Matthew 25:1-30

Matthew 13 recorded the parables that dealt with God’s kingdom on earth (in the present) but Matthew 25 deals with the parables of the coming/ future kingdom of God . It contains three parables that focuses on the Second Coming of Christ and the Final Judgement.

📝 KEEP YOUR LAMP BURNING (25:1-13)
Wedding , during Jesus’ days , normally took place in the evening. The virgins or the bridesmaids were a part of the wedding procession by carrying lamp to welcome the bridegroom. That is why it was important to have extra oil at hands.
A beautiful picture depicting 10 virgins (believers) waiting for the arrival of the bridegroom (Christ) on account of the banquet (fellowshipping in New Jerusalem).
The irony of the parable is the long delay of the arrival of the bridegroom (v5) . No one knows when the bridegroom will come (Mat 24:44). But when the bridegroom appeared, 5 virgins were unable to light their lamps because they had no oil. Thus, they could not enter into the banquet hall. They were not prepared to meet the bridegroom.

📝 OIL IS A SYMBOL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
There are two kinds of people in the church: the WISE and the FOOLISH. The foolish have no oil ( Holy Spirit ) in their lamps, and so they asked the wise virgins to give them some oil from their lamps. But they refused to give .
📌 An important lesson for us to know : Holy Spirit comes directly from God and so as Grace and Salvation . We can not borrow them from others.
📌 This parable ends with a call “Keep watch , because you do not know the day or the hour ” (v 13) .
💞 Beloved Church, let us be sure there is oil in our lamps. He who stands firm (Holy Spirit + Word of God) to the end will be saved (Mt 24: 13)

📝 INVEST YOUR TALENT (25:14-30)
The man ( Christ ) gives different talents ( gifts = 5,2,1 ) to his servants ( believers ) according to their ability. He wants them to invest, so that he will settle the account when he come back .
✅ The two servants wisely invested the talents and earn a good return. They received the same commendation ( v 21,23 ) and were promoted 🙌

✅ But the one who received one talent was unfaithful and so was not rewarded.
The parable ends with a strong command to throw him out into the darkness (v 30)

💞 Beloved Church, if we do not use our spiritual and material blessings in God’s service, they will be taken back from us. We must receive the gifts gladly and use it wisely.

📝 These two parables encourages us:
✅ To LOVE His appearing
✅ To LOOK for His appearing
✅ To LABOUR faithfully
TILL HE COMES.

Glory to God 🙏
✍🏽 Mark Boje
Arunachal Pradesh, India 🇮🇳

⛓️ Chain Reactions ⛓️

The predicted and unpredicted happened during the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The sacrificial death of Jesus and several incidents that had been foretold in the Old Testament came to pass.

Judas one of the twelve disciples betrayed Jesus for thirty silver coins. Later he hanged himself for betraying innocent blood. He threw the coins and it was used to buy the Field of Blood. This was prophesied in the Old Testament.

Another prophecy of the Old Testament came true when Jesus was arrested and all His disciples took to their heels. Peter the most boisterous disciple denied Jesus thrice but repented very soon. The crucifixion and burial of Jesus happened as written.

In the least expected way the wife of Pilate warned her husband not to harm Jesus in any way. The body of Jesus was claimed and buried by a secret disciple, Joseph of Arimathea. His death made Joseph confess his faith openly. The arrest, trial and death of Jesus brought out a chain of actions, reactions and changes.

Dear ones in Christ, unpleasant trials and troubles bring out the true colours of people. How would we react if placed in a tight spot? Would we stand firm in our faith or give in to peer pressure? There is a little spark of Judas, Peter, Pilate and Joseph of Arimathea in all of us.

Sometimes we stand firm in our faith. There are weak moments when we deny and betray the Lord. We also heed a little like Pilate but wash our hands unavailable to resist the crowd. Whatever be the circumstances, whatever happens may God give us the grace to take a firm stand for Him.

God bless us to be channels of blessings.

Mrs Sheela Jebakumar ✍
February 13, 2021

Lockdown Reflections… 📝
Food from my Host’s Kitchen Table 🍽️🍯🥛🍴
Take a Break with Jesus in the Lockdown 🍞☕
Day 214, 270 Days Bible Reading, Saturday, 13.2.21.

Let us be prepared and be ready to hear the Trumpet Blast in this Lockdown… Matthew 25:1-12.

🕯️ The Church is going through turbulent times with so many things that are going through a shaking. The parable of the 10 Virgins is a wake up call for the bride to be prepared and be ready. Within the Corona Space in this Lockdown, we have a lot of time. Things that we did, we can’t do now. Use the Time Wisely, Redeem Time that we have Lost. We need to Wake up now. It’s a Wake Up Call for His Church. The Time is Ticking, Ephesians 5:14-15.

🕯️ I would like to focus on the foolish virgins. If we know what makes a fool and decide not to be a fool, then we are wise! So who are the foolish people? Jesus Himself defines a foolish person as one who hears, but does not follow the Word of God, Matthew 7:26-27.

🕯️ Foolish people cook up reasons and excuses why the commandments and instructions in the Scriptures are no longer applicable to us today. Let the Bible define a fool for us from the Book of Proverbs: “fools despise wisdom and instruction,” Proverbs 1:7. They are not willing to put any effort required to obtain any important Biblical instructions. A fool reacts to situations with immediate anger and insults the one correcting the foolish one. “Fools ignore advice and resent correction,” Proverbs 14:16. “Fools are always right in their own eyes and are fully convinced about their own opinions,” Proverbs 12:15; 28:26. “Fools do not anticipate the consequences of their actions” and therefore, repeatedly wind up in trouble, Proverbs 22:3. “The companion of fools will be destroyed”, Proverbs 13:20.

🕯️ What we become can be influenced by the people we choose to walk with. The foolish person will be with destructive company. Is it any wonder that the foolish virgins did not carry any extra oil? They were wise in their own eyes! The wise and the foolish virgins had equal opportunity and same playing field.

🕯️ Child of God, Remember this, all the 10 virgins were in the same classroom, listening to the same instructions. They all had the same kind of lamp. They all had the same measure of oil to begin with. It was up to them to keep their lamp burning till the bridegroom showed up. But the foolish virgins chose to do it their way! They all had the same structure and framework for preparation and readiness, but they had to put in the Substance with NO Substitute!

🕯️ Unless we have an intimate relationship with our Bridegroom, we won’t be willing to wait for Him on His Timetable. What you treasure, you will value; what you value, you will keep. You must value the burning lamp He has given you. We need to spend quality time in this lockdown to sit at His feet to get the oil you need, to keep your lamp burning till He Comes. If we let our oil supply run low, the fruit of God’s Spirit will not be evident in our lives and we will not be ready to meet Christ when He returns.

🕯️ We can’t use the Faith we had before the lockdown. We got to grow Faith to Faith. We need the “Now Faith,” which comes from the “Now Word,” which we feed on daily. Don’t let the Corona Storm shipwreck your Faith. Get into the Intimate Space and hear God, Romans 10:17. We can all look dressed and ready but not ready to go with our Bridegroom. You can’t live on borrowed faith. You can’t borrow someone else’s experience. You can’t borrow testimonies. You can’t borrow the oil for your lamp. At the Trumpet Sound, Be Ready to Go with Your Bridegroom or Be Ready to be Left Behind… Amen.* 🙏

anniekoshy@God’s Thirstydeer🦌 Breaking the Chain with You⛓️