Keep It Fresh

I'd like to begin by reading from Matthew 25, verses 1 through 13. Then the kingdom of heaven shall be compared to ten maidens who took their lamps, and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.

For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them. But the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.

But at midnight there was a cry, Behold the bridegroom, come out to meet him. Then all those maidens rose and turned their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.

But the wise replied, Perhaps there will not be enough for us and for you. Go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came.

And those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast. And the door was shut. Afterward the other maidens came also, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.

But he replied, Truly, I say to you, I do not know you. Watch therefore, for you know neither the day. Everybody would have got in.

But there was a delay. And with the passing of time, five of the maidens ran out of oil. One way to describe their running out of oil is to say that they became stale, weary, staggered, apathetic.

Every spiritual awakening which has ever visited this earth since the day of Pentecost has begun with multitudes taking their lamps, going forth to meet the bridegroom with singing and dancing and joy and great hope. A time of testing, temptation. And during this time, many, many lamps go out.

Then the bridegroom comes, and those whose lamps are still burning go in with him to a foretaste of the marriage feast. In other words, before this parable that Jesus gives us is ultimately fulfilled with the kingdom in its glory, there is the forecoming of it too. And the foretaste of the marriage feast for us is when our ministry begins for real.

Example, our Lord. The bridegroom himself received the Holy Spirit at his baptism, came out of the waters of the Jordan, and the Spirit came down upon him. But notice he did not begin his ministry at that point.

He was not ready. He, the Son of God, was not ready. First he has to go through a period of temptation, testing, trial, in the wilderness, during which he has to also learn how to keep his faith fresh.

And don't forget, Jesus, God the Son, walked by faith when he did not have an inside line, a watch line to heaven. He had to do it the same way we do it. God the Son... He had to learn to walk by faith and keep that faith fresh.

He had to crush and trample under his feet anything that would tempt him to compromise that faith. Then he was ready. Thank God for all the revival and all the outpourings and all the fresh light that has come down upon us.

And we praise God and thank God for the flame of faith that burns in our lamps. But if we're honest, every one of us, without exception, even the ones who don't think they... All of us have to keep our faith alive. And we all, all have... Flares up and goes... So what happens is that we spend an inordinate amount of money as we go along, which we can have, which will indeed keep our faith.

There is a path marked out by the feet of our Lord Himself that will take us through this wilderness so that we don't forever have to be fixing up our lamp. And we can let our light shine and get on with our ministry. Whatever it is, it's a message.

The whole book, really. Much like we are, people who undoubtedly suffered much more. And the main thrust of this message, let's get through this wilderness and walk the way of peace.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, men and women who walked the road of faith, kept their lamps burning, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which clings to it before us. Looking to Jesus... So we don't really keep our faith fresh. We don't have to get stale.

We don't have to have a revival every six months. We don't have to get weary and burned out. We can mount up on wings.

We can go from strength to strength. And the sin which clings so close... Drawing my life from Him. Plenty of oil.

There's no lack of oil. Lots of oil. Continuously.

And we were much more careful about... There are four essential places. And we need to draw on all four. Not just one or two.

There is oil for us. Second, as we wash each other's feet. Third, as we break bread.

And fourth, as we go out into the world and touch the pain and the death and the sin and the anger. First place, where we draw this light. Reading from Isaiah chapter 50, verses 4 and 5. The Lord has given me the tongue of those who are taught that I may know how to sustain with a word him that is weary.

Morning by morning, He wakens. Clock radio, the pretty music. You know, and then we roll over and rub our eyes.

Well, not really. We're only... At that point, we're still... You know, and some of us stumble through the hole. Each day, we're really only awake when we hear a word.

Morning by morning. And He will do that for any of us. At the beginning of your return to consciousness, you turn your mind toward Him with a soft voice.

And then, and this is the part many of us need to learn especially. Then, and your natural ear will hear nothing but the birds singing but your inner ear will hear the Spirit of God. And your lamp will begin to burn with a bright, fresh... Seize life from God.

As we learn to wash... Reading from John chapter 13, verse... When Jesus had washed their feet and taken His garments and resumed His place, He said, If I then, your Lord... For I have given an example that you should do. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant... If I'm doing it, you gotta do it too. If you know these things, blessed are you.

So what does it mean to wash feet? A phone call, a visit, a small group meeting, where we can encourage each other and help each other, pray with each other, sometimes even rebuke each other. It's an essential thing. People who don't do this, people who have no one person or no handful of people that they can share with the same... Maybe somebody says, Yeah, but I don't, I don't know many other believers.

Or, nobody invited me to a small group meeting or a Bible study. I don't know where to go. If anybody is feeling that way, listen, don't leave this place today before you come down here in the front.

Come down here and somebody will pray with you. Don't leave this place until they have put you in touch. If you know these things, blessed are you.

Most of us know. We've read all about the Methodist movement. We know about the importance of small groups.

We have all kinds of context. But the blessing doesn't come in the knowing, it comes in the... And as we do, again the flame comes up and oil, fresh, clean oil from heaven. The third place, where we get fresh life from God.

Fellowship in the congregation, in the assembly. And great bread. There has not been one week in all these nearly 2,000 years when many a time they found... Again and again.

So Paul tells us, For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you. In the same way also the cup after supper. Do this as often as you drink it.

Breaking bread, communing with Jesus in the bread and the wine, was the high point of their life together. It was the place where they renewed their covenant with Jesus and with each other. For them it was essential.

See it wasn't just a little... And for us it is an essential. Touch Calvary and are touched by Calvary. And that we also taste the glorious feast.

This is the place where our claim is renewed. What an awesome thing this is. What a glorious... What a wonderful thing it is.

Finally, when we go out in His name and touch the anguish and the pain, the sin, and the guilt of the world out there. Sinners washed in the blood of the Lamb. We hear Jesus say, Go make disciples.

Baptize. Teach. Feed my sheep.

Go proclaim the good news. With this command to go is always the promise, Lord I am with you all the days, even to the end of the age, that comes to us when we go looking for the sheep. When we touch the anguish and the pain and the guilt and the despair and the sin of the world in His name that comes to us at no other time and in no other way.

Or to say it another way, when we fail as believers in Jesus to touch the real world and its real pain and its real sickness and its real despair, when we fail to touch it in the name of the Lord, we dry up. And our churches become little sanitary clubs for night. You love me? Feed my sheep.

And my sheep are right out there where you're living, where you're doing your work, where you're conducting your business. There they are. I'll show you who they are.

Go to them. Feed them. Speak to them.

Touch them with healing. And as you do, my spirit will quicken you. You will have fresh oil and your lamp will burn like a beacon.

But at midnight there was a cry. Behold the bridegroom. Come out to meet him.

Then all those maidens rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, Give us some of your oil for our lamps are going out. The wise replied, Go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.

While they went to buy, the bridegroom came. And those that were ready went in with him to the marriage feast. Enough oil to keep us going no matter how long the night.

Fresh oil as we draw near to brothers and sisters. Fresh oil as we come together in the body and partake of this wonderful feast. Fresh oil as we go out there.

You know these things. Blessed are you. The blessing comes not in the knowing but in the doing.

Now let's just take some time in silence and let the Lord just