Sunday 2nd Service, Healing and Welfare Committee Dedication Worship Service
Title / Scripture: The Parable of the Ten Virgins – What to Prepare (Matthew 25:1-13)
Date / Location: May 29, 2022, Immanuel Church (Seoul)
Matthew 25:1-13
01 At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
02 Five of them were foolish and five were wise.
03 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take oil with them.
04 The wise ones took oil in jars along with their lamps.
05 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
06 At midnight the cry rang out: “Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!”
07 Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.
08 The foolish ones said to the wise ones, “Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.”
09 “No,” they replied, “there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.”
10 But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut.
11 Later the others also came. “Lord, Lord,” they said, “open the door for us!”
12 But he replied, “Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.”
13 Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
Summary
We must heal and we must carry out welfare work, but what is the most important thing? The parable of the ten virgins is a story about a wedding — the story of ten virgins waiting for the bridegroom to come. Israel held weddings in three stages, and there is a tremendous meaning in this.
▣ Introduction: The Meaning of the Wedding
1. Betrothal ceremony (coming of age) – held with the families gathered.
1) Covenant – given and received.
2) Talent – confirmation
3) Expertise (on-site readiness) – preparation
2. The bride’s house – the believer, the bride, waiting for Christ
▷ Waiting for the bridegroom to come, not knowing when he will come.
1) Christ who existed before eternity
2) Christ who became incarnate
3) The resurrected Lord – invisibly with us
4) Christ who will come as the returning Lord
3. The bridegroom’s house
1) The kingdom feast
2) The feast of the throne
3) Our background (our home country)
▷ Right now we are within the covenant. We will be together with Christ until we welcome him as the returning Lord. Someday we will participate in the kingdom feast and praise God.
▣ Main Point: Preparing the Oil
1. Oil – that which saves me. You must prepare the oil in order to be saved.
1) Genesis 41:38 “I have never seen anyone so filled with the Spirit of the Lord as this.” – The oil of the Holy Spirit, the oil of life.
2) Exodus 3:18-20 “Go and set Israel free. Go and offer the blood sacrifice. I will be with you with my mighty hand. This will be the proof.” God worked invisibly.
3) 1 Samuel 3:1-19 The astonishing work of power that came upon Samuel — not one of his words fell to the ground.
4) 1 Samuel 16:1-13 To David: “From that day the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him.”
5) 2 Kings 2:9-11 “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit.” This is what Elisha asked for.
6) Daniel 1:8-9 He had it from the very beginning. He set his resolve according to God’s will.
7) Acts 1:1, 3, 8 The resurrected Christ spoke of the kingdom of God, of the Holy Spirit alone.
2. Oil – healing. With this oil we can heal others.
1) The age of slavery – free those who have become slaves to the world and Satan with the oil of the Holy Spirit.
2) The age of war – even now spiritual war continues to break out. Nothing else will do. Only the Holy Spirit!
3) The age of captivity – completely taken captive by the world and Satan.
4) The age of subjugation – when subjugated to darkness, one does not even realize it. Only with the Holy Spirit, only with the oil!
5) The wandering nation – our descendants go together within this. The work of the Holy Spirit, who is equal with God, and the oil, must be within us.
3. Oil – welfare. With this oil we can carry out welfare work.
1) The recipients of welfare – only this oil, only the Holy Spirit, can heal the recipients of welfare.
2) The helper – must be made into one who builds up strength and helps others.
▷ The purpose of welfare is to eliminate the need for welfare recipients.
3) The missionary – must be made into a missionary. The only way to do this is through the Holy Spirit alone.
▷ Any other way only brings us down to our own level. At our own level we cannot accomplish world evangelization. Understanding this, only through the Holy Spirit, who transcends time and space!
▣ Conclusion: The Flow of the Answer
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Do not be troubled because you believe in God. Also, do not be troubled because you believe in me. Do not be troubled because heaven has been prepared for you.” This is what Jesus said.
1. John 14:16 “If I go, I will send you the Advocate, the Holy Spirit.”
2. John 14:26 “This Spirit will cause you to understand many things.”
3. John 14:27 “I give you true peace.” When the Holy Spirit comes, true peace comes.
4. John 16:13 “When this Spirit comes, it will bring to your remembrance everything I taught you.”
5. John 20:22 “Breathe and receive the Holy Spirit.” Prepare the oil, prepare the power. If you are to save others and save yourself, no other power will do.
6. Acts 1:8 “When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will receive power and be my witnesses to the ends of the earth.”
7. Acts 2:1-13 “When the day of Pentecost came” — the true answer came to those who held onto this promise and gathered together. The oil had been prepared.
8. Acts 13:1-4 The same work happened in the mission field.
9. Acts 16:6-10 Even when the door was blocked, this power was received. At that time, they were beckoned to come to Macedonia.
10. Acts 19:1-7 What happened in the upper room in Mark also happened again.
Acts 19:8-20 The Ephesus revival broke out.
Acts 19:21, 23:11, 27:24 “You must also see Rome. You must testify in Rome. You must stand before Caesar.”
▷ The very first thing that all believers who carry out discipleship movements must do is to tell those who have been saved the secret of prayer. Healing must come first. When I evangelize, I make this preparation first. I go and see the person God has already prepared — the disciple. I bring this person to church, and then I move on to another area. A true disciple does not waver. A disciple, regardless of any help received, comes to discover the power of God. In evangelism and missions, we must give life and make people know the power of the Holy Spirit. We must give the oil and then leave.
Transcript
Today’s second service is the Healing and Welfare Committee’s dedication worship service. It is an extremely important dedication worship service for the Healing and Welfare Committee.
“The Parable of the Ten Virgins” (Matthew 25:1-13)
What word did God give for this — he gave the word concerning the parable of the ten virgins. I believe God gave this precisely. This is the text that appears in Matthew chapter 25. We must carry out healing and welfare work, but what is most important? He gave us this in today’s text. First of all, the parable of the ten virgins is a story about a wedding. Right?
▣ Introduction: The Meaning of the Wedding
It speaks of the ten virgins waiting for the bridegroom to come. Now, in this wedding — in Israel’s wedding — there is a tremendous meaning. Israel holds a wedding three times.
1. Betrothal ceremony (coming of age)
The families gather and hold the betrothal ceremony like this: “Let us marry this way. Let us do it this way.” This is the betrothal ceremony.
1) Covenant
Simply put, since they have now become adults, they exchange a covenant.
2) Talent
And what is very important is that, since they have now become adults, they also confirm their talents. This is basic for the people of Israel.
3) Expertise (on-site readiness)
They make preparations equipped with both expertise and on-site readiness, and hold the betrothal ceremony in this way.
2. The bride’s house
And where is the second wedding held? It is held at the bride’s house. At the bride’s house, they now wait for the bridegroom to come. But they do not know when he will come. That is the Israelite way of holding a wedding. This carries a tremendous message for us. We do not know when the last day will come, and we do not know when Christ will come as the returning Lord. We must wait. That is why the bridegroom usually comes rather late at night. Coming late allows one to see many things — the health and the flaws of the other side. So when the bridegroom comes, the feast begins.
[ Christ ]
Simply put, this refers to us believers, the bride, waiting for Christ.
1) Before eternity
Christ existed before eternity. Right? Because he is the triune God.
2) Incarnation
He came clothed in a human body.
3) The resurrected Lord
And now, as the resurrected Lord, he is with us invisibly. So if we pray in his name, the answer is certain to come.
4) The returning Lord
What is the fourth? He will come as the returning Lord. This is what is symbolized here.
3. The bridegroom’s house
And now, after the wedding is held here, they go to the bridegroom’s house and hold it again. What is it?
1) The kingdom feast
In our terms today, this is the kingdom feast that will be held.
2) The feast of the throne
Simply put, it is the feast of the throne.
3) Background (home country)
This is our background now, and it is truly our home country.
Jesus told an important parable — he told the parable of the wedding. If you do not know what this means, you would not understand what he is saying. “Ah, I see!” Where are we now? We are here, within the covenant. Someday we will be together with Christ and then welcome him as the returning Lord. Someday we will participate in the kingdom feast and praise God. There is a tremendous meaning in this.
▣ Main Point
Now, you know the story of the ten virgins well, don’t you? Simply put, the difference comes down to whether they have something or not. What is it? Since the bridegroom came so late, those who had prepared oil were able to welcome him. Those without oil could not welcome him, because they had no oil. So they said, “Lend us some,” and the others said, “No, we cannot lend it. What I have is not even enough for myself — how could I lend it to you?” What does this mean? In Israel, when a wedding is held, there are virgins who stand together as bridesmaids. There were ten of them, and it says that five of them had prepared oil.
▣ Main Point: Preparing the Oil
Preparing the oil. This is the covenant you must take hold of today.
1. Oil – that which saves me
You must prepare the oil in order to save yourself. Holding a lamp without any oil is of no use at all in saving you. What is this oil?
1) Genesis 41:38
This is what Joseph had. “I have never seen anyone so filled with the Spirit of the Lord as this.” That’s right. This is the oil of the Holy Spirit. This is the oil of life. Isn’t that right? Take hold of this precisely.
2) Exodus 3:18-20
“Go and set Israel free. Go and offer the blood sacrifice. I will be with you with my mighty hand. This will be the proof.” After that, when the ten plagues came, God worked in a way that was completely invisible. So those who live at the level of animals — no matter how well they eat — do not understand it, because they cannot see it. How ignorant are they? They do not even know that they have a soul, so they lie freely and live however they please. They think that all they need to do is take their own benefit like an animal. And so they die. No matter how prestigious a university they attend, no matter how high a position they hold — from where I stand, it is only at the level of an animal. They themselves do not know it. These days it has gotten even worse. Politicians keep scheming, using their wits, lying constantly, and thinking that’s how it’s done. At that level, you cannot save others, and you cannot even save yourself.
3) 1 Samuel 3:1-19
This is the astonishing work of power that came upon Samuel. From that time on, not one of his words fell to the ground.
4) 1 Samuel 16:1-13
To David: “From that day the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him.” That’s right. The Spirit of the Lord.
5) 2 Kings 2:9-11
2 Kings chapter 2, verses 9, 10, and 11. Elisha understood. “Bethel, Gilgal, Jericho — none of that is needed. Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit.” That’s right. I must live. Oil! What is it?
6) Daniel 1:8-9
He already had it firmly from the very beginning. He set his resolve firmly according to God’s will. Ah, he came to a high position — he did not think of it as success. Difficulty comes — he did not think of it as difficulty coming. He wins. Prepare this.
7) Acts 1:1, 3, 8
So Jesus, the resurrected Christ, spoke of the kingdom of God, of the Holy Spirit alone — this oil. Those who offer dedication worship must be sure to remember this. Because this cannot be seen, someone living at the level of an animal finds no value in it. Isn’t that right? No matter how much you love a dog, if you give it something like a diamond, it doesn’t understand. Right? You must be the first to always enjoy this precious thing.
2. Oil – healing
With this oil we can heal others.
3. Oil – welfare
With this oil we can carry out welfare work. You cannot know how important an answer this gives.
2. Oil – healing
What does it mean to say that only oil can heal? It is the same even now.
1) The age of slavery
We have entered an age of slavery. Many people think of being enslaved in Egypt, but that is not it. Even now, people have become slaves to the world and Satan. These people can be set free with the oil of the Holy Spirit.
2) The age of war
Even now, spiritual warfare continues to break out. Nothing else will do — only the Holy Spirit. It is the same, all of you. It has gotten even worse.
3) The age of captivity
Now people have become completely captive to the world and Satan.
4) The age of subjugation
Now they do not even realize it. They have become subjugated to darkness. When subjugated, you do not realize it. “Only with the Holy Spirit, only with the oil.” You must remember this.
5) The age of wandering
In the future, Israel and the church will become a wandering nation. Our descendants go together within this. This (oil) must be prepared. Right? The work of the Holy Spirit, who is equal with God, and the oil, must be within us.
3. Oil – welfare
1) The recipients of welfare
Only this oil, only the Holy Spirit, can heal the recipients of welfare. This person must be healed first. Unbelievers give food first, but although we also give food, we must heal first.
2) The helper
What is even more important? These people must not remain recipients of welfare but must be made into helpers. What is the purpose of welfare? It is to eliminate the need for welfare. The purpose of welfare is to eliminate welfare recipients, that is what I mean. The true purpose of welfare work is that those who do welfare work should have no work left to do. Right? The purpose of a doctor is to eliminate patients.
3) The missionary
This person must be made into a missionary. The welfare recipient must be healed, and the helper must be raised up and made into a missionary. The only way to do this is through the Holy Spirit alone, that is what I mean. Any other way only brings us down to our own level. Honestly, at our own level we cannot accomplish world evangelization — there is no need even to calculate this. At our own level, all of you cannot accomplish world evangelization. Understanding this, only through God, who transcends time and space, only through the Holy Spirit. This is an extremely important matter. That is why those of you who carry out this ministry of welfare and healing are important, and you must first gain great strength.
▣ Conclusion: The Flow
Now, in conclusion, let us look at the flow of this answer. When Jesus was nearly at the end, he spoke like this: “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” Why? Because troubling things would happen. “Do not be troubled, because you believe in God. Also, do not be troubled, because you believe in me. Also, do not be troubled, because heaven has been prepared.” This is what he said.
1. John 14:16
“If I go, I will send you the Advocate, the Holy Spirit.” That is the introduction I gave.
2. John 14:26
“This Spirit will cause many people to understand.” When this Spirit comes, it will bring understanding.
3. John 14:27
“I will give you true peace, not a false one. When this Spirit comes, it will give true peace.”
4. John 16:13
And what else? “When this Spirit comes, when you have this oil, it will bring to your remembrance everything I taught you.” And then Jesus spoke again at the very end.
5. John 20:22
“Breathe, and receive the Holy Spirit.” That means: prepare the oil. Prepare the power. No other power will do. If it were merely to scrape by and survive, that might be enough, but to save others and to save myself, it will not do.
6. Acts 1:8
Now, he called them all the way up to the Mount of Olives. And he said again: “Only!” Nothing else will do. “When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will receive power and be my witnesses to the ends of the earth.”
7. Acts 2:1-13
The true answer came to the people who held onto this promise and gathered together. “When the day of Pentecost had fully come” — this is the highest answer. This power came upon them. Simply put, the oil had been prepared. And this was not the end of it.
8. Acts 13:1-4
In the mission field, the same work happened again. In order to be led by the Holy Spirit, Paul even fasted, it says. They understood it well.
9. Acts 16:6-10
It is the same. This is a well-known passage, Acts chapter 16, verses 6 and 10. Even when the door is blocked, we must receive this power. When our way is blocked, we keep trying to force it open. Do not force it open. At that time, they even beckoned him, saying, “Come to Macedonia.”
10. Acts 19:1-7
The same thing continues. What happened in the upper room in Mark’s Gospel happens again at the beginning of Acts chapter 19.
Acts 19:8-20
When this happened, a truly great work broke out. This is the Ephesus revival. And it did not end there.
Acts 19:21
After this covenant was concluded, verse 21 says, “I must also see Rome.” It does not end there.
Acts 23:11
“You must testify in Rome.”
Acts 27:24
“You must stand before Caesar.” In this way, the flow of this work keeps happening, one after another.
All of you must take hold of this. So the very first thing that all believers who carry out discipleship movements must do is to make known to those who have been saved what the secret of prayer is. Right? This is the secret of prayer. You must not miss this.
Healing? We must heal first. You came all the way here from a foreign country to Korea? That is no ordinary thing. Heal first. Someone crossed over here from North Korea? We must heal first. They carry many wounds. They cannot speak of them. Living in Korea actually becomes harder for them later on. Why? Because we have not delivered to these people the oil that heals them. It is difficult.
And what is it? The way we truly help these people, the way we genuinely help them, must be this blessing (the main point). Right? Do we keep making them into permanent objects of charity forever? In a sense, that is doing it wrong. While carrying out welfare work, a work of the Holy Spirit must occur in which the recipients of welfare are transformed into missionaries. You must always remember this.
That is why I have never made evangelism so difficult. I always made this preparation first. Once I make this preparation firmly first, then when the door opens, I go. It becomes an enormous grace. Because I have already received the answer before I even go. I go and see the person God has already prepared —
Is this the person or not? That is the first thing I look at directly. The person God has prepared understands even when spoken to in difficult terms. What do I look at next? Whether this person is a disciple or not — that is the question. When they are not yet a disciple, I stay longer. I keep going. When it becomes clear, “This is a disciple,” then it is finished. I make this person come to church, and I move on to another area.
A true disciple does not waver. False disciples get sulky when you treat them well for a while and then fail to treat them well. Isn’t that so? That makes them false. If you treat someone well like this and then one day something happens that upsets them, or they suffer some loss of benefit, they betray you. Even after receiving 99 kinds of help, if you fail them in one thing, they say they are hurt. A disciple is not like that. A disciple, regardless of any help received, comes to discover the power of God.
What would God want? If we are not careful, we can easily do the wrong thing. Everywhere I went on the mission field, I would think, “Ah, this is the opposite of what God wants…” and yet keep doing the opposite. These people have no interest at all in that. What are they interested in? What will be given to them — that is what they are interested in. When I actually went to the mission field, I thought, “Ah, is this really how it has to be?”
I have told this story a few times before. As soon as Russia’s doors opened, I went there. I traveled for fourteen days that time, holding a mission conference. It was not something I organized — it was organized by the Koshin denomination, and they invited me as the speaker, so I went. I traveled together with the Koshin denomination’s moderator and other pastors like that. It was chaos, sheer chaos. This person asked me bluntly, “What did you bring?” That is the first thing they ask. At that time I spoke up, since I was the speaker. I said let’s not give out whatever it was we were giving. They were coming to receive bread, that’s all. I watched this for several days, and that night, after seeing it, I came back to my lodging at the hotel, and there I made my decision.
I had thought Russia had become a nation of beggars, but it was not so. At night, an enormous number — in today’s terms — of Maybachs and Mercedes-Benzes, cars like that, kept streaming in one after another, at night. They kept coming continuously into the underground parking lot of that huge hotel. It seemed their gathering had a set time. Streaming in. They were probably going to party all night. Russia was not a nation of beggars. We were the ones using the wrong mission strategy right now.
So the next day I said it plainly: let’s stop giving out bread. That missionary said that if we don’t give bread, they won’t come. Still, I said let’s not give it out, just this once. Because I insisted so much, it seems he went ahead and announced that we would not be giving anything out. Since I am only human too, after that announcement I grew worried that night. I really did wonder, “What if, just as that man said, not a single person shows up?” But it turned out to be his own misunderstanding. So many people came that, in the crush, the glass window was broken.
We must do this well. We must give them life, and we must make them know the power of the Holy Spirit — we must give them the oil and then leave. That is what I mean — we must make them possess it themselves. In missions, in evangelism, if we do the opposite of what God wants, what result comes of it? Then something terrible happens. We must be sure to remember this. I bless you in the name of the Lord Jesus to take hold of this important covenant today and begin to pray. Let us pray.
Prayer
We give thanks to God. We give thanks for the grace that allows us to carry out this ministry of healing and welfare through today’s dedication worship. Let us become spiritual disciples who prepare the oil. Let us become witnesses who save the whole world with this power. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.