Done many
wonderful works. He wasn't impressed. Depart from
me ye that work iniquity, I never knew you. And brethren, let us
not deceive ourselves. Coming to church, and when I
say church, you know I mean a gospel church. Coming to church is good,
but coming to Christ is life eternal. It's our privilege to
be here every time the door is opened. God's people who know
that the Lord is gracious, who know how precious this gospel
is, it's that pearl of great price. Those of you who know
how gracious the Lord Jesus Christ is, you want to be here. You
don't have to Drag God's people into church to hear the gospel. They want to. They're like Mary. They want to sit at the feet
of Christ and hear his word. Hearing the gospel is vital.
Don't let anything get in the way of hearing the gospel. You
do yourself a great disservice. Hearing the gospel is vital,
but believing the gospel is what God requires. You see the difference? Many people take comfort in their
hearing. That's what the tares do. That's what the foolish virgins
did with their lamps. They had a profession. Oh, I
believe the Gospel. They say, but they didn't. They didn't
have a genuine love for Christ. Reading the Scriptures. The Pharisees
did that. They knew the Scriptures forward
and backward. They knew the Law and the Prophets
better than anyone else. Reading the Scriptures is a blessed
privilege. It's a good thing. But knowing Him of whom they
speak of, that's the goal. You see, those Pharisees of Christ's
day, they're the same as they are today. People take comfort
in their Bible knowledge and their Bible reading. He said,
you search the Scriptures, for in them, in the fact that you
know the Scriptures better than your acquaintances, that's your
righteousness. In them you think you have eternal
life, but here's where you messed up. These are they which testify
of Me." You say you're Moses' disciples, but I know you're
not. Why? Because if you believe Moses,
you would believe Me, for He wrote of Me. He wrote of Me.
From Genesis to Malachi. Christ. Christ. He is the fullness of the Godhead
bodily. He is the revelation of Scripture. He is the volume of the book. In our text, the oil and the
vessels, look at it in verse 3 again. Matthew 25 verse 3. Now, what is this oil? The oil that the wise virgins
had is a picture of the grace of God given in the new heart. Here's another thing I found
very remarkable. You see there in verse 4, it
says the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. Like I said, the wise and the
foolish virgins, they both had lamps. They both had an outward
profession. But only the wise virgins had
a vessel with oil in it. What's that a picture of? The
grace of God, the oil, in the new heart. The vessel. What's the difference between
God's people and those who are left to themselves? What's the
difference between you, if you believe the Gospel here this morning,
and your neighbor who doesn't know God, who hates God? The
grace of God. in your heart, given freely.
What do you have that you have not received? Every good gift,
James said, and every perfect gift cometh down from above from
the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow
of turning. See, the foolish virgins did
not have oil or a vessel to pour it into. They were still dead
in trespasses and in sins. They had a profession. What is that to God? He's not
impressed by that. The picture is this. The lesson is this, brethren.
God must do a work of grace in our hearts. Otherwise, we will
remain as these foolish virgins. Just an empty, outward profession. Just some ceremony. Just some
religion. Now, the second lesson in our
passage is this. The second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ will
take all men by surprise. I love thinking about that. He's
going to come when no one expects it. Paul said, the coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ shall be as a thief that comes in the
night. Why did he use that expression? Because you don't expect Him
to come. That thief that comes in the night, he comes when you
least expect it. When you least expect it. Now,
sometimes you'll see on these various news channels and hear
people talk about the end of the world, that there's going
to be some big apocalypse. I was talking to my dad about
it the other day. I think we were watching Fox
News or something and someone mentioned, there's going to be
a nuclear fallout. And it's going to be the end of the world. I
hope we don't believe any of that foolishness. Look at Matthew
24, one page back. Christ tells us exactly how the
events and circumstances are going to be when He comes again.
There's not going to be some great apocalypse. There's going
to be rumors of wars. Isn't that what the Scriptures
say? Wars and rumors of wars. That's the time we live in. But
He tells us right here exactly what it's going to be like. Matthew
24, verse 35. He says, "...heaven and earth
shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away. But of that
day and hour knoweth no man." You know, these people in history
who try to predict the second coming of the Lord, do you remember
that? What foolishness. The Bible says you don't know
it. You can't predict it. But of that day and hour knoweth
no man, no, not even the angels in heaven, but my Father only."
And here's how his second coming is going to be like. But as the
days of Noah, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.
For as in the days of Noah that were before the flood, they were
what? Eating and drinking, just normal
things. eating and drinking, marrying
and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered into
the ark. Everything seemed like it was just going to continue
from the creation. Everything seemed like it was just another
day to fulfill the lusts of our flesh. That's what the people
of Noah's day were thinking. And then all of a sudden, God
shut that door to the ark. and the fountains of the great
deep were broken up, and the heaven was opened, and God's
judgment was poured out upon the face of the earth, and all
those who were outside the ark, the ark of Christ Jesus, were
destroyed in the wrath of God. And knew not until the flood
came and took them all away, so shall also the coming of the
Son of Man be. See, when Christ comes again,
there's not going to be some secret rapture. Every eye shall see
Him. Every eye shall see Him, and
they which pierced Him shall wail because of Him. Now thirdly,
I'll try to be quick with the rest of this message. The parable
in our text shows us that our Lord tarries. That word means
waits. He waits. The Lord tarries in
His coming. And I ask you, why does He do
this? Because it says in Matthew 25, Verse 7, Then all those virgins arose
and trimmed their lamps, and the foolish said unto the wise,
Give us your oil, for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered,
saying, Not so, lest there be not enough for us and you. But
go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while
they went to buy, their bridegroom came. I'm sorry, I'm reading
the wrong passage. Verse 5, he says, "...the bridegroom,"
that's Christ, "...tarried." He tarried. He tarried. Why does He tarry? Why does the
Lord wait? Obviously, He's tarrying right
now. Otherwise, He would have come already. Why does the Lord tarry?
Well, the first reason is that He might teach us patience. We live in a society and a world
that promotes instant gratification. And that's just what our flesh
is like. When we want something, we want it right now. We don't want to wait for those
things which we want. But this is one way the Lord teaches us
patience, doesn't he? He tarries. He tarries. Another reason He
tarries is so that our desire for Him would increase. You live in this life. God shows
you just what you are by nature. He shows you your sin. And then
He reveals the glory and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
every day He does that. You just grow more anxious to
meet Him. God help us to wake up every day I think, today might
be the day. Today might be the day when this
body of death is put six feet under. When I shall put on incorruptible. This might be the day that the
Lord Jesus Christ comes. This might be the day when I'm
made perfect. This might be the day when I see Him. He tarries so that our desire
for Him would increase. And he tarries to accomplish
his father's purpose. Why have we been given this day?
That seems like a good question. Why has today come? Why did God
permit this day to come? If tomorrow comes, what will
be the Lord's purpose in allowing it to come? Why do the days continue? Do you know why? Because God's
sheep are still being saved. That's why. God still has a people
around the world. Whether they're all born yet
or not, I don't know. We don't know. But we wait. We
wait. We wait for all of God's sheep
to be saved in time through the preaching of the Gospel. And
be assured of this. As soon as the last child of
God hears the Gospel, as soon as that last one for whom Christ
died and gave His life for, as soon as that last child of God,
loved from eternity, elect by the full knowledge of God, hears
the Gospel and believes it, the show is over. This world serves
no other purpose, brethren. That ought to make you feel special.
Because you are a child of God. He hath chosen you to be a special
people unto Himself. David said, He'd do with all
things just for me. And every one of God's people
can take that promise to themselves. He'd do with all things just
for me. Why does the day come? Why do the seasons pass? Why
is one king raised up and one king put down? Why does tomorrow
come if it does come? just for me. God's accomplishing
my... He's teaching me patience, and
He's saving His people. Everything He does is for His
people. That's what Paul said in Romans 8.28. We know. This
is not something that we're iffy about. This is not something
we'd like to believe just because it sounds good, but we can't
really claim it. No, this is something we know with absolute
certainty. That all things work together for good to them that
love God, to them who are the called, according to His purpose. Now let's read verses 6-8 again.
Matthew 25, verse 6. Go ye out to meet him. Then all
those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps, and the foolish
said unto the wise, Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone
out. But the wise answered, saying,
Not so, lest there be not enough for us and you, but go ye rather
to meet them that sell, and buy for yourselves. The lesson here
is this. When Christ, the bridegroom of
His church, comes again, many will discover that they never
had any genuine love for Christ in the first place. Oh, what
a terrible and awful day that will be for the unbeliever. A
glorious day for God's people. We will rejoice with joy unspeakable,
the scriptures say. It hath not entered into the
heart of man, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor hath it entered
into the imagination of man's heart what God hath prepared
for them that love Him." That means, you imagine the most glorious
scene. Oh, what's heaven going to be?
You know, you haven't even come close. It's not entered. It's impossible for you to even
conceive how glorious heaven will be for God's people. And
the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ will be just as glorious.
But for the unbeliever? Oh, what a... They will cry for
the rocks to fall on them. To hide them from the wrath of
the Son of God. And see, these foolish virgins,
what did they say? They realized this fact too late,
that their profession was just an empty profession. They said
to the believers, to the wise virgins, give us your oil, as
if grace could be shared. You see, the reality is that
faith in Christ is always a personal thing. What do I mean by that?
No one can trust Christ for you. No one can believe God for you. No one can believe the Gospel
for you. We are all accountable for ourselves. You know, often
I've heard lost people, and they take comfort in these things.
Oh, my grandpa, he was a preacher. He was a good Christian. And
they speak about it like that's their key, that's their ticket
to get into heaven. Oh, my grandpa was a preacher.
So what? Ishmael was the son of Abraham. Esau was Jacob's twin brother.
What did their relation to other believers have to do? It has
nothing to do, it's not by blood, not by your blood relation to
other believers. Not by the will of man, but by
the will of God, that His people are born again. We are all accountable
for ourselves. See, these foolish virgins thought
that the grace of God could somehow be conveyed to them from other
believers. God must give you grace. He must
call you by name. Lazarus, come forth. He must
call you personally. Martha, Martha. Zacchaeus, come
down. Now look at verse 9 again. The
wise answered, saying, Not so. We can't share this with you.
We can't share this grace with you. Not so, lest there be not
enough for us and you. But go ye rather to them that
sell, and buy for yourselves. Now who are these people who
sell? Who are these wise virgins referring
to? They're talking about gospel
preachers. Those who preach the gospel of peace. Turn with me
to Isaiah 55. Isaiah 55. This is the best passage
of scripture that coincides with what the wise virgins were saying
here. Isaiah 55. Now keep in mind what the wise
said to the foolish. Not so, lest there not be enough
for us and you, but go ye rather to them that sell and buy for
yourselves. Isaiah 55 verse 1. Ho, everyone that thirsteth,
come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money. Come ye,
buy and eat, come, yea, yea, come, buy wine and milk without
money and without price. Wherefore do you spend money
for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which
satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and
eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight in self
and fatness. Incline your ear and come unto me here, and your
soul shall live, and I will make an everlasting covenant with
you, even the sure mercies of David." You see, the wise virgins,
they were telling the foolish, go hear the gospel. Go to them
that preach the gospel of peace. That's what they meant by sell.
The same thing that the Lord says in Isaiah 55 verse 1. Come
with no money. Come by Without money God's grace
is free the oil of the oil of God's grace is free Lord save
me not that You know if you if you pray that prayer Lord save
me and God saves you God's gonna make you know that he didn't
save you because you prayed but you prayed because he already
saved you and You see the difference? Your praying is not the cause
of God's blessing. That is the blessing. Why? Because the natural man doesn't
cry to God by nature, Lord, save me. Why? What does the natural
man say by nature, left to himself? We will not have this man, Christ
Jesus, to reign over us. We're not going to do it. We're
not going to let this man crush our free will. Alright, back
to our text. When Christ comes again, the
door of mercy will be shut." You see, brethren, the time to
believe the gospel is now. Paul said, now is the day of
salvation. That seems somewhat strange.
He didn't say, today is the day of salvation. He said, now. What
was the purpose? He's saying, don't even cast
this off until later today. You're not promised your next
breath. There is no time like the present. The time to believe
the Gospel is now. The door of God's mercy is open. Now, I don't say that because,
you know... I'm not saying you must choose
as if you had a free will to come to Christ. Obviously we
know that. But we preach this gospel to all men, don't we?
Go ye into the world and preach to all nations. And we know that
in the end only God's people will come. You see, Noah preached
for 100-120 years before the flood. And only eight went to the Ark. And yet it was always God's purpose
for exactly those eight. Noah, his wife, his children,
and his children's wives to go into that Ark. And that's exactly
what we do. We don't, like I said earlier,
we don't know who God's people are. We can't say, well, this
one's a believer and this one's a fake. No, we get it wrong every
time. If we knew who God's people were,
we would take them and drag them here and say, sit down here,
you're one of God's elect and we're going to preach to you.
No, we don't know who God's people are. So we preach to all who
will hear us, knowing that God's people will be saved. And people
say, well if you believe that God's going to save His people
no matter what, then why preach? Because we believe that. God's
going to save His people, so we preach. Alright, let's turn to 2 Peter
chapter 3, and I'll close with this. 2 Peter chapter 3. Peter writes about the second
coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's so comforting. 2 Peter chapter 3, verse 3. Knowing this first, that there
shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
saying, Where is the promise of his coming? For since the
fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the
beginning of the creation." What do you mean Christ is coming
again? You know what that sounds like? What do you mean there's
going to be a flood? It's never rained on the earth,
because before the flood it had never rained. There was a mist
surrounding the earth, the Scriptures say. See, it's just like it was
in the days of Noah. There's going to be scoffers.
You tell people Christ is coming again, they laugh at you. That's
what Peter is saying here. They say, where is the promise
of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things
continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For
this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the
heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water
and in the water, whereby the world that then was being overflowed
with water perished." He's talking about the flood. But the heavens
and the earth which are now by the same word are kept in store
reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition
of ungodly men." How is God going to destroy this world when Christ
comes again? It's not going to be by water
this time. It's going to be by fire. Everything
is going to be burned up. Verse 8, Be not ignorant of this
one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years,
and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning
His promise, as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering
to us, God's people, not willing that any of us Any of these us
were not willing that any should perish, but that all should come
to repentance. But the day of the Lord will
come as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall
pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with
fervent heat. The earth also and the works
that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then..." What's his
conclusion? "...Seeing then that all of these
things shall be dissolved." all our possessions, all our wealth,
our houses, whatever it is, all these things shall be dissolved.
What manner of persons ought ye to be, in all holy conversation
and godliness, looking for and hastening unto the coming of
the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved,
and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless, we,
according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth,
wherein dwelleth righteousness. God, help us to be like those
wise virgins with oil in our lamps, oil in our vessels that
only God can give, patiently waiting for the coming of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Let's pray together. Lord, we're so very thankful
for Your Word. I pray that You would Give us understanding of
this passage in Matthew chapter 25, Lord. We pray that You would
make us wise virgins, for we are not wise by nature, Father.
You know that we're just as foolish as any foolish virgin that has
ever lived, Lord. That we are of the dust. Lord,
remember that we are just dust. That we're just dust. That we're
so quick to fall, quick to forget, Lord. Have mercy upon us. Cause
us to live as men and women in this world who are patiently
waiting for the coming of our Savior, knowing that it shall
soon occur. Oh Lord, how glorious that day
will be for us, whom you've saved, Lord. Oh, how glorious it will
be to see Thee face to face, to be made like Thee, to dwell
in the mansions that You've prepared for us in Thy Father's house.
Lord, have mercy upon us, forgive us for our many sins, for they
are more than we can count. We pray that you would speak
to us again this next hour, Lord, that you would save your people,
that you would cause us to know, Lord, that you would cause us
to examine ourselves, to know whether we be in the faith, whether
we be wise or foolish virgins, whether we are blessed or cursed
of God, whether we are the wheat or the tares, Lord. I know that
every believer's heart's desire here this morning is that you
would make us know, that you would give us assurance of salvation,
Lord. Give us assurance of our salvation,
knowing that Christ has done it all. Let us not look to ourselves,
to our feelings, to our profession, our baptism, our whatever it
is, Lord. Let us only look to Christ. For it's in His name we pray.
Amen.