Is There Oil In the Lamp?

Q: What does the Bible say about being ready for the Lord's return?

The Bible teaches that we must be ready for the Lord's return, as emphasized in Matthew 24:44 and 25:13. In Matthew 24:44, Jesus instructs us to be ready for His return because it will come unexpectedly. This theme continues in Matthew 25:13, where He reminds us to watch and be prepared, affirming that we do not know the day or hour of His coming. Jesus uses the parable of the faithful servant and the wicked servant to illustrate the importance of being vigilant and faithful while awaiting His return. The faithful servant is blessed because he is found doing his master's will when the master returns, contrasting sharply with the wicked servant who neglects his duties, leading to dire consequences.

Q: How do we know that God's grace is sufficient for salvation?

God's grace is sufficient for salvation, as demonstrated by His unmerited favor towards those He has chosen. The doctrine of sovereign grace teaches that salvation is entirely of grace, not based on our works or merits. This is foundational to Reformed theology, aligning with Ephesians 2:8-9, which states that we are saved by grace through faith, lest any man should boast. Sovereign grace emphasizes that it is God's divine mercy that brings us to faith and repentance. As His chosen people, we experience the transforming power of His grace, evidenced in our lives by the fruit of the Spirit and a desire to obey His commandments. Thus, we can trust in His grace alone for our salvation.

Q: Why is the doctrine of election important for Christians?

The doctrine of election assures believers of God's sovereign grace in choosing them for salvation. The doctrine of election is critical in Reformed theology as it highlights God's sovereignty in salvation. According to Ephesians 1:4-5, God chose us before the foundation of the world, demonstrating that our salvation is not based on our works but solely on His mercy and will. This doctrine brings comfort and assurance to believers, assuring us that our faith is a result of God's grace and not our own efforts. It emphasizes the depth of His love and purpose for us as His chosen people, motivating us to live lives in accordance with His will and to spread the gospel to others, indicating that the message of salvation is for all whom He has chosen.

Q: Why is it necessary to have oil in our lamps?

Having oil in our lamps signifies having the Holy Spirit and a genuine relationship with God. In the parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-13), the oil in the lamps symbolizes the presence of the Holy Spirit and the light of genuine faith. The wise virgins prepared by having oil, representing a preparedness that comes from a true relationship with Christ. In contrast, the foolish virgins lacked oil, illustrating that mere outward religious participation without the inner transformation of the heart through the Spirit is insufficient. This signifies the necessity for believers to cultivate their faith through the Spirit, ensuring they are ready and able to meet Christ when He returns. The oil represents not only the Spirit's work in our salvation but also our ongoing relationship and reliance on Him in our daily lives.

All right, let's open our Bibles
now to Matthew 24. I ask Brother John Chapman to read
these two parables together. I cannot prove that they were
spoken at the same time, but I believe that they were. because
they're teaching the same thing. And because verse 44 begins this
way, Therefore be ye also ready, for in such an hour as you think
not, unexpectedly the Son of Man cometh. And then in chapter
25, verse 13, He's saying practically the same
thing. Watch therefore, be ready, for
you know neither the day nor the hour when the Son of Man
cometh. Now back here in chapter 24,
the Lord tells about two servants. One of these servants was a true
and faithful and wise servant. And one of them was an evil servant,
a hypocritical servant. Let's look at it, verse 45. Who
then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his Lord hath made ruler
over his household to give meat in due season? Now, there were
two servants. And the master had given these
two servants certain responsibilities, certain things to do. things
to perform in his name. He had made them stewards or
rulers over all of his house and over his property and his
goods and his other servants and his holdings and all these
things. He had put these men in charge. They were to be rulers over his
household, they were to care for his goods and his wealth,
and they were to distribute his goods to the other servants.
care for his flocks and his possessions while he was away. Verse 46 says,
and blessed is that servant, that true and faithful, wise
servant, whom his Lord, when he returns, when he comes back. Now, the master didn't say when
he was going to come back. He had these two servants and
he put them in charge. He gave them their responsibilities
and their duties. And he said, now I'm going away
and I'll be back when I get back. And he comes unexpectedly. That's
what verse 50 says. The Lord of that servant shall
come in a day when he doesn't look for him. At an hour when
he doesn't expect him. At an hour when he doesn't, he's
not aware of it. We're not just talking about
the return of the Lord Jesus Christ when he splits open the
heavens, and a trumpet sounds, and the voice of the archangel,
and Christ comes, and the dead in Christ rise. If I die tonight,
the Lord's come for me. If I die tomorrow, He's come
for me. That's the coming of the Lord.
Like when Mary and Martha were down there in the little house
in Bethany, and somebody pushed the door open and said, The Master's
here, and Martha, He's calling for you. Now that's it. The Master's here. He's calling
for you. He's come, unexpectedly, when
we weren't aware. Well, I love this verse here,
this verse 46. The Master returned when this
servant, this faithful, loyal, wise servant, was not expecting
him to return. The Master was gone. And the
master left him here, in charge. The master was gone, way off
somewhere, left him in charge. Left him over the household,
left him over the flocks and herds, left him over the other
servants and all the little houses around on the plantation and
the commissary and all these things. And he says here, verse
46, blessed is that servant when he is Lord, Whom his Lord, when
he cometh, shall find so doing." Oh, I like that. Just so doing.
That sums up his activities and his faithfulness and loyalty
and love and dedication. Just found him so doing. It doesn't
go into any detail about how hard he was working and how faithful
he was. Just found him doing what he
was supposed to do. Just found him taking care of
what our Lord gave him to take care of. Just found him feeding
his sheep. He left him to feed the sheep,
and when he came back, that's what he was doing. He left him
to take care of the cows and the sheep, and when he got back,
that's what he was doing. There was no surprise when the
Lord came. He found him so doing. Just so
doing. So doing. But there was another
sermon. Verse 42 says, When the Lord
came back, I say unto you, he'll make that
servant ruler over all his goods. They asked one old preacher one
time years ago, I forget his name, it was Whitfield or Charles
Wesley, one of them, said, what are you going to do tomorrow?
He said, well, I plan to preach in the morning at a certain home,
and then I'm having dinner with the family. And then I'm going
to rest tomorrow afternoon, then I'll preach again tomorrow night.
He said, what if it were your last day on earth, what would
you do? Oh, he said the same thing. He said, I'm just doing
what my master left me to do. And I'll do the same thing whether
it's my last day or the last 2,000 days. That's what he, and
this is what this is saying. The master had a faithful servant,
left him in charge, gave him his goods, went away, came back,
found him so doing. No hullabaloo, no recognition,
just found him so doing. And he said, well done, thou
good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over a few
things, I'll make you ruler over many things. But there was another
servant. Verse 48. And this other servant's
a different story. This other servant said, well,
my master's not going to come back today. This is not my last
day on earth. Christ is not going to return.
I'm young and energetic, and I've got some things I like to
do. It's like one preacher said recently, having left his pulpit
and left his family and left his congregation, I'm 45 years
old and I've never really lived, and I'm going to live a while. So this servant here neglected
his duties and abused the servants. The other servants, he abused
them. So it says, it says, verse 48, he said in his heart, this
is what he thought. He didn't broadcast it. He didn't
put it in the paper. But you could tell the way he
was thinking, the way he was acting. My master's not coming
back. My Lord delays his coming. I've
got plenty of time." So he began to smite his fellow servants
and take advantage of them. He began to eat and drink with
the drunken. He began to neglect and abuse
the other servants. He began to live sensually and
selfishly like he pleased to live in his unconverted condition. And verse 50 said, And the Lord
shall come in a day when that fellow's not looking for an hour when he's not aware of
it. And you cut him asunder, you cut him off. I tell you,
cut off, this word cut off, cut asunder, it's separated from
God. That's what that means. It means
separate, cut him asunder. It's like when you hang your
line up fishing and you just can't do anything about it, you
just cut it. Boy, there ain't no getting it back now. It's
on the bottom hung up in a tree. And you've just given up and
you've cut it off. And that's what Isaiah said when
he saw the Lord in his glory, in his magnificent glory. He
said, I'm cut off. That's what he said, I'm cut
off. Ain't no hope for me. And that's the way this thing
is. The master came back. I quoted that scripture this
morning, he that being often reproved, often reproved, often
reproved, and hardens his neck, God'll cut him off suddenly.
Cut him off suddenly, and that without remedy, he said, he'll
cut him off. Verse 3, cut him off and appoint
his portion with the hypocrites. And there'll be weeping and gnashing
of teeth. Now what's the difference here?
That's what I thought about when I picked up this scripture and
thought about preaching on it. What's the difference? What's
the Lord Jesus Christ teaching? Both of these men were servants.
At least they were in that position. Both were in that position. Both had similar responsibilities,
evidently. Both of them had a master, probably
the same one. Both of them knew the master
would come back. They neither one knew when. But
they knew he was coming back. They knew there was a day of
accounting. Both of them knew there was an accounting to be
given. It is appointed unto men once to die, and after that the
judgment. Is there anybody here or in this town that doesn't
know that? It's appointed unto men once to die. Everybody knows
that. Both these servants knew that.
They knew he was coming back. They knew there was a day of
accounting, the good servant and the evil servant. Both knew
there was an account to be given. They knew the power of the master.
Both of these men knew that he was the master and they were
on his service, and they knew his power. They knew his power. It's like one servant said to
that master one time, I know you reap what you don't sow.
You've got that kind of power. But one of them, one of them
faithfully did the will of the master. The master wasn't even
there. The master was gone, and yet
this man got up each morning and took care of his chores,
took care of the business of the place, made sure everybody
had something to eat, Went about his responsibilities faithfully
and loyally. There's nobody holding a whip
over him. He didn't punch a time clock.
The Master wasn't even there. Nobody was keeping ledgers on
him. He just went about his business. And he did that every day. I
know how long the Master was gone. I know back in those days
they didn't fly somewhere. They didn't even drive somewhere.
They went wherever they went and stayed for months sometimes.
And I don't know how many days or weeks or months the master
was gone, or even years, but one day he opened the door and
walked in. And what did he find that servant doing? Found him
so doing. He just found him so doing. And
he was glad to see the master, but he wasn't surprised. He was
delighted to see the master, but he wasn't embarrassed. He
was glad to see his master, and he had a good account to give.
Like Paul said, I fought a good fight, I kept the faith, I finished
my course. I got no excuses. I don't like
to stand here in the alibi. I'm doing what you gave me to
do, with what you gave me to do it with. And I'm glad to see
you. He did the will and work of the
master, even the absence of the master, while the other servant
lived to himself. wasted his substance, and lived
sensually, and selfishly, and wickedly, and all the time saying,
I'll take care of this thing later, I'll straighten it up
later, I'll straighten up my mess later. It's like a fellow
that's in charge of somebody's business, and he says, well,
the auditors won't be in until next month, so I'll just kind
of shift this over here, and this over here, and before the
auditors come, I'll get it back where it's supposed to be. But
he doesn't make it. And that's what this fellow was doing. And
he didn't make it, and the door opened and the Master came in. And he was all in trouble, real
trouble, trouble. What's the difference? Well,
I'll tell you the difference. There's one difference. There's
one principle. There's one thing the Lord's
teaching here, the difference between these two men. One of
them loved the Master. and the other one didn't. That's
the whole thing. That's right. One of them genuinely,
sincerely, thankfully loved that master. What he was doing, so
doing, laboring faithfully, he was doing Not because somebody
was forcing him to, not because he had to give an account. He's
doing it flatly because he loved his master and was thankful for
his master's kindnesses to him. And aware of the responsibility
that the master by grace had given to him. And that's what
he was doing. The hypocrite didn't love the
master. You see, motivation by fear, and motivation
because of pressure, and motivation because of someone looking over
my shoulder, or motivation for reward will fail when the pressures
are not exerted. That's right. And that's what these preachers
that They're trying to get people to give by passing out pledge
cards and putting pressure and preaching sermons on tithing.
Keep the pressure. Keep the pressure applied. Keep
the pressure applied. But once you remove the pressure,
People won't do things. Keep the pressure about witnessing.
Keep the pressure about soul winning. Keep the pressure about
giving. Keep the pressure on about attending church. Keep
the pressure on. Promise reward. Talk about fear. What will happen if you don't
do it? But let me tell you something. Leave town and stay gone six
months. And apply no pressure. None whatsoever. Remove all fear. And the absence of those things
will reveal the true condition of the heart. That's exactly
right. And that's what he's talking
about here. Our Lord Jesus Christ sat by the fire talking to the
Apostle Peter. And our Lord's about to go away,
about to go back to the Father, and he leaves me in it to take
the gospel to the world. And he sits down and talks to
the chief disciple, the Apostle Peter, and he puts it on this
basis, now if you'll save me, When I come back, I'll reward
you. I'll make you special. I'll give you a mansion bigger
than anybody else's, and I'll give you some authority more
than anybody else's, and if you don't serve me, I'll take away
your rewards, and I'll do that." No, he just sat down and looked
him in the face and said, Do you love me? Well, he said, Yes. Then he said, Feed my lambs.
Feed my sheep. Take care of my people. Do you love me? Yeah, Lord, I
love you, you know I love you. Well, then feed my sheep. Do you love me? Lord, you know
everything, you know I love you, then I can trust you, because
you'll feed my sheep. He said, if you love me, you'll
keep my commandments. He said, if you love me, you'll
do whatever I command you, and this is what the Apostle Paul
said, the love of Christ constraineth me. Motivates me. You take, as a preacher, I have
no boss on this earth. I have no one to tell me when
to get up, when to prepare a message, when to work on these outlines,
when to work on Sunday school lessons, when to do this, that
and the other, how to be faithful and stand here and feed God's
sheep, go to other places and preach. I don't have to do that.
Nobody's making me do that. Why you do it? Because I love
Him. That's the only reason I can think of. Because I love Him. I'm not trying to earn heaven
or you. Because I know better than that. I'm not trying to
earn a reward. I've got all the reward I ever
want. That's Christ. When I put an offering here on
Sunday, I'm not trying to impress God Almighty or you. God's hard
to impress. Only once ever impressed him
has been his son. He said, I'm pleased with him.
I don't know him, Johnny, any other motive that'll work besides
love. You husbands and wives, that's
the only thing. Children and parents, it's just
love. a worker that works for somebody. A man gives him a job. John Chapman
and I were just talking about that tonight. A man gives him
a job and pays him to work. He appreciates it, loves his
master, and serves him. That's all I know. Nothing else. And that's what our Lord's teaching
here. That's the difference in these two men. One of them loved
his master. And when his master came back,
unexpectedly, at a time when he was on the way, He just found
him so doing. That'd be a good motto, wouldn't
it? Let's be found so doing. I think
everybody here would remember that one. Let's just be found
so doing. So doing. All right, and then we follow
the story of the ten virgins. And let me look at this. I think
the Lord goes right into this, because he says, Then shall the
kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took
their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom, verse 1,
chapter 25. Now, there was to be a wedding.
There was to be a great wedding. This wasn't an elopement, this
was a planned wedding. There was to be a great wedding,
and one of the most important parts of the wedding took place
at night. Now, I didn't live back then. I may look like it, but I didn't
live back then, so I can't vouch for this. This is just what I've
read. But the most important part of the wedding was to be
at night. And these ten young women, very
pretty young women, designated young women, were to be a part
of the processional. And you see, the bridegroom,
when he wanted to, when he was pleased to, would come out of
his place, wherever he was, live down the road somewhere, across
the county line, I don't know. But he'd come out of his place
and these young women would meet him. Meet the bridegroom, all
dressed up in his wedding paraphernalia, and with his family and friends,
these young women, with their lamps. They were designated,
they had lamps, torches, made like lamps. And they would meet
him, and they would hold these lamps aloft as they accompanied
the bridegroom to the house of the bride's father. That's where
they were going. The bridegroom would come from
his place, and these young women, whenever he came, when he pleased,
they were waiting on him. They had their lamps. And when
he came, they went to meet him. They went to meet the bridegroom.
And they turned up these torches, these lamps, and there they walked
on either side of him as he made his way to the bride's father's
home. And that's where they went. The
gate, when they go in the door, the gate, like that in Mexico
and Spain and other places, You don't go into a person's house.
You stop outside the gate. There's a wall around every house.
There's a wall every house, every little, every little adobe, whatever,
it's got a wall around it. It might be a wire fence, it
might be a stone wall, it might be a concrete block wall or a
brick wall, but it's got a wall around their property. And you
don't go knock on the door, you stand outside the gate and call,
because once inside that gate, you're on their property. Once
inside the gate, you're in the house. So that's the gate, and
they would come to the gate of the house of the bride's father,
and they'd go in, and the gate would be shut, and that was it.
They had to wait. Well, it says here, verse 2,
and five of them were wise, five of them were foolish, And they
that were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them.
They were part of the wedding procession. They had their lamps,
but they took no oil, but the wives took oil in their vessels
with their lamps. They intended to have a fire.
So while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
Now the coming of the bridegroom was delayed. The hour was past. And these young women sat and
they waited, and they waited, and they waited. The bridegroom
went down there wherever he was in his house or his friend's
house, and he didn't open the door and didn't come out, but
they had to wait on him. He'd come when he pleased. And
they sat there and waited, and waited, and waited, and they
talked, and they bished, and they got tired. It was eleven
o'clock at night. And they went to sleep. And verse
6 says, And at midnight suddenly there was a cry made, Behold,
the bridegroom come in, go out to meet him. And boy, verse 7,
All those virgins, those young women, arose and trimmed their
lamps, and the foolish didn't have any oil. They never did
have any. They neglected that one thing.
They neglected that one thing. They didn't have any oil. And
so they turned to the wise. Here the wise young women were
pouring their oil. It says they took vessels with
their lamps and they were pouring oil in their lamps and filling
them up and trimming the wick and lightening it, you know.
And they said to them, say, give us some of your oil. Our lamps
have gone out. But see the wise had plenty but
none to spare. Only enough for themselves. Boy,
you're already with me, aren't you? All the grace I need I got,
and I can't spare one nickel's worth. That's right, y'all. I got all I need, and I ain't
got none to spare. And I didn't get it, he gave
it to me, so I can't give it to you. So the wise said to him, just
why don't you go? Verse 9, we don't have enough
for you and us both. Go to them that sell and buy
for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the
bridegroom came. It's too late to start scurrying
around getting things straightened up when you get sick and they
put you in the hospital and you say you ain't going to make it.
Just forget it. Well, preacher, there was a thief
on the cross. There wasn't but one. Somebody said there was one.
There was one man converted in his dying hour that no one may
despair, but there was only one that no one may presume. There
wasn't but one. The only thing wrong with deathbed
repentance is usually it doesn't work much when people get well.
I've noticed that. They get awful religious when
they're down and awful rebellious when they're up. And a shelter
that's built when the storm's already started usually doesn't stand up after
it's over. Give me the storm that the fellow
built when the sun's shining. That's the one that is important.
So they went to buy, and while they went to buy, verse 10, the
bridegroom came, and they that were ready, they that were ready
went in with him to the marriage, and the day was set. And a little while afterward,
I don't know, an hour or two or when, see, they neglected
the one thing needful, they neglected the one thing that they lacked,
they neglected the one requirement, the oil. They came running up
and they said, Lord, Lord, open to us, open to us, as they stood
outside the gate. And he answered and said, I don't
know you. I don't know you. That's just like that wicked
servant over there, when the master came back, it's too late
to start getting things back in where they're supposed to
be. So he was cut off, and these people were cut off. And so he
said, you watch, you know neither the day nor the hour when the
Son of Man cometh. Well, what is this parable teaching? Well, number one, the bridegroom
is the Lord Jesus Christ. Wouldn't you say that? No question
about that. He is the bridegroom. Let's see
sermons by Richard Siems that Brother John Flamming has given
to some of us. Christ is the Bridegroom. The
Church is the Bride. He's the Master. He's the Bridegroom.
And his coming, his coming may be at any time for any of us. But the Bridegroom's coming. Behold, he stands at the door. He's coming. All right. The ten
young women, who are they? Well, these ten young women represent
all of us who are aware of His coming. I'd include everybody
in on that, who are aware of the wedding. They know there's
going to be a wedding, just like these servants over here. Both
of them knew that the Master was coming. Both of them knew
there was a day of accounting. Both of them were in the business,
the Master's business, whatever it was. So these young women,
see, they were aware of the bridegroom's existence, they were aware of
his wedding, they were aware of his kingdom. This is everybody
who professes a part in that great coming of the Lord. You
know how many folks those are. Well, what are the lamps? Well,
the lamps, these lamps are their claim to a part in the wedding.
You see, these young women here, these ten young women, there
are a lot of young women that weren't in the procession, or
the wedding, or the marriage, or the feast, or anything. But
these ten claim to be a part of it. And their claim to a part
in the procession was that lamp they had in their hand, right?
Everybody didn't have a lamp in town. These women had the
special designated lamps, and they were the designated young
women to accompany the bridegroom. That was their part. You see,
it's just my profession. I'm a preacher. I say I believe
the gospel. You're a church member, an elder,
a teacher. You've been baptized. Your name's
on the church roll. You and I have lamps. We claim
to believe in the bridegroom. We claim to believe that he's
coming. We claim to believe that we've got a part in the procession.
We've got a part in the kingdom. We've got a part in all of the
doings. And when they go into the Father's
house and the gates open, when the saints go marching in, we're
going in with them. And when the door is shut, we're
going to be on that side of the door. What's your claim? I've got a lamb. I'm one of these
folks. That's what it is. Everybody got a lamp. Well, it
says, while the bridegroom tarried, they slept. I've heard some long
sermons on the virgin sleeping. Some writers and preachers make
much of their sleeping as a sign of weakness and indifference
and carelessness and all that, but sleep's a necessity. Ain't
nothing wrong with sleep. He gives his beloved sleep. And
that's the same thing about folks here that have lamps. We've got
professions of faith. We've got a claim to God. We've
got a belief that we're going to be in the processional. But
we have to sleep. We have to eat. You men have
to work. In the morning you've got to
go to work. You can't live on your knees.
You'd lose weight that way, but you can't live that way. That's
right, you got to work. And these young women, it's eleven
o'clock at night, the bridegroom hadn't come, but they went to
sleep. That's normal and natural. You know, a man may die on his
knees, but a believer may die in a coal mine. A man may die, not many folks
die in the pulpit of the church, does it? They usually die somewhere
in an old coal hospital bay. So let's not make all this hullabaloo
about these women going to sleep. That's natural. That's normal.
They were going about what they normally did. They ate and they
slept. They were going about their normal
business. But suddenly, it says in verse 6, the cry was made,
He's here! All that we've been talking about
and expecting and planning for, He's here! He's here! Go out to meet Him! Verse 7,
said they arose. I tell you, everybody was aroused. The bridegroom was coming. I
tell you, when Jesus Christ comes, when life ends here on this earth
and eternity's doors are open, it's time to get roused up. It's
time to get roused up. Here these young women are sitting
there sleeping. They've got their lamps. They've
had them for a long time. They had them ever since they
heard there was a wedding. Ever since they heard there's going
to be a wedding. They got a lamp. I'm going to be in the processional. I'm going to be in the wedding.
I'm going to be one of those who accompanies the bridegroom.
I'm going to walk beside the king's son in the wedding. How do you know? I got a lamp.
And they sat there and slept. So here, the day they were looking
for, the day they were expecting, the day they were talking about,
the day they preached about, He's coming! So they all jumped
up and grabbed their lamps. That's normal. The doctor comes
in. I'm lying there on the hospital
bed. He said, Brother Mahan, he said, that old heart of yours
has done all it's going to do. It's going to do all it's going
to do. And I don't think you're going to make it through the
night. What am I going to do? Grab my
lamp? I'm going to reach for my profession.
I'm going to reach for my foundation. I'm going to reach for my hope.
That's normal, isn't it? You're out speeding down the highway
and hit something head on. You're thrown over in the ditch.
You realize you're fading in and out, and darkness is coming.
What are you going to do? Reach for the lamp. Well, I made
a profession. Lord, am I all right? Am I all
right? This is the end. Am I ready? That's exactly what to do. Well,
the wise had plenty of oil. You see, this thing started with
them a long time ago. They knew that you can't have
flame without oil. They knew the significant thing
was not the lamp at all, it was the oil. You can have a fire
without a lamp, all you need is oil. If you don't mind getting
burned, just pour it in the palm of your hand and light it, it'll
burn. Or soak a stick in it and hold it up, it'll burn. It's
the oil that burns, it's the oil that gives the light, it's
not the lamp. I bet you these girls that had
the lamps without the oil, I bet their lamps were the prettiest
lamps you could imagine. I bet they had tassels on them. I bet they were shined and scrubbed.
I bet they spent all evening, you know, polishing their lamps,
just shining them up. My lamp's prettier than yours.
One girl sitting over there had plenty of oil, but she didn't
have much of a lamp. Kind of battered, you know. But I'll tell you, The wives
just trimmed their lamps and they burned and the flame reached
up and they went out and the bride and they started leaving
and the foolish said, we don't have any oil. We don't have any
oil. He said, Preacher, what's the
oil? Now you told us who the bridegroom is. It's Christ and
the wedding is that great day of the Lord when his church is
brought into his chambers forever. You told us about what these
lamps were? What's the oil? The oil is the
life of God in the soul. The oil is the love of Christ
in the heart. The oil is the light of truth
of the gospel. The oil is the spirit of God
in regeneration. That's what it is. Like I said,
you don't even need a profession. It needs just a possession. I got the awe. I got the awe. Are lamps of profession and baptism
and church membership and religion and morality useless without
the Spirit of God, the love of Christ, the life of God? And
when our Lord Jesus comes, I don't know The Lord of that servant shall
come in a day when he looks not for him. I don't know. In an hour when
he's not, an hour that he's not aware of, suddenly at midnight,
the cry was made, he's coming. He's coming. Well, am I going
to be standing there holding a cold, lightless, lifeless,
loveless, profession? God, I hope not, don't you? Or will my lamps, will my lamp
be burning? I could already be burning right
now. I could already be burning right now. Well, that's the title of that
sermon, Is There Oil in the Lamp? Is there oil in the All right,
Mike, come lead us in a song, if you will.

Is There Oil In the Lamp?

What does the Bible say about being ready for the Lord's return?

How do we know that God's grace is sufficient for salvation?

Why is the doctrine of election important for Christians?

Why is it necessary to have oil in our lamps?

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Is There Oil In the Lamp?

What does the Bible say about being ready for the Lord's return?

How do we know that God's grace is sufficient for salvation?

Why is the doctrine of election important for Christians?

Why is it necessary to have oil in our lamps?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

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