Thank God. We have just had the Lord’s table, and our Lord Jesus said to us, “Do this in remembrance of Me.” We exhibit His death before the world until He comes.
So, dear brothers and sisters, the Lord has given us one of the best ways to prepare spiritually for His return: remembering Him at His table. We will remember Him until He comes, and the very effect of remembering Him is the best preparation for the coming of the Lord.
The Lord knows our weakness—how easily we may forget, how easily we may be enticed away from Him. And that is why, because He is ready for His return—He knows it—that is the reason why He asks us to remember Him until He comes, lest we forget.
So thank God for giving us such an opportunity of remembering Him at the table. As we remember Him, we are all touched and melted by His love. No matter how unlovely we are, He still loves us. He loves us to the very end, to the uttermost. And this love prepares us for His return.
I recall when Brother Darby and some of his colleagues were translating the Bible. They used all kinds of ancient manuscripts. They had to use much mental exercise, and they were afraid lest, in translating and doing all these mental exercises, their hearts might be led astray from the Lord.
The way to keep them focused on the Lord was to remember the Lord. So they broke bread every day, just to help them have hearts filled by the Lord and not let their minds be filled, even with doing something for the Lord.
So, dear brothers and sisters, we thank God for the privilege that we may come together at least once a week at the table, remembering how His body was broken and given to us, and how His blood was shed for us.
Thank God for His unceasing love to us. May this spirit keep us until we see Him face to face.
Let us read from Matthew 24. We will read from verse 44, and in order to save time, I think probably we will just read from Matthew 24:44 to Matthew 25:1.
Matthew 24:44-51; 25:1
Wherefore ye also be ye ready: for in an hour that ye think not the Son of man cometh.
Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath set over his household, to give them their food in due season?
Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
Verily I say unto you, that he will set him over all that he hath.
But if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord tarrieth;
and shall begin to beat his fellow-servants, and shall eat and drink with the drunken;
the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he expecteth not, and in an hour when he knoweth not,
and shall cut him asunder, and appoint his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be the weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
Let us have a word of prayer.
Dear Lord, we want to thank Thee because Thou dost love us—love us so much that Thou wantest to come back to receive us unto Thyself. O Lord, we thank Thee for giving us this opportunity to gather before Thee.
Open our hearts today. Enable Thy Spirit to prepare us for Thy return. O Lord, give us such a longing, a yearning, for Thyself that will draw Thee, as it were, to come back.
O Lord, how long should we wait? Come quickly, Lord Jesus. Amen.
The theme of this time is spiritual readiness. Yesterday morning, we addressed the first question: Why should there be spiritual readiness? Ready for what?
It is very simple. Spiritual readiness is to be ready spiritually to meet the Lord at His return. We are going to meet Him. He is coming back. But are we prepared? Are we ready to see Him?
If you have an appointment with the president of the United States, you do not just go to meet him casually. You prepare, because you are going to meet not a common person.
How much more do we need to be prepared, since we are going to meet the King of kings and the Lord of lords—our Savior, our Master, our Lord, our Lover?
In order to meet Him, we need to be prepared, to be ready spiritually.
Yesterday morning we mentioned a little about the sureness, the certainty, of the return of our Lord. It is because He told us Himself. His apostles told us that our Lord will come back.
There are many signs around us telling us that His coming is imminent. Our Lord Himself said, when you see the fig tree bud and begin to have leaves, you know summer is near. When you see all these things, you know that it is near, at the doors.
So, dear brothers and sisters, there is no doubt that our Lord Jesus is at the door. We do not know which door it is, but we know it is near—very near—nearer, probably, than every one of us may think.
The Lord said that in an hour when you think He is not coming yet, when you think it is too early yet, suddenly He is there.
We mentioned yesterday also that the coming of the Lord is a term that we need to understand. The word used is parousia, which means presence. The presence of the Lord refers to His physical presence.
Thank God that our Lord Jesus, even before He left us, told us that He would come in His Spirit. He has been with us, never leaving us nor forsaking us. He will be with us until the end of the age. He is with us spiritually.
But He promises that He will come in person, physically. So His presence is near.
As the two men in white said to the early disciples, as they looked at the Lord ascending, “Men of Galilee, why stand ye looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was received up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner.”
We mentioned yesterday that the way He departed was in two stages: from Mount Olivet to the cloud, visibly; then from the cloud to the throne, invisibly.
So when His presence shall be with us, it will be in the reverse order: from the throne to the cloud, invisibly. He will come as a thief, without our knowledge. Suddenly He comes. He takes what is treasure to His heart, and He disappears, even invisibly.
But then the second part of His presence will be from the cloud to Mount Olivet. That is the song that we just sang, “Maranatha,” where His feet shall touch Mount Olivet. That is the appearing of His coming.
This will be visible, as lightning that shines from the east to the west, and the whole world sees it. He shall come with the clouds, with His saints, and He shall come to judge the world.
So, brothers and sisters, what we are waiting for is not from the cloud to Mount Olivet. That is for the world. What we as believers are waiting for is from the throne to the cloud.
We find in Revelation 12 the man-child. As soon as he is born, he is taken to the throne. The dragon waits in vain. This man-child represents the overcomers of the church.
As we say, the church itself is an overcoming church. But unfortunately, because God’s people are defeated, there will be those who, by the grace of God, are faithful. They shall be the welcoming party to the presence of the Lord.
They shall go through the air, the headquarters of the enemy. They have overcome through our Lord Jesus, and they will reach the throne, opening the way, as it were, for the Lord to come from the throne to the cloud.
Then, brothers and sisters, Satan will have no place in the air. He will be thrown down upon this earth, and there will be the great tribulation such as the world has never known.
But thank God, those who are left behind—even those who are left behind—are given a second chance to be faithful, even unto death.
Then, as the Bible says, the trumpet will sound. In a twinkling of an eye, the dead in Christ shall be raised, and those who live and remain shall be changed. All shall be taken up to the cloud to meet the Lord, who has descended to the cloud. That is 1 Thessalonians 4.
In the air there will be the gathering of all the saints throughout the ages. There will be the judgment seat of Christ—a family judgment—to decide who is to be commended and rewarded with the kingdom, and who will be disciplined during that time.
So, brothers and sisters, it is very, very essential that we be prepared to meet the Lord.
We find in the writings of the apostle Paul that this is the day to which he was always looking forward: the day of Christ, when he shall appear before his Lord blameless. May it be so with every one of us.
Now this morning we would like to continue with the second question. The second question is: How should we be ready spiritually? We know we need to be ready, but how?
Now, dear brothers and sisters, we have a real problem. The problem is that we do not know exactly when He comes.
If we knew exactly when He should come, then it would be easy to prepare. Why? If it is five years later, well, we have five more years. Usually, we try to prepare at the last minute. That is the way we are.
But fortunately, our Lord said no one knows the hour or the day. No one knows—not even the angels. Even the Son of Man, while He was on earth, said only the Father knows.
So we do not know exactly when He comes. He only warns us that when we know not, when we are unaware, and strangely, when we are unprepared, He comes.
So how should we be ready for something when we do not know when it will happen? Here is the foolishness of man’s wisdom.
Because we do not know when He comes, we are warned only that when He comes, it will be sudden. It will be at the time when probably most people are unaware, thinking that this cannot be the time. But strangely, God’s timing is different.
So how can we be prepared, brothers and sisters? Do you see the wisdom of God there? He wants us to be ever ready.
No matter when He shall come, we are ready for Him. If the master of the house knew when the thief would come, then he would be ready and would not allow the thief to come unaware.
In the same manner, even though we do not know the exact time, we know it is near—at the doors, very close. It can happen anytime, suddenly. So, brothers and sisters, that means we have to be ready all the time.
It is not just a matter of being ready once. It is being ready every day, every hour, every moment. If we are ever ready, then no matter when He shall return, we are ready for Him.
But, brothers and sisters, we should be ever ready, but never self-confident that we are ready. If we think we are now ready, most likely we are not ready.
We cannot measure the requirement of readiness according to our thinking. We have to measure the requirement of readiness according to His thinking. We may think we are ready, but we are not ready.
Very often, when we think we are ready, this is the time that we relax, sit back, and become self-confident. This is the most dangerous time.
So, brothers and sisters, I think the secret is: always ready, but never self-confident. That is the secret. That is the attitude that we should take.
We should be ready all the time—vigilant, watchful, and prayerful; waiting, ready for Him. At the same time, we have to trust and depend upon the grace of God, because we know our frailty.
There is no pride or boasting. If we boast, we fail. So, brothers and sisters, we need to be kept in constant humility, casting ourselves upon the longsuffering of God.
Have no confidence in the flesh, but let our confidence be in Christ Jesus. That is the way to be prepared.
Our Lord Jesus, in the Olivet Discourse, told us, “As were the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of man.”
What are the symptoms of the days of Noah? The Lord tells us: in the days of Noah, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage; and suddenly the flood came.
There is nothing wrong with eating, drinking, marrying, or giving in marriage. These are things ordained by God. God gave us a body, and He prepared food for us. We need to drink; we need to eat.
God’s intention is for the family. We need to marry and be given in marriage. What is wrong with that?
But, dear brothers and sisters, when eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage become the very purpose of life, that is absolutely wrong.
We are here not for eating, not for drinking, not for marrying, not to be given in marriage. We are here to do the will of God, to glorify Him. That is our purpose.
Dear brothers and sisters, look at the world today. People make eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage—all these legitimate things—into illegitimate things. They make these the purpose of life.
They live for their belly; the belly is their god. They live for comfort, for the cares of this life. They live for their own satisfaction, the satisfaction of their flesh. That is the sign of the last age.
Unfortunately, brothers and sisters, many believers are no different from the people of the world.
What is the purpose of your life? What do you live for? What are the things that really satisfy you? What are the things that you are really seeking? Are you seeking after the world and the things of the world, or are you seeking after God and after His will? What is the purpose of your life?
So the Lord said, “Watch therefore: for ye know not when the Son of man shall come.” Be ready, because at the time when you are unaware, He suddenly comes.
Then He began to speak a parable. He said, “Who is the faithful and prudent bondservant?” The lord, when he goes away, commits his household to that servant.
If that servant is prudent, wise, and faithful, he will give food to the household in season, knowing the mind of the master and being faithful to what the master has entrusted to him.
Then, when the master shall return, he shall give him all the substance of his house.
But if the same person—the Lord is not telling us about two different people, one wise and one foolish—the Lord is saying to us that you can be wise or you can be foolish.
If you are the evil servant, thinking that the Lord delays and will not come back soon, then you begin to eat and drink, become drunken, and even beat your fellow bondservants. Then, at the time when he is unaware, the master returns.
When the master returns, he will cut him asunder and put him in the same class as a hypocrite. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Brothers and sisters, our Lord is telling us that at the time of His coming, we are His bondservants. A bondservant is more than merely a servant in the sense of today. A bondservant in the old days was a slave.
A bondservant is one bought by the master. He owns nothing. Not only does he own nothing, but he does not even own his own life. He has no right of any kind. He belongs to his master.
We as believers are all bondservants of God, because our Lord has bought us with a price. What a price He has paid for such worthless people as we are. He gave His very life; He shed His very blood. He bought us to Himself.
He entrusted His house, His household—the family of God, the church of God—to us. We are to be faithful and prudent, not foolish and unfaithful.
The only difference that makes us either prudent and faithful or evil depends upon one thing: What is your attitude towards the coming of the Lord?
If you think that the Lord is coming soon and that He can return at any moment, then you will be wise and faithful in everything, every day, diligently doing His bidding, because He may come at any moment and you are ready.
But the evil servant says in his heart, “The Lord delays His return.” He does not think the Lord will return so soon. There is plenty of time; he can enjoy himself. Maybe at the last moment he will repent, and then he will be prepared.
He thinks he is wise to get the two worlds, but he is the foolish one, because the master will come at a time when he is not aware.
You know, sometimes when we are preaching the gospel to people, people say, “Yes, we know we need a Savior. At my deathbed, I will repent.”
But are you sure that at your deathbed you will repent? How many people die suddenly? Brothers and sisters, that is the foolishness of man’s wisdom.
They think there is plenty of time: “Let me enjoy the world first. When I am as old as you are, then I will seek heavenly things.” Brothers and sisters, it may be too late.
So how do we prepare for the coming of the Lord when we do not know exactly when He arrives? It depends mainly upon our attitude.
What is your attitude towards His coming? Are you expecting Him at any moment? Or are you saying in your heart, “He delays. He will not come now. Maybe tomorrow, but certainly not today”?
Brothers and sisters, what is your attitude towards the coming of the Lord? What is your attitude?
We need to place ourselves under the light of God and allow His light to shine upon us, because only in His light do we know light.
Our hearts are deceitful above all things—so deceitful that they deceive even ourselves.
We need constantly to pray the prayer of David in Psalm 139:
Search me, O God, and know my heart:
Try me, and know my thoughts;
And see if there be any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.
Brothers and sisters, let His light search every one of us. Am I a prudent and faithful bondservant, or am I an evil bondservant? My attitude—what attitude? What do you think about the coming of the Lord?
Do you really believe? Do you really think that He may come at this moment? Or do you say, “Oh no, not today. Maybe 2040. Oh, 2060.”
You know, the famous scientist Isaac Newton actually wrote more spiritual books than scientific books. He tried to estimate when the Lord should return. He was a mathematician, and according to his estimate, it would be 2060.
Foolishness. Brothers and sisters, we do not know when He is coming. We only know He can come at any moment. What is our attitude?
Then our Lord Jesus began to follow this with two other parables. You know, to be ready—in what respect, in what areas, should we be ready?
When the Lord shall return, He will reckon with us. Whatever was covered by the blood of the Lord Jesus in the past will not be remembered anymore. But after we have believed in the Lord Jesus, after we have received His life, how do we live? How do we serve Him in our work? Of these things, we have to give an account.
Therefore, our preparation should be twofold. We need to prepare for a life that will be pleasing to Him, and we need to prepare for a service that will be acceptable to Him.
For this reason, we find that our Lord Jesus followed with two other parables.
First of all, I have to say that I am not trying to give a strict interpretation of what follows, because strictly speaking, if you notice, there is a time difference here.
In Matthew 24:40, two shall be in the field; one is taken and one is left. Two women are grinding at the mill; one is taken and one is left. Watch therefore, for ye know not in what hour your Lord comes.
The word “then” there indicates a time factor. According to the context, that time factor happens at the beginning of the parousia, the beginning of the presence of the Lord.
So you have two, and two is a number of witnesses. By the witnesses of two and three, everything will be certain. Here, the two represent those believers who are still living at the beginning of the parousia. We are in that hour.
These two refer to living Christians—Christians living at the beginning of the parousia. How will the parousia begin?
Two will be grinding at the mill—that is morning. Two will be working in the field—that is noontime. Two will be sleeping in bed—that is nighttime. Suddenly, one is taken and one is left.
The world is round. In one place it is morning; in other places it is noontime; in some other place it is midnight. Suddenly, the Lord comes as a thief, and He will steal away what He considers the treasure of His heart.
That is the man-child, and they will be taken to the throne to prepare the way for the descending of the Lord from the throne to the cloud.
But when you look at Matthew 25, there is another “then.” Time-wise, it is a little different.
“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, who, having taken their lamps, went forth to meet the bridegroom.”
Here you find the parable of ten virgins. The Bible uses the word “virgin,” spiritually speaking, in a very specific way.
So far as the world is concerned, people are adulterers and adulteresses. Only those who are redeemed by the blood of the Lord Jesus, cleansed by His precious blood, are virgins.
You remember the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 11. He told the Corinthians, “I espoused you to one husband, that I might present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that you may be enticed away from the simplicity of Christ.”
Brothers and sisters, we are virgins. Not only virgins, but engaged. We are all engaged to Christ. As engaged virgins, we need to be pure virgins.
In other words, we need to be prepared for our Bridegroom. We are living for our Bridegroom, waiting for the marriage, keeping ourselves pure, doing things that we know will please Him and not ourselves.
We do not do anything that we know will displease Him. We are as pure virgins engaged to Christ. But how easily we can be enticed. May the Lord have mercy on us.
So here you find virgins. They do not represent unbelievers. Among the ten virgins, there are five wise and five foolish, just like among the two who are living, one is taken and one is left.
Strictly speaking, these ten virgins represent the saints throughout the ages. They went out to meet the Lord, and the Lord tarried, and they slept.
The sleeping here is not spiritual sleeping, because the wise virgins slept too. The sleeping here is physical death. To believers, we go to sleep because we will be awakened again. We never die.
So strictly speaking, these ten virgins refer to the saints throughout the ages. They all have lamps. In other words, they have oil in the lamp. They have the indwelling Holy Spirit that makes them the light of the world.
Not only that, but they all went out to meet the Bridegroom. Can you think of an unbeliever going out to meet Christ? Never.
When we are saved, we turn away from idols unto God, and naturally we wait for His return. We wait to see Him. Every believer is like that.
But they went out, the Bridegroom tarried, and they could not wait any longer. They all went to sleep; they died. So strictly speaking, these ten virgins speak of the saints of the past who have died.
You know, the number of the church today is seven, but eternity is twelve. So you have the ten here and the two there, making twelve, so that you see the whole picture of the church.
But we are not trying to be technically correct. We will try to use this and derive from it the spiritual principle that lies behind. With the two, nothing is mentioned concerning their spiritual condition, so we do not know why one is taken and one is left. But here you find the reason is given.
The wise virgins, when they went out to meet the Bridegroom, did not know when the Bridegroom would come. So they were well prepared.
Not only did they have oil in the lamp to make it light, but they also carried extra oil in a vessel, just in case the oil was depleted, so that they could add oil and the lamp would keep burning until the Bridegroom came.
This speaks of being filled with the Holy Spirit. Brothers and sisters, every believer has the Holy Spirit.
We are not only born of the Spirit, but the Holy Spirit comes and dwells in our spirit, and together we cry, “Abba, Father,” to God. So every believer has the Holy Spirit in him or in her. Thank God for that.
The Holy Spirit who is in us will never leave us nor forsake us. It is His work every day to be our constant Teacher, teaching us in all things, big things and small things. We are exhorted to listen to and obey the voice of the Spirit of God within us. This is the way we grow in the Lord.
Everyone has Him, but not every believer has extra oil in the vessel. That is to say, not every believer is filled with the Spirit of God.
You remember Ephesians 5:18:
And be not drunken with wine, wherein is riot, but be filled with the Spirit.
To be filled with the Spirit is to be constantly filled with the Spirit. To be filled with the Spirit is to be ruled by the Spirit.
Brothers and sisters, we have the Holy Spirit, but do you listen to the voice of the Spirit? Do not shut your ear. Listen to the voice of the Spirit.
Is the Spirit in control of your life? Are you being filled with the Spirit? Not merely some experience five years ago, but daily, hourly, being filled continuously with the Holy Spirit.
Let the Holy Spirit rule over your life. Walk in the Spirit. Obey the Holy Spirit. Live by the Spirit, brothers and sisters. That is the wise virgin.
But the foolish virgins just have oil in the lamp. They are not prepared for emergency. They have vessels too, but they fill the vessels with other things, thinking that the other things are more important than the Holy Spirit.
Today, while we are living, nobody can tell the difference. But one day, when the voice comes, “Behold, the Bridegroom,” the Bridegroom is already here.
They all wake up. That is resurrection. That is the fulfillment of 1 Thessalonians 4: the dead in Christ shall be raised, and they will all be taken to the air to meet the descended Lord.
Brothers and sisters, when that time comes, what happens? The five wise virgins put extra oil in the lamp. The light is burning. They are able to meet the Bridegroom and enter into the marriage feast, and the door is shut.
The foolish virgins find that their lights are going out. So they ask the wise virgins, “Give us some of the oil.”
But you know what? The wise virgins say, “It cannot be done, because this is something that you have to buy. This is something for which you have to pay a cost. Go and buy it.” But when they go, the door is shut.
Now, brothers and sisters, in other words, some virgins are pure virgins, walking in the Spirit and filled with the Holy Spirit. But some virgins are foolish. They seek the world and the things of the world.
Just as Luke 21 says, do not be weighed down with eating and drinking and the cares of this life. What a difference.
How can we be filled with the Spirit? Very simple: empty yourself. The more you are empty, the more you are filled.
Just like air fills this room, but because we are all here occupying space, we compress the air. But the air is here. If we move out, the air will fill the whole place.
The only way to be filled with the Spirit is to empty yourself. This is the reason why our Lord said, “Deny yourself, take up the cross, and follow Me.” That is the way to empty yourself.
The more you empty yourself, the more the Spirit will fill you. The more you fill yourself with yourself, the less the Holy Spirit has any place in your life. Very simple.
So how do we prepare for the return of the Lord, so far as our life is concerned? Learn to let the Holy Spirit rule over your life.
Let Him fill you. Let Him lead you. Let Him teach you. Let Him guide you. Walk by Him. Live by Him, because He brings Christ to us and He brings us to Christ. That is the only way.
The wise virgins, at the coming of the Lord, have the privilege of being at the wedding feast of the Lamb. But the foolish virgins are shut out from the door.
It does not mean that they are not saved. It means they have no part in the kingdom of heaven that comes upon this earth, when Christ shall rule over this earth with righteousness for a thousand years. What a loss.
Now that is the life part, and this is followed by another parable: the parable of the master.
Before he goes away, he gives talents—his property—to his bondservants according to their ability. One is given five talents, one is given two talents, and one is given one talent.
Then he goes away. But one day he is coming back, and he will reckon with his servants concerning what happened to the talents that he had given to them.
The one with five talents comes back and says, “Lord, You gave me five talents. I traded with them according to Your will and gained five more talents.”
The Lord says, “Well done, good and faithful bondservant. You were faithful over a few things. I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord.”
The one with two talents also comes and says, “Lord, I have gained two more.” The Lord says the same thing—no difference.
But the one with one talent comes and says, “I knew You were a hard master. You reap where You have not sown. So I was afraid. I wrapped the talent in a handkerchief and buried it in the earth. Here is Your talent.”
The Lord says, “Wicked and slothful servant. If you really thought that I was a hard master, at least you should have put it in the bank and gained some interest.”
Take away the talent that was given to him and give it to the one with ten talents. This one will be cast into outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Brothers and sisters, what does He tell us here? It tells us that we who are the Lord’s, so far as our life is concerned, are virgins with lamps.
But so far as bondservants are concerned, we are His servants, His bondservants, and He has given us talents—not only spiritual gifts, but even opportunities.
Whatever He has entrusted to us, we are to use faithfully for increase in the kingdom of God. If we are lazy and even bury it, without losing it, it is still too bad.
So, brothers and sisters, the lesson is this: in this lifetime we are all bondservants serving the Lord with what He has entrusted to us.
These things are not for ourselves; they are not ours. They are His, and we are to use what He has entrusted to us for His increase and for His glory.
How do we do that? Are we using these things to serve our purpose, or are we using them to serve His purpose? One day there will be a reckoning.
So let us understand the heart of our Lord. What He has entrusted to us, we are to use faithfully and wisely for the increase of the kingdom and His righteousness. Then our service will be rewarded.
If we do not, we will have no part in the kingdom age of a thousand years, when the Lord shall rule over this earth. Rather, we will be cast into outer darkness.
We do not lose our eternal salvation, but we are disciplined so that we can be matured.
So, brothers and sisters, how are we to be ready?
Thank God. When He shall return, He will preserve us blameless at the coming of the Lord. He who calls us is faithful; He will perform it.
Shall we pray?
Dear Lord, we do thank Thee for telling us that no one knows when Thou art coming. We thank Thee that Thou dost desire that we should be ready every moment.
Yet, Lord, we feel that we are never ready. We depend on Thee. It is all of grace.
Dear Lord, we pray that none of us here will be left behind, but that every one will meet Thee joyfully. We ask in Thy name. Amen.