Day of judgment, day of violence, violence from which all who stand bow. What a solemn words those are from the hypocrites out there. Well, dear friends, today's passage of Holy Scripture, we should really have this passage of Scripture in our, give this passage of Scripture our utmost attention, really. It's one of those passages of God's most precious word which we should really read over and over and over and over again, because really, one of us. It concerns both preacher and hearer alike, both poor and rich, both learned and unlearned, both young and old. This passage of God's most precious word concerns us all. And Christ's words here and therefore demand our for the great day of judgment, where Christ himself will come for his redeemed. So it has in mind our readiness for Christ's return. And this surely must be one of the most solemn parables which the Lord has ever spoken about. The parable in front of us and it is designed, I believe, in mind to wake us up and for us to have a spiritual examination and a spiritual check to see really if we are truly ready for that great and terrible day of Christ's return. But before we look into today's solemn parable, it's important for us to know those days. Marriages, basically the custom in those days, generally took place in the evening, at night. The bridegroom and his friends would come in a procession to the bridegroom's house, and this was typically at nightfall, and there the bridesmaids, these virgins, as it were, these pure Bridesmaids would be assembled there awaiting for him, on watch, as it were. And as soon as they saw those lamps, as it were, those torches in the distance, that would be carried by the bridegroom's party, well, then these young women would trim their lamps, in other words, cut it off, make sure the flame was able to have a big light, make sure they had enough oil in their lamps, and then they would go out and meet the bridegroom's party. They would go out to meet him, and they would unite, wouldn't they, into one party, and then both would go into the home. And once they entered into the doors, immediately, When everyone who was ready, when they all united into one party, soon as they entered into these doors, the door was immediately shut. The ceremony had begun, and no one else at all was to be admitted. You had to be ready, you see. And these things, these customs, words back then. They would have, when they hear Christ saying these words, they would have thought immediately, well this is according to our traditions. This is, these words would have been absolutely familiar to the customs. And so it was good and right and proper for us to understand in our mind's eye the customs to which they did in terms of marriage. And so it starts, doesn't it, in verse one. virgins which took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. I believe that these ten virgins here that took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom are representatives of the whole body those perhaps who attend church. It is the whole body of professing Christians in the visible church. It is clear to me as well, and I'm no doubt to many here, that the bridegroom represents the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Verse two goes on to say, and five of them were wise, and five were foolish, five of them half of these, the whole body, as it were, of professing Christians, and I believe the Lord here is being very charitable, five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Half of them were foolish, and half of them were wise unto salvation. Five wise virgins, Those who truly understand their sin, understand that they in themselves can in no wise get right with God, they need to be born of the Holy Spirit of God. They need a great change and transformation in their heart and lives. This is the wise. Those who have truly laid hold upon Christ by faith and have trusted in him and his righteousness and his blood, These are those who represent the converted part of the visible church. The five foolish virgins here represent the nominal Christians and worldly Christians who, in fact, are Christians in name only and have no inner fidelity towards the Lord. In other words, It's an outward performance. It's an outward Christianity. Yes, they may have been baptized. Yes, they may go to church. They may do many formalities, but they've never ever experienced what Christ says about the newborn birth. You must be born again. There must be a time in your life where you've changed from life to death. From thinking and being absorbed with the things of the world, eternity, laying hold upon him by faith, living for the matters of the soul and Christ, the things which will truly last forever. And so we see with these foolish virgins here, there's no inner fidelity. They grow up, as it were, as tares amongst the real wheat. They grow up. They are mixed, as it were, within the church, the real visible church. But of course we know from Scripture that one day it will be plucked up. Verses 3 and 4 of God's Word says, They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. Let me just repeat that again, verses 3 and 4. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. The lamps here represent, which are both carried alike by the foolish and the wise, they represent a mere outward profession of Christianity. Baptism, church attendance, all these outward formalities, they represent of all true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. And of course, the bridegroom coming represents the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ again. His return, where he will come in great glory and in clouds. And verse five and six says to this respect, doesn't it? It says, and while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. and verse six, and at midnight there was a cry made, and behold, a bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him. Let us here observe, dear church family, that both the wise and the foolish virgins were caught completely off guard here. I believe it was the wise described here in verse five that were slumbering, that were slumbering. And I believe it was the foolish that were sleeping. And notice here the absolute precision and accuracy of God's most precious holy word. Slumbering is not a deep sleep. It is more of a light sleep. It is not what they ought to have been doing. They ought to have been more alert. They ought to have been more watchful, like Christ's disciples, remember, that could not stay awake for another hour. They should have been more alert in that respect. And of course, I believe that the slumbering wise virgins speaks of true believers that for the past 2,000 or so years have really forgotten. And I'm thankful for my brother here of Constantinople, to Jesus Christ. And it speaks of the wise, those who are truly Christians, of their lack of speaking, like the New Testament Church often did. But the last 2,000 years, really, we've neglected this needful doctrine. Whereas I believe asleep. They are dead in trespasses and sins. They are builders, really, who have built upon a wrong foundation, as it were. Instead of taking Christ at His very words, that a man must be born again, they have just gone with the outward performances of Christianity. Like I said, baptism all the outward formalities, and they have never really taken Christ at His word, that He has to be number one. You cannot love God and mammon. You must live exclusively for Him. You must be born again. The matters of eternity and Christ must always be in your mind first, to love Him with everything, to be not a friend in this world, as it were. Church there will always be a mixture of those who are truly converted, who have truly experienced a new birth wrought by the Holy Spirit of God, and by God's grace, the free gift that Ephesians 2.8 speaks of, and those who are really putting their hope upon outward formalities, as it were. very, very sudden indeed. It will be a summer one, where all hypocrisy will be absolutely exposed. A cry is made, there was a cry, behold the bridegroom cometh, go out to meet him. All hypocrisy will suddenly be exposed. Who will be ready when Christ comes, when that great trumpet call comes? When the cry comes, will the Lord, of course we know, tarry long for the precious fruit of His vineyard? Will those who say that they are betrothed to Him, that are engaged and committed and dedicated to Him, will they be found attending to His words? Will they be found in His presence? Or will they be found, really, with just a formal religion? With just the lamp of profession in their hands? With no true heart and oil of the Holy Spirit in their hearts? Dear friends, oh, these are solid things, aren't they? Matthew 24, 46 says, blessed is that servant whom the Lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing. to be done, his duty is to be done, what the Lord means by this is are we living for Christ? Are we living for the matters of eternity? Have we truly believed in the gospel and the word of God? Are we living for Jesus? Are we holding to his words? Are they more precious than life itself to us? Are we ready for his return? Well, we see, don't we, In verse seven, both foolish and wise virgins, both prepared alike to meet the bridegroom, to meet Christ, didn't they? For the wise virgins, this speaks of a growing in holiness, a growing in sanctification of life, becoming more like the Lord Jesus, because they have the new residence of the Holy Spirit in their hearts. And so they cannot but help to grow holy as they cleave to the means of grace, as they give themselves to reading of the word of God and sincere prayer and devotion to the Lord. They cannot but help grow as a day draws nigh. There's a holy eagerness and preparedness. There's a constant self-examination of the conscience. With Whitefield, every night, George Whitefield, he would examine his conscience. and almost list those things, even tiny little servants, and bring them before the mercy seat. Are these things true with us, dear friends? Is there an inner work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and our lives? The Lord's return, of course, will come. And will we be found a friend of this world or a friend of the next? Will our allegiance be to Christ and, of course, to the matters of eternity. For the foolish virgins, I believe this text here denotes a vain confidence in heaven, a vain confidence that they are engrafted upon the vine, as it were, when they are truly not, upon just a mere knowledge and no true inner work of the Holy Spirit. Their preparation is more of an outward show of an outward formality, as it were. There's a self-conceit here. And there's no vital oil of godliness, of truly believing upon the Lord Jesus Christ, being dedicated for his causes, being an ambassador for Christ. And hence the words of panic and terror that we see, don't we, in verse eight of God's precious word. And the foolish said unto the wise, give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out. And the foolish said unto the wise, give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out. Why did their lamps, why did the lamps of the foolish, dear friends, why did they go out? They just took enough oil for the present. They did not take any oil for beyond. They did not think about where they'll be spending eternity. They were just thinking and being absorbed by the present. Does not Christ here give a solemn warning to everyone in the visible church of Jesus Christ against the real dangers of only how the hearts of millions of professing Christians on that great and terrible day will absolutely fail them when suddenly the Lord will return, as it were, for his jewels, for those who have truly been converted, those They will cry to those creatures. They will cry to true, real Christians who love the Lord, who are dedicated to the Lord. They'll say, how can I truly be saved now? How can I have what you have? How can I truly be born? Those who resented the doctrines of grace, who despised the doctrines of the new birth, of truly being, living for Christ, they will then say, I believe now, how can I be truly saved? How can I truly be dedicated to Christ? How can I have this oil? How can I have the Holy Spirit? Alas, dear friends, but alas, too late. It will be too late. What they secretly once scorned, dear friends, has become a reality. They made light of their sin. They made light of the state hearts by nature, the doctrine of total depravity, they made light of all these things. They made light of the matters of eternity, and of Christ's sufferings, of what it cost him, of the matters of the soul, of hell, of judgment. They made light of all these things. This their way, this their folly. And it is as if Christ himself is saying, you thought I was one, such as one. as thou art. This, their way, is their body. Their lamps were purely for show, in their hands, weren't they? They had no saving oils of the Holy Spirit in their hearts. They were not truly converted. How is it, therefore, dear friends, with your soul? How is it with my soul? Do you know anything of the new birth? Jesus Christ. Never ever settle for a formal religion, friends. Here we have a very solid warning from the Saviour Himself. How is it with your soul? Well, what do we hear from the wise in this respect to their answer in verse 9? The Word of God says, but the wise answered say, They are not enough for us and you, but go ye rather to them than sell and buy for yourselves. Those who truly desire to be saved must have their own oil. They must be born of the Holy Spirit and by grace for themselves. Man cannot give salvation to man, it is a free gift by our family, by the church we belong to, by any other thing expect to be converted unless we truly come to Christ individually. We cannot, by being christened as a baby or any other thing, expect for grace to be transferred. We must seek for ourselves first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, we must seek Christ Himself and plead for Him to forgive us and cleanse us from all our sin. What do we hear, dear friends, comes next for both the foolish and wise virgins. Well, verse 10 and 12 says, And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and they that were ready went in with him. to the marriage, and the door was shut. They that were ready went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut. Solemn words here, aren't they? Only those who are ready in Christ, who have truly been born again in the Spirit of God, upon the Lamb of God. Have beheld them with new spiritual eyes. Their faith will turn to sight in that great day, won't it? They will be in paradise with the Lord like the thief upon the cross. The waiting for them by faith is over. The holy matrimony with Christ has come. The Lord's day has arrived. What a blessing this will be. No more sin to spoil even more. I can say with absolute truth that if you do not like the Lord's Day, if the Lord's Day is a chore to you to keep it holy, to live for the Lord, if it's a chore for you, I can say with certainty you're not going to like heaven. And I know we sometimes have many pressing things, but do you love the Lord today? Are you ready for Christ's return? It says in verse 11 and 12, after came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily, I say unto you, I know you. These solemn words. Friends, yes, I invited you. Yes, I sent my ministers out to you. Yes, the heavens bespoke and declared me to you. I sent all these things, all these witnesses to you. But you never took my words to heart, did you? Why call ye me Lord when I am not Lord of your life? Why say Lord, Lord? Why call me Lord when you've never treated me as such? You see, friends, there will be many, many professing Christians who will be caught completely off guard in that great and terrible day. It will be, the Lord's return will come as an utter Because, like the foolish virgins, many professing Christians will not be sufficiently ready. They won't be sufficiently ready. Christ will say, verily, I say unto you, I know you not. Truly, I know you not. You never really sought me first in life, did you? You never really took seriously my words to become a true born-again Christian. You never really thought you were that bad a person, that your sin was that destructive. You never really believed in the gospel. We're born again. How tragic, friends. How many who profess to be the Lord's people will be found to be entirely absorbed, friends, with earthly Even good things, being married, giving in to marriage, going about their daily business, absorb with earthly things, like in the days of Noah, and of Lot. And Lot, as it were, would plead with the sons-in-law, but he seemed as one that would be mocking them. And how many people. And forgive me if I seem harsh upon these things, but my heart, dear friends, is that you will My heart is that you will know the Lord savingly. It's one of the most dangerous places to be, to just have a knowledge, a formality. Dear friends, oh, there's a lot of theology in the West. Oh, we know many things, don't we? But why is there so little true conversion? yet profoundness of God's words to be truly born. Again, think of a moment, how little the world has prepared for that great event. And those who are completely engrossed with eating and drinking and being merry and watching telly and the business of this world and the sports and the shopping and the fashion and uncertain riches and worldly honors, And all these things, all these entertainments and distractions, how in a moment, every single one of them will stop, and as a garment they'll be pulled aside, even potentially within this very hour, this whole place will be cast open, potentially, all our sins will be laid bare, and Christ will return. The financial markets will stop, they'll become crashing, Those who are building will stop. Those who are planting will no longer plant. Everything will completely cease. Everything that we've ever lived for will pale into insignificance. Christ will come with great glory. And only those born of the Holy Spirit that have the vital oil, who are truly converted, only those will be ready to enter into heaven. to be with the Lord in heaven. I really hope all of us take seriously the word of God in this respect. A permanent lockdown and lockout will happen, dear friends. And as much as I'm against the lockdown and these things, a permanent lockdown will happen and lockout will happen Friends change, for all friends. For those in Christ, it will be a blessed day. It will be a blessed day. Come, Lord Jesus, come. Come even in this hour. Can you say that? I want Jesus to come now in this hour. I'm ready. Death has lost its sting. Come, come. I know I'm full of sin. I've trusted on him that there has been a change in my heart by faith. Come, are you ready to die? Will you die well in Christ? Are you ready? Are you ready, friends? For my part, I think thinking upon Christ's return has a satisfying effect upon me. Doesn't he? Thinking upon Christ's return. What men and women and children we ought to be. how we ought to live our life, what must be our main thread and focus in life. Friends, it ought to, for us Christians, have a sanctifying effect upon us. But, friends, for those who remain sceptical, unconverted, though they be religious, though they carry the lamp of profession in their hands in that day, In that great and terrible day, all those tears will be plucked up. They will be stripped. Dear friends, the wise virgins will be taken as wheat from the foolish virgins, as it were. My dear soul, how is it with your soul this day? How is it with your soul? Will you be found ready? Will you be found already, the trumpet will call, the sound will come when you least expect it, when all of us least expect it, as in the days of Noah and Lot, utter destruction, the warning, you will not have a Saturday night before the Lord's day, dear friends, it will come very, very suddenly. For me, for professors, God's name, And those who are worldly and ungodly, for mere professors God's name, who have not reverenced God's name, how will they endure? How will they endure that day when Christ returns, when he will look upon them with those eyes blazing, with righteous indignation, with wrath piercing right through? How? unless you are truly converted in Christ. How will you endure when Christ comes and beholds you with those eyes? Friends, friends, a nominal Christianity may get you to the gates of heaven. Works may, as it were, and a performance of Christianity will get you to the gates, as it were, like it did with the foolish. You can be assembled, you can have all the benefits, pretty much, to a degree. It will get you to the gates, friends, but you will in no wise enter in if you do not have the oil of the Holy Spirit. If you are truly born again, there must be a change. There must be a change wrought by the gospel. The Lord Jesus says in verse 13, watch therefore, For ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh. Are you ready, friends? Are you ready for Christ's return? It may not be in our lifetime. It may be. It may be this week. It may be this very hour. Are you ready for Christ's return? Have you taken Christ at His word? Many Christians, professing Christians, are Christians, sad to say, in name only. They have not taken Christ and his words. They're very much still in the world. Yes, they may have been baptised, and yes, they may even attend church, but they are still very much in the world. They're Christians in name only. It's one of the most dangerous places you can be. I hope, it is my hope and prayer that everyone here today will truly take hold upon the gospel, upon Christ's words. Don't be a cherry-picking Christian. Don't cherry-pick the parts of the Bible which suit your lifestyle and the most important parts that speak about your soul and the matters of eternity. Let us take Christ at his words, dear friends. Let us all here have a spiritual ♪ O Jesus, my frail spirit ♪ ♪ To that rock so strong and high ♪ ♪ Standing sure with sturdy tempest ♪ ♪ Safe and well in wages of night ♪ ♪ In the rock of ages hiding ♪ ♪ Come dear flower, glory blaze ♪ ♪ Let the whole creation promote ♪ ♪ The foundation's deed of praise ♪ ♪ Heav'n's rocks are met with thunder ♪ ♪ By the terror of that day ♪ ♪ When as cruel storms beneath the blur ♪ ♪ Strong men raged in fear away ♪ That sure rock will still be standing Next to the water, next to the place There on heaven's eternal ship Rock of Ages, we are proud