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(~) Are You Ready to Enter the Kingdom of Heaven?

November 6, 2005

Amos 5:18-24 or
Wisdom of Solomon 6:12-16
Psalm 70 or
Wisdom of Solomon 6:17-20
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Matthew 25:1-13

Are You Ready to Enter the Kingdom of Heaven?

Christ will return for a glorious and holy church without faults or spots
or wrinkles or any other flaws (Ephesians 5:27). Are you ready for his
return?

The parable that Jesus tells his disciples in Matthew 25:1-13 relates the
church to ten virgins. Virgin, by definition, means to be in a pure state
without faults -- perfect and sinless. Scripture tells us that Christ
loved the church and gave his life for her, so that he might sanctify and
cleanse her with the washing of water by the word of God (Ephesians 5:25b,
26) -- the lamp that guides us in right
living (Psalm 119:105).

Five of the virgins were foolish and five were wise. The two groups of
virgins represent two different groups in the church. The ones with the
oil were like a bride dressed in her wedding gown and ready to meet her
husband (Revelation 21:2), while those who had used up their oil simply
were not ready.

Jesus wants each of us to be a lamp that gives a lot of light. If the oil
within our hearts is pure, the lamp will keep burning. It is our faith in
Jesus Christ that makes us ready (pure, righteous and acceptable to God).
Because we acknowledge and confess with our lips that Jesus is Lord, and
in our hearts believe (adhere to, trust in and rely on the truth) that God
raised him from the dead, we will be
saved. For with the heart we believe (adhere to, trust in and rely on
Christ), and so we are justified (declared righteous, acceptable to God),
and with the mouth we confess (declare openly and speak out freely our
faith) and testify to our salvation (Romans 10:9,10).

What does it mean to be ready? Being ready means:

to obey and do what pleases God -- always eager to do right (Hebrews 13:21);

to honor Christ and let him be the Lord of your life (1 Peter 3:15); to
give an answer when someone asks you about your hope (1 Peter3:15);

and to suffer as Christ did, because suffering shows that you have stopped
sinning (1 Peter 4:1).

Persecutions, trials, and temptations are those troubles that get us ready
for an eternal glory that will make all our earthly troubles seem
inconsequential (2 Corinthians 4:17). If we put on the armor that God
gives, then we will be able to defend ourselves (Ephesians 6:13); and when
the battle is over, we will be left standing firm, ready to meet Jesus,
our groom. We must stay alert and let our faith and love be like a suit of
armor. Our firm hope that we will be saved is our helmet (1 Thessalonians
5:8), and our