More Than Enough - Charissa Torossian - GTAN2451

Jesus said in Matthew 28:19, go therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Welcome to go teach all nations, bringing you Christ's teachings through australian and international speakers. And here is today's presenter, Charissa Torossian. Tonight I have entitled the sermon More Than Enough. And so before we begin, thank you so much to the young people who led us, your Bible workers. I understand you are blessed, very blessed. So thank you and really, really inspired by seeing you all up there leading us. Let's open with a word of prayer. Our loving Father in heaven. We have come here together tonight because we want to hear from you. We want your word to speak to our hearts, to our needs. We come and we recognise, Lord, that we need you to do a work in our hearts. So please speak to us personally as we study your word. May the Holy Spirit move amongst us and may Jesus be lifted up is our prayer. In Jesus name, amen. Does anybody here play the trumpet? Oh, just Jacob. Anyone else? No. Okay, well, Jacob, you will be the one who understands this the most. But playing the trumpet requires a lot of practise, otherwise your lips can get tired very quickly. And my dad plays the trumpet, my sister plays the trumpet, I play the trumpet. And it's actually a bit of a family thing. My husband also plays the trumpet, but on my side of the family, my great grandfather could actually play two trumpets at the same time. My dad is from Samoa and basically my great grandfather, when he was playing the trumpet, someone from the island of Fiji came and saw him playing and he said, I bet you can't play two. So when someone dares you, he went and tried to. He learned how to play two trumpets at once. He could even harmonise on the trumpets at the same time. So because it's a family thing, we all learned the trumpet. And there was a lady at our church, maybe some of you know her, Geraldine Przyzbilko, she was getting married to Daniel. And so some Polish brethren here, you know the Przybylko family, and so they asked us if we would play for them as she entered the Wahroonga Seventh Day Adventist Church on the day of her wedding. Now, Wahroonga is a church like this. Like the aisle is down the middle and it's a little bit longer, like maybe twice as long as this is this here. And so she was going to come down the aisle while we played. I can't even remember what we were playing, but we were playing this special trumpet trio at the front of the church. And I thought, oh, that's all right, I'll practise when I have time. Closer to the day of the wedding, my dad kept saying, you got to practise, you got to practise, you got to practise. The day of the wedding came and of course I have never seen a bride walk down the aisle very fast. She wanted to soak it all in, so she starts coming down the back. By the time she was halfway down the front of the church, our trio had become a solo. My dad was the only one playing. My sister and I, we'd blown out. We couldn't have any more blow in our lips anymore. And so my dad, he played as she came down the front. And I say that simply to point out there are some things that you can put off until tomorrow, but there are other things that you cannot. And preparation for the second coming of Jesus is something that we just can't leave until tomorrow. We must be prepared, preparing for Jesus's return today. While the second coming of Jesus might be delayed, our preparation cannot be delayed. And when I think about the second coming of Jesus, my mind instantly goes in my Bible to Matthew chapter 24, Matthew chapter 24 and Matthew chapter 25. They kind of pigeon pair. They're a pigeon pair right here In Matthew chapter 24, Jesus talks about the signs that would be taking place in our world. Signs and events that we would be seeing, things that would be happening out there. But in the very next chapter, Matthew chapter 25, we see Jesus talking about things that would be happening in the church. Can the condition of the church, things that happen in here and the preparation that must take place for the coming of Jesus. And I'm so encouraged, I hear Bibles turning there already. That's good. If you haven't brought a Bible tonight, bring one because we'll be in them all week. And so as you will recall, Jesus, when answering the disciples questions about when will these things be and what will be the sign of your coming. He lists a number of things, famines, earthquakes, pestilences in various places. But all of these, he says, are just the beginning of sorrows. And then in Matthew 24:42 he says this watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. You come to Matthew chapter 25 and it consists of three parables. There's a parable of the ten virgins, there's a parable of the talents, and there's a parable of the sheep and the goats. These three parables expand on what it means to watch for the coming of Jesus. It talks about our preparation. But tonight I want to show you this quotation from the Review and Herald. Notice what Sister White said in 1890. She said, I am often referred to the parable of the ten virgins, five of whom were wise and five foolish. This parable has been and will be fulfilled to the very letter, for it has a special application to this time and like the third angel's message, has been fulfilled and will continue to be what present truth till the close of time. In other words, heaven thinks that this parable, the first one in chapter 25, is so important that God brought it up over and over and over to his servant's mind, the prophet's mind, again and again and again. This message that we're going to study together tonight is an end time message. It's a present truth message. And present truth. What does that mean, Charissa? Well, in the time of Noah, the present truth was that there was a flood coming in our time. Today, the present truth is that Jesus is coming. And so this is something that is at the heart of the preparation for Jesus return. And I just have to pause and just ask, have you been paying attention to the signs of the times? I mean, wow, we will probably refer to some of them throughout the week, but. But I must say, we are not living in a time to fool around. This is no time to waste time. We're living in the end of time. And I think the Olympic Games, the opening ceremony just the other night, is a case in point. It's point in case. Whatever you say, it's evidence that we are right there at the end of time. We are living in the days of lot. It's like Sodom and Gomorrah all over this world. I'm on a radio programme with Pastor Danny Milenkov on Wednesdays on Faith fm. And part of that programme looks at current events as they relate to Bible prophecy. And every time I come away from the broadcast, I'm driving home and I'm thinking, wow, we are so close to the end of time because of the things that we are talking about. And so since Jesus coming is soon, and Jesus even said, if you're there in Matthew 24, notice what he says in verse 32. Jesus says this. Now learn this parable from the fig tree, when its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near at the doors and Every day we just see something new, something new. But the steady tread of final events is happening. The Lord is soon to come. Let's now begin reading the parable and going through it together. Matthew, chapter 25, verse 1. The words of Jesus there in red, he says this, then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to 10 virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. The kingdom of heaven, speaking here of God's church, is likened to 10 virgins. Now question, why 10? Why not 7? Why not 12? Why not any other number? Why 10? It's interesting that 10 is actually the smallest number of Jewish men that you needed to compose a synagogue and establish it. So 10, you choosing the number 10 right away indicates that we are talking about a church. This is a church number, and he is speaking about the church they attend. Virgins. Virgins here represent a church that is pure incorrupt doctrine. A church that has is undefiled by errors, apostasy, traditions of the enemy. This is a parable, I guess you could say, of the 10 church members, now that we know we're talking about a church and it's addressed to a true church. And of course, in Bible prophecy, a woman represents a church. So this is a pure church, a true church. And this church is represented in the parable as carrying what lamps? That's right. And this, of course, what does the lamp represent? Psalm 119, verse 105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. And I just have to pause and just think about this with you for a moment. Oftentimes we would like for the lamp to be a floodlight that shows us the very end of the road that we're travelling on. Wouldn't that be nice? But the Bible says that God's word is a lamp. God shows you each step that you take. And as you take the steps that God is leading you to take, more light is given. So you know where the next step should be. Basically, if God's word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path, it is how we walk with God as we study God's word and as we commune with him through prayer. Isn't that beautiful? So here you have a picture of God's church near the end of time, with the word of God in their hands, going out to light the way for the coming of the bridegroom. Who is the bridegroom? It's Jesus. This is a church that is anxiously waiting for someone. This is a church that is Waiting for Jesus to come. I'd like to submit to you tonight. This is an Adventist church right here in Scripture, looking for the coming of Jesus. They have no issues with truth or doctrine. Doctrine. They have the true, pure, undefiled, true teachings of Jesus in their beliefs, in their doctrines. It's a parable relating to God's end time people. But notice verse two. Five of them were wise and five were foolish. It's interesting to me that this is not a parable about the righteous and the unrighteous, or about the holy and the unholy, the good and the bad, the faithful and the unfaithful, the pure and the impure. This is a parable that differentiates between the wise and the foolish. The question is, what makes the wise wise and what makes the foolish foolish? Were the wise wise because they were wide awake, do you think? No, I saw someone shaking their heads. And the reason why they're absolutely right is because the Bible says that they all slumbered and slept. Notice verse 5. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. They're all sleeping. And that to me is also remarkable. Here we have a church almost about to meet the bridegroom. They're waiting for Jesus to come and all of them fall asleep. They're literally on the knife edge of eternity and they're pictured as sleeping friends. The secular culture that is around us in this world, it actually affects God's church as well. Many who were once fearless and faithful lose their fervour sadly as we near the Lord's return. And I know that from my own experience and just from things that I've seen. I think Covid had a big effect on a lot of people. Like it made people feel like maybe it's better we don't come to church. We can just watch online. And gradually these little steps lead to other things. Things like potentially we stop coming to prayer meeting or we stop participating in seasons of prayer. Maybe as a family we start getting busy with other things and we stop having a daily family worship. Maybe we start coming to church late because we know we can get things online. Maybe, maybe we start missing Sabbath school. We become careless and indifferent to the things of God because the cares of this world take our attention and they draw us away. But keep your finger here in Matthew chapter 25 and just come over to Isaiah, chapter 60, verses 1 to 3. Isaiah, chapter 60, verses 1to 3. This will encourage us all. Notice this. The Bible says, arise, shine, for your light has come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth and deep darkness the people. But the Lord will arise over you and his glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light and kings to the brightness of your rising. Oh, friends, good news. There will be a revival in God's church at the end of time. Yes. When I do this, that's an amen moment, all right? I'm not flexing my muscles. There will be a revival in God's church at the end of time. The church will rise. God is going to move through his church in the last days of Earth's history and empowered by the Holy Spirit, God's people, that's you and me, we will move and impact this world with his truth and with his love. And the work will be finished. That's what the Bible is telling us. The way will be prepared for the coming of the bridegroom and Jesus will come. And if you stop and think about it, there's really no other reason for the existence of the Seventh Day Adventist Church than to reveal the light of God's glory and the light of God's character and to prepare the world for the coming of the bridegroom. That's why we exist. But notice, let's go Back to Matthew 24:25, Matthew 25:5, and I want us to dwell a little longer here on verse 5. The Bible says that while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. And if I look this up in the Greek, the sense of the tenses here implies that they're not just dozing, they are sound asleep here as they're waiting for the bridegroom to come. The fool virgins. They miss out. They will miss out on the revival that sweeps the world before Jesus comes. And this is important for us to study because we're all members of the true church. They're all waiting for the coming of the bridegroom. They're all believing the truths of Scripture. But the Bible says and identifies them as foolish. The foolish look wise. They live morally upright lives. They enjoy the fellowship of the wise. They go to church. They even participate in witnessing. I'll show you a quote about that. They're doctrinally sound in their thinking. But Jesus says they're foolish virgins. Question what makes the wise wise and what makes the foolish foolish? This is a challenging parable for me to study. It's a challenging parable. And I'm glad that we're here tonight because it's good to come back to this parable often, remember the quote we read just before that? She said she's often referred to this parable. I need to ask myself, and I encourage you tonight, ask yourselves, with whom do I identify? What are the characteristics of the foolish and what makes the wise wise? We must know the difference because there is a chance that someone walked in here tonight as a foolish virgin. But by God's grace, as the Holy Spirit works in our lives tonight, we can leave wise. Amen. Like the Bible tells us that God is able to transform us. God can work a miracle in our lives and he can change us. So let's keep reading verses three and four. We'll back up. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them. But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. It's very interesting. In the ancient world, often when there was a wedding, an ancient wedding, the bride and her bridesmaids and her friends, they would be in her home. And this parable was really a slice out of the life of in Palestine. In the book Christ's Object Lessons, I encourage you, if you want to go and meditate on this passage even more, read the chapter that talks about this story we are told in Christ's Object Lessons essence, that Jesus was actually sitting on the Mount of Olives as he saw a wedding procession taking place. And so then he begins to tell the parable of the virgins that we're reading here now. There were three stages, as I understand, to a Jewish wedding in that time. The first was an engagement which took place, a formal agreement between the fathers. The second was a betrothal ceremony where mutual promises of faithfulness were made between the couple. And then, of course, the third was the marriage itself. It took place approximately a year later, when the bridegroom and his groomsmen would come at an unexpected time, but their place was ready for the bride. And he would come and take the bride to the home that he had prepared for her, and there would be a great celebration. The Bible here says, though, that the foolish took their lamps. But a very important detail, they did not take extra oil with them. This is also because they would take a lamp. And that's not. This is what it would have looked like, something like this, a lamp like this. And they put oil in their lamps and they would go out, but they would take an extra flask of oil so that when the oil in the lamp ran out, they could top it up and the light could continue to burn. It is significant for us to note tonight that the foolish had some oil. But again, reading from verse five. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight a cry was heard, behold, the bridegroom is coming. Go out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. Verse 8. And the foolish said to the wise, give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out. The foolish virgins had some oil, but they did not have enough. Enough to light the way to the bridegroom's home. And it was because of. They were unprepared, because they lacked. That is why they were left on the outside. As we'll come to it in just a moment. So let's ask the question, what is oil a symbol of in the Bible? The Holy Spirit. Now, there are many symbols for the Holy Spirit in Scripture. There is fire. Think of on the day of Pentecost. There were tongues of fire. What about water, wind? These are all things that Jesus employed to talk about the Holy Spirit and his work in our hearts. So why do you think that Jesus uses the emblem of oil to speak of the Holy Spirit? I'd like to submit to you tonight three reasons. Number one, oil represents consecration. If you remember, in the time of the sanctuary, everything that was to be set apart for service to God in the sanctuary, they would anoint with oil. An example there is Exodus 30, verse 30. In fact, I was interested after the assassination attempt on former President Trump. I saw somebody in the evangelical world take note that he had been shot on his right ear. And in the sanctuary, they would. They would dip some blood from a sacrifice on the right ear. And so they were saying this is a sign that he's been chosen by God. I'm just throwing that in there because it's kind of current and relevant, but it's in this case, oil represents consecration. And so God is calling for a people at the end of time who are consecrated to him. What does that mean? It's a big word. Consecrated means set apart, dedicated completely and entirely to him. And it represents a total commitment to Jesus. How do we come to that place of total commitment? It's the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit places that in our hearts. It's a miracle of God. Number two, the oil represents healing. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, you may remember speaking of the Good Samaritan, the Bible tells us in Luke 10:34 that he bound up the injured man's wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn and took care of him in the parable here of the Good Samaritan. Oil was an agent of healing and friends. God is longing to have a people before he returns who have been healed in their hearts of everything that is so unlike Jesus. And I need healing. And I'm sure you need healing because we need to be healed of our arrogance, of our anger, of our bitterness, of jealousy, of rivalry, of pride, of our lust, of our gossip, of all of these things that do not reflect the character of Jesus. We need the Holy Spirit to heal us. In talking, we're talking about a people at the end of time who don't just talk about Jesus, but He lives in their hearts and people can tell just by looking at them. And God will have a people who put Jesus first. The oil of the Holy Spirit. He will bring healing to our hearts of all of these things. I thought you'd be more excited about that point, because that one really, really touches me. God is the one who takes it upon Himself to make the difference in our lives. We don't do it. We don't grit our teeth and change ourselves. Praise God. He does the changing for us. Number three the oil represents illumination. No surprise here. The oil provided the basis for light. God's word is that lamp filled with the oil of the Holy Spirit. It's a light on the path leading to eternal life, keeping us from walking in darkness and shining the light on the way so that we can walk in a way and lead others in the way to Christ. And my husband shared this verse with us on the drive today. Psalm 27, verse 1. Just hold your finger in Matthew 25. Read Psalm 27, verse 1, which is appropriate right here. It says this. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? The Lord is my light. It is his presence that lights the way for us. Isn't that beautiful? I want to share with you this quote as well. This is from the introduction to the great controversy. In His Word, God has committed to men the knowledge necessary for salvation. The Holy Scriptures are to be accepted as an authoritative, infallible revelation of his will. They are the standard of character, the revealer of doctrines. And note that last part, the test of experience. I think that's so important because we can't even trust our senses today. I mean, Jesus said, beware lest anyone deceive you. Deception is everywhere. So this God's word not only lights the way, but it helps us to avoid deception. We test Everything, even that we see, that we hear. We test what our senses perceive through the philtre of God's word. If you agree, say Amen. God is calling us to be consecrated to him. God is calling us to be healed of the scars of sin in our lives. He wants to do that work for us. The Holy Spirit does that work. And he's calling for us to hold up high the lamp of truth in our lives, to love His Word, to be in His Word, to be studying His Word. Because that way we can light the way to the bridegroom and we can help others be ready for Jesus return as well. But verse nine. But the wise answered, when the foolish asked for more oil, the wise answered, saying, no, lest there should not be enough for us and you, but rather go to those who sell and buy for yourself yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding and the door was shut. Afterward, the other virgins came also, saying, lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you. I think those words there at the end of that last verse have to be some of the saddest words in the Bible. They come, they're knocking, let us in. And the bridegroom says, I do not know you. Their intentions did not differentiate them. All 10 virgins were doctrinally sound. They were all there, they were all looking for the bridegroom to come. They were all 10 dressed for the occasion. But when the time came, the full Foolish 5 had no oil and all they could burn was a wick with black smoke. And from what I can see, the foolish virgins make three very serious mistakes. Number one, they had some oil, but they did not have enough. I don't know about you, but has anybody here ever run out of petrol while they're driving? Oh, there's a few yeses and a few hands. That's amazing. I'm a little bit OCD when it comes to driving. If the petrol gauge goes to the halfway mark, I'm already planning where we're going to fill up, because if it gets down to a quarter of a tank, it's very serious. So we have to be half and above. My husband and my mother both happen to be people of great faith, like some of you here in this building. And it doesn't matter. They drive, the light comes on and they still come and nothing bothers them. And my mom hasn't actually run out of petrol, even though to me it Looks like she drives around on empty sometimes. The foolish are literally running out of oil. They're running on empty. Why? Because they were trusting in a past experience in the oil that they had to be enough to carry them through to the coming of the bridegroom. And could it be that you and I make the same mistakes? Could it be that sometimes we think that the revival we went to last year is enough? Or that the time we had with Jesus that was really, really powerful last week was enough and we don't continue to seek and hunger after a closer walk with him day after day after day after day, they tried and failed to burn yesterday's oil. Today, is it possible that we make the same mistake? And I haven't got this quote on the screen, but I'll read it to you. Sister White says we all need to gain a much deeper experience in the things of God than we have gained. Self is to die and Christ is to take possession of the soul. Temple and I have some questions for you to answer in the privacy of your hearts. Are you dependent depending on a spiritual experience with Jesus that you once had? Does your heart still burn within you when you open God's word? How is your devotional life? Does it draw your heart into a deeper devotion to Jesus? Do you have a relationship with Jesus? Do you sense his presence when you pray? Or is your prayer life ritualistic and just a form? Do you take long walks maybe and just talk with Jesus about all that's on your mind and thank him for all that he's done in your life? You see, the foolish virgins, they trusted in a past experience that it would be enough to take them through to the wedding feast. And there is a danger that you and I will think we're okay because we believe the right things. But it's not enough. It's not safe to just believe the right things. As we've seen. Point number two, we see that their experience because of this, it was superficial. What do I mean by that? Because they were trusting in yesterday's experience, they were spiritually only having an experience with Jesus that went skin deep. Let's really challenge ourselves tonight. Do we really love Jesus with all of our hearts? Does our heart burn within us when we open his word? Do we look forward to our time with him each day? Listen to this quotation. The class represented by the foolish virgins are not hypocrites. When I read this, I was like, really? I think they're all hypocrites. But no, she says they're not hypocrites. They have a regard for the truth. They advocated the truth, meaning they have witnessed. They are attracted to those who believe the truth. So what's the problem with them? But they have not yielded themselves to the Holy Spirit's working. They have not fallen upon the rock Christ Jesus, and been and permitted their old nature to be broken up. And so because of that, the work of transformation that God wanted to do in their lives is skin deep. Does that make sense? And I'm. I know I'm standing here as a preacher, but I'm also preaching this message because I want to preach to myself too. The Word has to preach to me too. So we're all in this together. Notice this too. This is also from the same page. This class are represented also by the stony ground hearers. They receive the Word with readiness, but they fail of assimilating its principles. Its influence is not abiding. The Spirit works upon man's heart according to his desire and consent, implanting in him a new nature. But the class represented by the foolish virgins have been content with a superficial work. Oh, that you and I would not be content with a superficial work in our hearts. Amen. I want Jesus to do everything he can in my life. I need him to change me day by day, moment by moment. There was an elderly lady who passed. Passed away in our church. And Justin, I believe he did the funeral. And from her Bible he found. They took her Bible and they read something from it at the funeral. But next to the story of Nicodemus and the new birth experience, she had written a prayer. And it's a prayer. We should each pray Born again daily, O God. That was her prayer. And we need to be born again day by day. Point number three. This is the third problem with the foolish virgins. Not only did they not have enough oil, not only was the work that the Holy Spirit able to do in their hearts superficial, not extensive, like God wants to do a complete transformation. Point number three. The biggest problem of all is that they did not know God. And I noticed on the banner here, as we were singing, to know Jesus and to make Jesus known. They did not know Jesus personally. They do not know God. They have not studied his character. They have not held communion with Him. Therefore they do not know how to trust, how to look and live. Their service to God degenerates into a form the oil of the Holy Spirit that flows from heaven's sanctuary. The function of the oil of the Holy Spirit is to witness of Jesus. And Jesus says that the foolish have no oil. He is telling us that the foolish five have neglected the function of the Holy Spirit in their lives. They were not unprepared because they had enough, never had enough time, or because they had a lack of knowledge. They were unprepared because they didn't do what they should have. And what was that? They are not consecrated to God. So they haven't been healed of their old natures. And they believe the truth and accept it. And they're often prompted still by that old man of sin. They do not know God. Their service to God has degenerated into a form. The truth has not transformed their lives and the old nature still dominates their thoughts and actions. And sometimes a good test of knowing if the old man of sin is dead is when we get, if we get cut off in traffic. What is our knee jerk reaction to people who cross us? Are we reacting as Jesus would? Or does that old man of sin revive within us? On the outside they look fine, which is why no one can look at anyone in this room tonight and say, well, there's a wise virgin over there. Not remember in the parable they all looked the same. They look fine on the outside too. The foolish virgins, they have lamps in their hands. What more do they need? You might think. But friends, the Bible is teaching us and Jesus is telling us that there is a difference between having the Bible in our hands to read it and just hold it, and having God's word in our hearts to transform our lives. It has to come inside. God wants to do that work of transformation and help us to live the truth, not just defend it. These virgins were informed about the truth, but not transformed by the truth. And has the truth which we believe, ask yourself, does the truth which I believe, has it transformed my life? Am I a different woman? Am I a different men because of the truth that I hold dear in God's Word? In the parable of the ten Virgins, the foolish do not know what genuine conversion is all about. The oil represents the sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit that transforms our characters and makes us more like Jesus. And so here is a good news moment. And the good news is this. There is more than enough oil for a is that good news? It's not like there's an oil crisis going on in heaven. No, God has an abundant supply of heaven's oil for us all. There's no shortage of power of the Holy Spirit to give us victories that we long for and the victories that we need in our own personal lives. But here's where it counts. No one else can study the Bible for us. No one else can pray the prayers that I need to pray. No one else can have a relationship with Jes. Jesus. For me, that's something I have to do for myself. Just because we were reared in a Christian home or we were in a church with other people of faith, it doesn't necessarily mean we have faith, faith, Christian character. Rather, it doesn't rub off on you because you sit next to somebody who has Christian character. We don't catch a relationship with Jesus like we catch a cold. God doesn't have grandchildren, only children. And we come, we must be born directly from above, from him. Your faith, your experience, must be your own. It's good for us to sing Faith of Our Fathers, but it's also good for us and very important for us to sing Blessed Assurance. Jesus is Mine. Well, God is a dispenser of oil. And so this is why when the foolish come to the wise and they see that the wise have extra oil and they say, give us some of your oil, the wise say, no, you go and get some for yourselves from those who give that because they recognise that this is not something they can give. At this point, I would like us to think a little bit about the delay in this parable because it seems that time is a separating factor in this parable. As Seventh Day Adventists, we've been waiting for Jesus to come for a very long time. We're a church that really shouldn't be here. I mean, the work should have been done and we should be in heaven, like that's how it should be. But then if it had happened years ago, then we wouldn't be here. So you know what I mean. But Jesus is coming anyway. We've been around here for over 160 years. And the longer time goes, this spiritual drowsiness and slumber increases. And so this leads me to ask the question tonight, why does the bridegroom delay? And I want to suggest to you three reasons why Jesus delays. The first one, come over to second Peter, chapter 3, verse 9. Second Peter, chapter 3, verse 9. The Bible says this second Peter 3, 9. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness, but is long suffering toward us not willing that most should perish, but that most should come to repentance. Is that what it says? Not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. You know why Jesus hasn't come yet? Because he loves people more than anything and he wants everyone to have the opportunity to accept his love and receive his salvation. That's one reason. Point number one, why Jesus has not yet come. Point number two, we see that Jesus is waiting for his church to reflect his character to the world as into the watching universe. I didn't put this quote on the screen, so I'm going to have to read it to you. This is from Christ's Object Lessons, page 69. Listen to this. When the fruit is brought forth immediately he put it in the sickle because the harvest is come. Christ is waiting with longing desire for the manifestation of his of Himself in his church. When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in his people, then he will come to claim them as his own. Listen to this. It is the privilege of every Christian not only to look for, but to hasten the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, where all who profess his name, bearing fruit to his glory. How quickly the whole world would be sown with the seed of the Gospel. Quickly the last great harvest would be ripened and Christ would come to gather the precious grain. So point number two, why hasn't Jesus come back? He's coming while he's waiting for fruit. The delay is not because he wants to, but because he has to. He's a. He's the master gardener, if you will. And he is. He's longing to come and see ripe fruit in us. He's longing for us to reflect his character. So we're not necessarily waiting on Jesus. He's actually waiting on us. And that's why we need the Holy Spirit. Amen. To do that work in us today. The third and final point of why Jesus has not yet come is because if we read Revelation, we notice that there are two harvests. There's the harvest of grain that Jesus comes with a sickle to reap at the end of Revelation, chapter 14. But there is also a harvest of grapes that are taken and trampled in. These two represent well. The grapes rather represent the manifestation of wickedness that is growing in our world. Listen to this quotation I'm reading from. Well, I read it to you. The quotation from Last day events, page 40. She says this. While God's mercy bears long with the transgression, there is a limit beyond which men may not go on in sin. When that limit is reached, then the offers of mercy are withdrawn, drawn, and the ministration of judgement begins. Listen to this. There is a limit beyond which the judgments of Jehovah can no longer be delayed. We must be so close to that limit being reached. As we look at what's happening in our world today. But here's what's going to happen. As you have the limit of sin being reached, there will also be a convergence of praying people in this world. Amen. And there will be a revival amongst God's people. Satan, he will redouble his efforts in this world. Sin reaches its limit and God says enough is enough. And Michael stands up and he and Jesus comes. That's how it's all just coming to converge right here at the end of time. And in light of all of this, here's the bottom line. The greatest danger that the foolish virgin face and that we face is that we will put off until tomorrow the work that God wants to be doing in our hearts right now, today. We can't put it off. I love the story that you've probably heard. I'll tell it again. A fictitious story about a strategic meeting that Satan held with his demons. And it's a made up story. K. It's not real, but he has this story and he says to them, what strategy can we use to deceive God's people? We're trying everything. And one angel says, well, why don't we tell them that there's no God? And the devil says, well don't be so foolish. The evidence of God is everywhere. No one's going to believe that. And so they think a little bit more. And a second angel says, well, why don't we tell them there's no truth? He says, well maybe, but science has definite, absolute, provable truths. You won't convince them with that. A third angel says, I've got it. Why don't we tell them there's no hurry? Why don't we tell them they've got plenty of time, that there's no urgency and they don't need to be on their knees now, they can do it tomorrow. And they left that meeting and got about their work. That's how the story goes. But the way Jesus finishes his parable is important. He says, watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. We can't put it off. And I'm so glad you're here. I'm so glad I'm here. Because now's the time for God's people to be really reaching up to him. Because we need Jesus now more than ever before and we need to be pressing together as a people in prayer more than ever before as well. What happened to the foolish virgins? They were paralysed by spiritual complacency. No thirst, no hunger, no urgency. They were satisfied with what they had. They never dreamed that they would be unready for the coming of the bridegroom. They were happy with their lack. And they were content with a form of godliness, a form of religion, of going through the motions, but not experiencing that heart connection with Jesus. In 1988, in April of 1988, the news told the story of a photographer who had also been a skydiver. And he had jumped off a plane with a bunch of people. But as he was going down to the ground, he realised when he went to pull for the cord to release his parachute, that he had jumped off, off the plane without a parachute. In the rush of getting ready to hop on this flight, he had neglected the most important thing, the parachute. And because of that he tragically plummeted to his death. It doesn't matter how many times he had done it before or how much skill that he had by forgetting that one thing, that parachute, he made a foolish and deadly mistake. Nothing could save him because his faith was in a parachute that he never had put on. As we come to the end tonight, I want to come and bring your attention to Isaiah, chapter five. Isaiah, chapter five. And as you're coming here, here it is, Isaiah, chapter 5, verses 20 and 21. Notice this. Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight. I think the prayer that I need to pray tonight and the prayer that I pray that you will want to pray as well, is that God would help us to see ourselves as we really are. To not think that we've got it all together, to recognise that without him we're lost. Without him, without a vital, real connection with Jesus, we're not in a safe place. This message, as I said at the beginning, is a present truth message. Now's the time for us to have a full tank experience with Jesus because there's more than enough. There's more than enough. Enough for all of us. Don't be content just to have your name on the Movulumbar church roll. It's a beautiful church, by the way. Such a beautiful place to have a church as well. But be content only to have your name written in the Lamb's book of life. In fact, the early Adventists, when they would greet each other, they would say, when they left, may your name remain reminding us that our Names must be in the book of life. That was the most important thing. And so as we close tonight, I want to share with you these questions. But then I'm going to invite you to break up and we're just going to pray for one another. It's a week of prayer. I think it's appropriate that we spend time praying together. But I'm going to read these questions and then I'll invite you to break up. As we pray tonight, have you been putting off a deeper experience with God in your own personal life? Do you sense tonight that the Holy Spirit is calling you to a deeper prayer life, a deeper and more meaningful, meaningful devotional life? Is there anything that is lurking in the shadows of your heart that you may not be aware of? And are you willing to say tonight, lord, I want to surrender any habit, any attitude that is a barrier between me and anyone else. I want to surrender anything in my life that is not in harmony with your will for me. I want you to do a work in my heart so that I can hold the lamp of your truth high in my life. If that's you tonight, then I invite you just to bow your heads. I'm going to pray for you. But then I invite you to break up and pray with each other for one another. That we might be wise as we wait for the Lord's return. Father in heaven, thank you for your word. Thank you for the way it speaks to each one of us personally. And we pray, Lord, tonight that you would help us to be wise virgins, to not take for granted anything but to lean upon Jesus day by day, recognising that we must have a living walk with Jesus, a day by day experience with you so that you can do a deep work of transformation in our hearts and so that we can light the way to the coming of the bridegroom and help others to find Jesus. Bless us now as we pray in Jesus name. Amen. This programme has been brought to you by 3ABN Australia radio.