All I Want for Christmas (Titus 3.3-8 and Matthew 1.18-25)

Introduction

“All I want for Christmas… is you” was a hit for Mariah Carey in 1994. Or, you might be more familiar with an older song with a similar title. “All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth.” (I think that one was a hit for Count Dracula). Actually it was recorded in 1949 by Spike Jones and the City Slickers.

If you have two front teeth missing, it’s not hard to see why you would want to get them back on Christmas morning. Biting into your roast turkey calls for a decent set of top teeth, but I’ve always thought it was a bit unambitious to wish for nothing more than a set of dentures in your Christmas stocking.

What are you hoping to open tomorrow morning? I asked my family at the dinner table the other night and one said “a drum kit” (that was the cat), one said “a handbag” (that wasn’t me) and one, just to make the others feel guilty said “world peace.”

According to xmaselves.co.uk the top 10 presents for girlfriends last year included the Thornton’s I Love Chocolate hamper and Fuzzy Feet Pig Slippers.

The top 10 presents for boyfriends in 2009 included Cookery Courses with Professional Chefs (“Wow, thank you darling, that is just what you always wanted!”) and, at £9.95 each, self stirring mugs. Here’s what the maker says about them – “The Plain Lazy Self Stirring Mug is the ultimate gift for that person you know who is into DDIY (Don’t Do It Yourself)! Simply flick the switch located on the top of the handle and the mechanism will stir your cup of tea for you!”

What do you really want for Christmas? Beyond some nice new lingerie or something frivolous for the man who has everything, or what you always get – if tomorrow morning you could have anything you liked what would you choose?

The Me I Want to Be

I’m reading a book by John Ortberg called The Me I Want to Be which is about our personalities and how there are several versions of us.

The real ‘me’ is the person I am when no one is looking. This is our true self, it’s who we really are.

But there are other me’s as well.
· There’s the ‘me’ I don’t want to be.
· There’s the ‘me’ I pretend to be.
· There’s the ‘me’ I think I should be.
· There’s the ‘me’ other people want me to be.
· There’s also the ‘me’ that I want other people see.

We hope that this ‘me’ is the very best version of us there is; the smiling, laughing, popular ‘me.’ Most of us like to make sure this ‘me’ happy, intelligent, important or funny. The thing is, most of us find it hard to keep this version of us going forever – or sometimes it falls apart.

Like the army lieutenant who wanted to impress people about how important he was. So when a junior soldier knocked on his door he pretended to be on the phone with the Big Cheese so that everyone would know he really was a ‘somebody’. “OK, General, you can count on me. Goodbye Sir” and he slammed the receiver down. He then looked up. “Well Private, what do you want?” “I’ve come to connect your telephone line, Sir.”

One of our fears is that the real ‘me’ will be unmasked - and with good reason. What if Wikileaks published everything you have ever written or what if every private conversation you ever had was secretly recorded by an undercover journalist and put into the public domain?

The discomfort we feel about that is what the Bible calls ‘sin’ and that is what Jesus came to save us all from. That’s why our Gospel reading means when it says “You are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Why Jesus Came

Our reading from the letter to Titus tonight talks about another ‘me.’ It’s the ‘me’ I once was. Or rather it’s the ‘me’ Saint Paul says he was. And he says “At one time we… were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.”

It’s an ugly list but I must honestly say that I would have to plead guilty to everything on that list at some time in my life - and I’m a vicar. That’s the ‘me’ I used to be… And in truth some of that still creeps into the real ‘me’ now at times.

There’s an old African American prayer I like to say when I think about all this and it goes like this: “I ain’t what I oughta be, I ain’t what I wanna to be, I ain’t what I’m gonna be but, thank God almighty, I ain’t what I used to be neither.”

What about the ‘me’ that God sees? He sees all your ‘me’s’ at once; your past, your present and your future; he was there before you were born and he knows the moment you will take your last breath. He knows you through and through, he searches the secrets of the heart, from your darkest darkness to the best you can be. And, oh how he loves you – enough to send his only Son to find you when you are most lost.

After Paul’s frank admission about his wretchedness he goes on to explain why God decided to initiate the first Christmas. He says “But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.”

Jesus did not come to save the perfect ‘me’ I want to be
or the ideal ‘me’ others want me to be,
or the false ‘me’ I pretend to be,
but the real ‘me’ – perhaps that’s the ‘me’ I don’t want to be, but it’s who I really am when no one is looking.

That’s the ‘me’ God loves. That’s the ‘me’ God is waiting to be loved by.

Ending

So when you’re opening your Fuzzy Feet Pig Slippers or Plain Lazy Self Stirring Mug tomorrow - or whatever it is you get - remember that God’s Christmas number One is the same tune every year. “All I want for Christmas… is you.”


Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, December 24th 2010

If Jesus Had Never Been Born

Introduction

I expect most of you will be familiar with the James Stewart film “It's a Wonderful Life.” It’s a feel good film in which the main character gets to see what his town would have been like, if he had never been born.

Last year I started to make a list of what our world would be like if Jesus had never been born. I was amazed at how long the list was and it became obvious to me quite quickly that this world would be a much darker and duller place if we were still waiting for the first Christmas.

This thought might come as something of a surprise to many because it seems that whenever the merits or otherwise of Christianity are debated on the radio or TV, someone says that religion just leads to more hatred and war. I'm amazed at how few people challenge this notion.

If the First and Second World Wars had been started by the Pope and the Archbishop of Canterbury I'd understand it! The fact is that the world was torn apart many times by wars before Jesus was born.

"Yes," they say, "but what about the Crusades?" The flaw in this logic is that those appalling events 800 years ago were in direct defiance of Jesus’ own teaching. Jesus said “Love your enemies." He said "If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also." He said "Blessed are the peacemakers.”

So let’s think about what life would really be like today if Jesus had never been born.

Everyday Life

There is so much we take for granted that would be completely different. If Jesus had never been born, this would not be 2010 AD because AD means the year of our Lord.

If Jesus had never been born, towns we know as St. Albans, St. Petersburg, San Francisco, Christchurch, Corpus Christi, Santa Cruz and Bishop Auckland would all have a different name.

If Jesus had never been born everybody you know called Christine, Christian, or Christopher would be called something else.

If Jesus had never been born, many idioms would never have entered our every day speech; Good Samaritan, prodigal son, wolf in sheep’s clothing, love your neighbour, go the second mile, do unto others as you would have them do to you, turn the other cheek and salt of the earth; all of which were coined by Jesus.

Christmas

If Jesus had never been born, we would never have heard of Santa Claus. That fat bearded man in a red velvet suit is based on a real person; a generous Christian bishop from Turkey who gave impoverished girls dowries so that they would not have to become prostitutes.

If Jesus had never been born, we would never have heard a single Christmas carol or Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus.

Social progress

If Jesus had never been born, we would have never heard of Martin Luther King or Mother Teresa. Blacks in America would still be second class citizens and the poor of Calcutta would have no one to love them.

If Jesus had never been born, organizations such as the Samaritans, Christian Aid, the Red Cross and the Salvation Army would never have been founded. Life for the suicidal, the sick, the hungry and the world’s poor would be much, much worse.

If Jesus had never been born the first free hospital in the 4th Century would never have been built – and nor would tens of thousands after it.

If Jesus had never been born, the slave trade might still be here, since it was opposed almost single-handedly on Christian principles by a Christian politician - William Wilberforce.

Education

If Jesus had never been born, thousands of schools would never have opened and church schools in Britain today wouldn’t have long waiting lists.

If Jesus had never been born, Oxford, Cambridge, Paris Sorbonne, Princeton, Harvard and Yale Universities would not have opened.

The Arts

If Jesus had never been born, we wouldn’t have much priceless classical art including Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling.

If Jesus had never been born, we would have no films such as It’s a Wonderful Life, Ben Hur, Chariots of Fire, the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, and scores of others.

If Jesus had never been born, we would have no Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, no Dickens’s Christmas Carol, and no The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.

If Jesus had never been born, we would never have heard “Amazing Grace” or “Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring.”

Civic Life

If Jesus had never been born, we would never have had a national anthem which addresses God and asks him to save; we would probably be a pagan nation worshipping the sun and the moon as fertility symbols.

If Jesus had never been born we would never swear on the Bible in court or say that anything is gospel truth.

International Affairs

If Jesus had never been born the net flow of immigration in the world today would not be from non Christian countries to Christian ones – because they’d be no more desirable places to live.

If Jesus had never been born, the Auca Indians of Ecuador would still be spearing white men to death instead of baptizing their children.

If Jesus had never been born, the Arawakan natives of the Caribbean would still be cannibals.

If Jesus had never been born, descendents of the Maya in Mexico would still sacrifice their children instead of teaching them to praise their Creator.

Ending - The Heart of the Matter

If Jesus had never been born, hundreds of Old Testament prophecies would have remained unfulfilled. Death would not have been conquered. God would be a liar.

If Jesus had never been born, three wise men would have just been three wise guys.

If Jesus had never been born, there would be no mediator between God and man, for the only one able to bring God and man together, Christ Jesus, would have been as fictitious as the tooth fairy. We would still be dead in our sins with no hope of eternal life.

If Jesus had never been born, the risen Christ wouldn’t be here tonight, waiting for you to give your heart to him in faith.

What a difference Jesus makes!

Happy Christmas. And thank God for Jesus!


Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees and St Mary's Long Newton, 19th December 2010

Jesus is Coming - Get Busy! (Matthew 25.14-30)

Introduction

Last week I was preaching on the parable of the 10 bridesmaids and I said during that talk that I had a burning and unfulfilled ambition. For the benefit of those of you who were not there I said that I would love to jump out of an aeroplane with a parachute. Well now, on Thursday Terry Doyle came up to me and said “Gram’ll fix it” – or words to that effect.

Sowing Seeds Ministries are going to make arrangements for my dream to come true - on condition that they can sabotage my equipment… (No seriously, on condition that it is a fundraising jump for Sowing Seeds Ministries). So, providing I pass the medical, I’ll be jumping out of a plane for Sowing Seeds Ministries sometime next year. Result!

Actually, I forgot to say that I have another ambition; I’ve always wanted to go on a four week, all expenses paid, luxury holiday in the Bahamas!

We’ve been going through Matthew 24 and 25 over the last few weeks which are all about the future return in majestic splendour of Jesus Christ. He will come in glory to judge the living and the dead. And we have summarised Jesus’ straight talking in those two chapters of Scripture as follows. Jesus is coming so wise up, watch out, wake up and (today) get busy. Get busy, because when he returns he’s going to ask us what we’ve been doing with our lives and he’s going to want that we have something to show for it.

I’m going to break this passage down to 3 sections of 3. So we’re going to talk about 3 ideals, 3 facts about our future, and 3 options open to us.

Three Ideals

The first ideal comes in v14. It’s the principle that nothing I have belongs to me.

[The kingdom of heaven] will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them.

As Psalm 24.1 says, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” And I’ve looked up that word “everything” and it means “every thing.” It’s all God’s. When I look at everything in my life; my home, my car, my time, my books, my modest talents, my dreams, my memories and my bank balance - which is even more modest than my talents by the way - God… owns… all of it.

To say that God really owns all my time, every one of my talents and abilities, and the sum total of my treasure is to say that he controls the rights. Whatever he wants and when he wants it - it is all his.

When your kids pass their driving test you have to negotiate that most painful of all rights of passage – the ceremonial lending of the car keys. As parents, you entrust your car to your offspring. But there is never any question that you can withhold your car keys at any time, for any reason. Your kids only have responsibilities (i.e. to return that vehicle in exactly the state they found it). But you keep all the rights. Oh yes! In the same way, every single minute I live, every single ability I have, every single pound I spend comes from someone else - God. We may possess much but we own nothing.

That is what it means to say “Jesus is Lord.” He’s the boss, he owns it all. I own nothing. The Bible says “No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.” Which is why if you are filled with the Holy Spirit you get this.

If you own your own home, take a walk around your property when you get home to get a feel for the reality of this principle. You may have the title deeds to it, but that document only reflects your right to possess that pile of bricks as long as you live, not forever. “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”

If I truly believe that God owns all my time, all my talents, and all my treasure, then I am bound to use these resources for his purpose and pleasure. And in doing so my joy is released and I feel really alive,

The second ideal comes from v15 which says, “To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability.”

Ideal number 2 is to say “I will be satisfied with what I have.”

Are you a five bag person, a two bag person or a one bag person? I don’t know. God knows. But whatever your lot in life God is looking for an attitude of gratitude.

The Lord has given you opportunities for service in accordance with your ability to make use of them. We don’t have equal abilities and we do not have the same opportunities. But on the day of judgement, the number of opportunities for service will not matter. The question will be, “Have you been faithful in the use of your time, your talents and your treasure?”

The third ideal comes out of v16-18 which say that the first two doubled their money but the third one dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s investment.

Ideal number 3 is obvious. I commit to investing the time, talents and treasure I have, and not waste my life doing nothing.

Three Facts About the Future

As well as giving us 3 challenges to living according to kingdom principles, Jesus gives us here 3 facts about the future.

Fact 1. A day of reckoning will certainly come. Verse 19:

“After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.”

When Jesus told this story, I believe he was implying that he did not expect his return to be imminent. He says “after a long time.” I think he was hinting that a relatively extended period of history would have to elapse before his return.

2 Peter 3:4-9 says this: “[People] will say, ‘Where is this coming he promised? … Everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.’ … But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

How different would your life look if, before every decision you made, you asked yourself a simple question; “How is this going to look on the day of judgement?”

Fact number 1; a day of reckoning will surely come. Which would be extremely daunting and nerve-wracking if it were not for fact number 2 which comes out in v20-23. Those who are faithful, will be fruitful and will be rewarded.

The men who had received five and two bags of gold showed the master that they had doubled his investment. In each case the master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”

Sometimes people say “The Lord does not call us to be fruitful, only to be faithful.” Have you ever heard that? Well, it’s wrong. The Lord expects fruitfulness in our lives. “I have appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last” said Jesus. The master here multiplied his blessing on his servants after they had shown their faithfulness. But how did he know they had been faithful? It’s because they were fruitful.

So fact 2; those who are faithful will be fruitful and will be rewarded. Conversely, fact number 3 is this: Those who are lazy and unproductive will be condemned.

Listen again very carefully to v24-30. Jesus is giving a sober warning and he is deadly serious.

“Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. Take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags.’

For those who have will be given more, and they will have an abundance. As for those who do not have, even what they have will be taken from them.

‘And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”

According to Jesus, one of the distinguishing marks of a true Christian is generous service. He says here that eternal destruction comes to those who never lift a finger, who never give a bean and who invest nothing of what they’ve been entrusted into the Lord’s work. Zero service, zilch giving and idle prayerlessness are sad outcomes of a life that is completely unchanged by grace.

How can anyone call themselves a Christ-follower and not have a heart for giving, for serving, for sharing, for praying, for being a blessing to others?

Three  Choices

So then there are three choices open to us concerning the investment of our time, our talent, and our treasure.

Choice 1; do a lot with a lot. That’s what the first servant did, doubling the abundance that what he was entrusted with.
The church has had many five-bag heroes down the years who have done a lot with a lot. Martin Luther King won civil rights for blacks in the USA. William Wilberforce abolished the slave trade in Britain. Mother Teresa saved countless lives in the slums of Calcutta.

Choice 2; do a lot with a little. That’s what the second servant did, doubling the relatively small amount that he was entrusted with.

Note the principle here. We are 100% accountable to God whatever our level of giftedness. Some people think: “O, because I only have modest gifts I have less responsibility.” No! In this story, the master came back and asked those who had received much and those who had received little exactly the same questions.

Thank God for Christians who do a lot with a lot. Thank God for Billy Graham and Hudson Taylor and Nicky Gumbel and Bono and Mike Pilavachi.

But there are many more Christians who have done a lot with just a little. I read about a woman this week who was preparing a box of supplies to be sent to a Christian mission in India. A little girl gave her a penny and the woman used it to buy one tract explaining God’s plan of salvation. Eventually, that little tract was put into the hands of a community leader and was instrumental in leading him to faith in Christ. The man told his community about his faith. Many of them believed. A church was established there and over 1,500 local people became Christians - because one person was willing to let God do much with the little she had.

One day every person who trusted Christ as a result of the chain of events that that little girl’s gift started will say, “Thank you for doing a lot with a little.”

The third choice, which is no option at all, is to do nothing.

You might be thinking, “Why was the third servant treated so harshly? At least he gave back what he had originally been given.”

But Jesus is teaching us here that God does not expect to find us at the end totally unchanged from the way he found us at the beginning. He expects us to discover, develop and deploy what he has placed in us by grace.

Those who have not been given much in the way of time, talents, and treasure can be tempted to think, “When I have more, I’ll start giving more. But for now I’ve got hardly any time, I’m not good at doing very much and I’m always skint so I’m not in a position to invest more at this time.

That won’t wash with Jesus! He says here that faithfulness and fruitfulness are nothing to do with whether you started with a lot or a little. Being a good steward or a wicked and lazy steward doesn’t depend on how much you have.

You can be a wicked and lazy steward with a lot or a good steward with a little. You can be a wicked and lazy steward with a little or a good steward with a lot.

The point is this: not everyone is going to hear the words “Well done, good and faithful servant. Come and share your master’s happiness” on the Day of Judgement.

Ending

I began by talking about Pam’s stepmother and Mark’s father. Well, I want to finish by saying that I lost a father this week as well. He was a spiritual father. Owen Thomas was vicar of Saint Stephen’s Canonbury in North London where Kathie and I were based when we were first married and he preached at our wedding.

Owen was one of the most significant people in my life when I was a young believer. He had an unflinching faith in the power of the gospel and his consistent Godly character left an indelible mark on me. I praise God for a long life well lived.

His son Andrew wrote to me this week and said, “It's a real privilege to have been up close and personal to such a man of God, for all my life. I will miss him terribly.”

One of the things I will remember Owen for was his passion for talking to anyone and everyone about the Lord.

A tramp would come to the door asking for a meal so Owen would cook him up something tasty and say, “You know my friend what you really need is Jesus.”

An engineer would come from BT to work on the phones line so Owen would show him around and when he was done he’d say, “Thank you for fixing the phones young man but, you know, what you really need is Jesus.”

A woman would come round from the Choral Society asking if anyone from the church would be interested in their performance of Handel’s Messiah. Owen would give her a spontaneous rendering of the Halleluiah chorus, say he’d put a notice in the church notice sheet and then say, “But what you really need is Jesus.”

Well done, good and faithful servant. Come and share your master’s happiness!

Jesus is coming – get busy!


Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 19th December 2010 (with thanks to Rob Duncan for the outline and several of the illustrations)

Jesus is Coming - Wake Up! (Matthew 25.1-13)

Introduction

Less than two weeks to go before Christmas… Not even a fortnight to get the tree and decorations up, do all the food shopping, write and post all your cards, devise your plan to keep the kids occupied, get those last minute presents wrapped and psyche yourself up for the in-laws. How are you coping with the pressure?

But what if Christmas this year didn’t happen? Jesus said that the coming of the Son of Man will be when you least expect it. What if he were to return in power and glory when we were all stressing out over stuffing the turkey? What if he were to come back tonight? Never mind being ready for Christmas, are you ready for Christ?

As we approach Christmas and as we start to think back about what it means that Jesus, the Son of God, came to earth, we are thinking ahead as well to his return.

The first time Jesus came as the Prince of Peace, wearing a crown of thorns. When he returns as King of kings he will wear a crown of glory. The first time Jesus came his mission was to save the world. When he returns his mission is to judge it.

There are at least 45 specific and distinct prophecies in the Old Testament about the coming Messiah. For example he will be born in Bethlehem, he will speak in parables, he will be betrayed by a friend for 30 pieces of silver (not 29.99!), he will be hated for no reason, his hands and feet will be pierced, he will be buried with the rich and he will rise from the dead. These and dozens of other precise predictions were all fulfilled to the last detail in Jesus of Nazareth.

But for every prophecy about his first coming there are 8 concerning his second. One in every 30 verses of the New Testament is about the sudden and dramatic return of Jesus Christ.

God’s track record on prophecy fulfilment is flawless. This is why we must take seriously his promise to return in power and glory and take note of what he says about our being ready for it.

And my question to you this morning is simply this; if Jesus appears tonight in glory and majesty and might – and one day he certainly will - will you be found ready or caught unawares?

Context

This morning’s gospel reading is about a wedding, but not a wedding like any of us have been to, I’m sure. Every culture has its time-honoured wedding customs which appear curious, even bizarre, to those from other countries.

In China the groom’s family offer the gift of a whole roast pig to the bride’s family as an engagement gift and the bride wears red, not white.

In Finland the bride-to-be to walks from house to house with a pillowcase to collect her wedding presents.

In India the bride’s parents wash the couple’s feet with milk and water.

In Bulgaria the bride tosses a dish filled with wheat, coins and a raw egg over her head.

In Fiji the groom presents his bride’s father with a gift of a whale’s tooth.

In Greece they smash dishes on the floor for good luck and throw money at the musicians.

And in Venezuela the newlyweds sneak away from their own wedding reception without saying good-bye to anyone.

So it’s not surprising that, in Bible times, marriage etiquette was very different to ours today. I guess if they could observe an average British wedding they’d say to us “Why are they blowing - in one day - £20,000 they don’t have when they should be setting up home together?” And “Why does the bride’s father make a total lemon of himself dancing like an idiot after the reception?”

Let me tell you what a typical 1st Century Jewish wedding would look like. First of all, no white limousine; the bride, meticulously and beautifully adorned, would walk from her parents’ home to her future parents in laws’ home. That would save you a bob or two… There would be no online wedding lists; the bride would have wedding gifts carried in front of her on a sheet by friends and family members. When she arrived at her fiancé’s house, she would be welcomed in by her future in-laws.

But, unlike a Western wedding with the bridegroom waiting nervously at the altar, he is nowhere to be seen. He has already left with his mates to eat his last meal as a single man (so we’re talking steak and chips and plenty of beer). Finally, when his stag party is over, between 11 o’clock and 3 in the morning, he sets out with the lads to get back to his home where his bride-to-be and half the village are waiting.

The custom is that he can come back at any time of the night he wants. (Well, might as well start as you mean to go on)! Seriously, it’s the groom’s prerogative to be behind schedule, not the bride’s. And because it’s usually so late in the evening, the route to his home has to be lit up by bridesmaids holding oil lamps.

As soon as they hear the commotion of the bridegroom and his pals a few hundred yards down the road they light their lamps, greet him as he arrives and join in the procession.

The moment they all get to the groom’s house the doors are shut and the wedding starts straight away. If you’re late you miss it. The bride and groom sit down on two thrones and the groom’s father presides over the festivities.

In the story Jesus told, the groom took much longer than expected - in fact he and the lads were having such a great evening that no one could stay awake. And while they were all asleep five of the ten lamps ran out of oil and had to run off to fetch some more.

Perhaps the nearest equivalent in our culture would be a bridesmaid who discovered half an hour before the wedding that left her dress at home two hours drive away. What can she do? She can’t really follow the bride up the aisle in a lime green t-shirt and jeans can she?

The Point of the Story

So that is the background to this story. But Jesus didn’t say these words to tell us about someone’s nuptials.

It’s a story with a meaning. Jesus is the bridegroom who is late arriving. In fact, the Church has been waiting for his return since he ascended to heaven in about 33AD - that’s about 1,980 years now which is, let’s be honest, a long time to wait.

The point is very simple; the wise bridesmaids had anticipated the possible delay so they brought with them an adequate reserve of oil. The foolish bridesmaids were unprepared; their oil ran dry, their lamps went out, they were taken by surprise and so blew their chances of getting to the party.

10 bridesmaids were waiting. 10 were dressed up and looking their best. 10 fell asleep when the groom was late. 10 had lamps. 10 wanted to attend the celebration. But only 5 did because only 5 were ready when the bridegroom came.

Jesus will come again one day, perhaps in 10 years, maybe in 100 years, it could be tonight. The thing is are you ready?

That’s the shocking point of this story – it’s a warning. If Jesus comes tonight only those who are ready are getting in to the party of eternal life.

1) Knowing Jesus

Let me be absolutely clear about all this. Who do these bridesmaids represent? The wise ones stand for authentic followers of Jesus, who have encountered Christ and are now filled with the Holy Spirit (that’s what the oil is all about).

The foolish ones are casual believers if you like; they might even be churchgoers, but they have never really been converted to Christ. They’re lukewarm about Jesus, they’re embarrassed to talk about their beliefs such as they are. They are indifferent to the gospel.

5 bridesmaids dozed off in complete peace knowing that they would be ready in a flash. Jesus called them “wise.” And 5 went to sleep indifferent to the urgency of their situation. Jesus called them “foolish.” They were just negligent and lazy.

My friends, do not put off till later the most important thing in life. The more we approach the return in glory of the Lord Jesus the more pressing it is for us all to be ready for it.

2) Do It Now

I have a secret ambition that I’d like to share with you. I have a dream, one day, to jump out of an aeroplane with a parachute. For me, that is the thrill of adventure. Kathie, who usually likes my company, is nonetheless unwilling to be anywhere near me on this particular journey. By the way, if anyone here has a private plane and a second-hand parachute (in good condition) please see me after the service…

But one of the most terrifying nightmares imaginable is surely the one when you jump out of a plane, pull the parachute cord – and nothing happens. Feel the panic and anxiety as you plunge towards the earth watching everybody else above you descend gently down as, one by one, their canopies open normally. They can do nothing for you. They can’t carry a parachute for you. It’s too late.

Jesus means to say with this story that there’s no emergency parachute. Nobody can believe in your place. There comes a time when a toddler has to let go of the furniture and walk alone. There comes a time when the stabilisers have to come off a child’s bike so he can learn to balance on two wheels. There comes a time when a bird has to leave its nest and fly. There comes a time when an adult has to stop coming home to mummy. There comes a time when you have to believe for yourself and not lean on someone else’s faith.

The foolish bridesmaids saw - in alarm - that their oil had run dry so they asked the others if they could borrow some but that isn’t possible. The wise bridesmaids said in v9, “No. There won’t be enough for both of us.”

Someone else’s faith is not enough for you. If you were brought up in a Christian home that’s great (well, usually!) but that doesn’t make you a Christian. If you have Christian friends, that’s a good thing (well, usually!) but that doesn’t make you a Christian either. You can’t borrow salvation from a friend and you can’t inherit it from your parents.

What do we need to do then? The wise bridesmaids say in v9 “Go… and buy some for yourselves.”

Christ is the source of light and grace. John 1.9 calls him “The true light that gives light to everyone.” Come to him before it’s too late! Oh, how I pray that for each person here today the moment of death will not be the time to realise that we have no oil, that we are spiritually bankrupt!

There comes a point when it is too late. The return of Jesus Christ will be abrupt, sudden and unexpected. The Bible says he will return at a time when people least expect him. He will come in royal power and unparalleled glory. Before anyone realises what is happening it will be done. The king will have appeared in all his splendour. And when he is here there will be no time for the doubters, the sceptics and those who will get round to spiritual things later.

Listen to the panic in the voices of the foolish bridesmaids in v11: “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. Later the others also came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they said. ‘Open the door for us!’”

There comes a point when it is too late. Listen to the sober finality in the voice of the bridegroom: “Truly I tell you, I don’t know you” Jesus will say. There comes a point when it is too late.

Ending

It would be a big mistake if I were to end my address now saying, “Well folks, that’s all for today, let’s pray as we close.” That would be grossly negligent. So I return to my question at the beginning of this talk; “If Jesus comes back tonight will you be ready?”

If you know Jesus Christ personally – and you know that this faith is not just borrowed from somebody else – and you understand that this is not the kind of question you can put off indefinitely well, you are ready. Your lamp is burning brightly and you have plenty of oil.

But if you cannot honestly say “Yes” to that question, I want to invite you to make a step of faith this morning.

There is nothing more exciting, more wonderful, more marvellous than meeting the Jesus Christ, the Lord of lords, and sealing your eternal destiny. It is a considerable step to make but it is simple to do. You basically need to say three things; “sorry, thank you and please.”

Sorry; “Almighty God, I am sorry for everything I have ever done and thought and said that is wrong. I want to leave behind me today everything that is not right in my life - the whole lot.”

Thank you: “Almighty God, thank you for sending Jesus to earth. Thank you for the gracious gift of forgiveness and new life that spring from the cross he died on in my place. I accept that gift now. I receive all this from you freely today.”

Please; Almighty God, please by the Holy Spirit come and live in my heart from this day on and forever. Fill my life with you. Let heaven be in my heart. Amen.”

If anyone here today has said that prayer in their hearts I’d like to meet with you after the service. I have a little booklet I’d like to give you and I’d like to pray with you and say a few words of encouragement.


Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 12th December 2010