Borrowed Oil
Pastor Darryl Bentley
Midland SDA Church
April 23, 2011
Homiletical Idea: Being ready for the second coming of Christ requires that we each have a measure of the Holy Spirit living in us. Having the Spirit is not something that we get from others, but must obtain our own measure from the Lord. While we cannot give or loan the Holy Spirit to someone else we can certainly lead someone to the place where they can obtain God’s Spirit. There is no such thing as borrowed oil. We either have the Holy Spirit in our lives or we do not. We cannot receive Him from others, but they can lead and disciple us so that we can receive Him ourselves.
Buddy Diving
I have always been fascinated with scuba diving. The ability to go down beneath the surface of the water has long been surrounded by mystery and awe for many. I can recall the first time I got to experience using scuba equipment and swimming down below.
My in-laws got their certification and took us out to Lake James there in North Carolina. We went over to one side of the lake where there was little human activity and we prepared to enter the water and go down. We walked in from the shore and just went down about twenty feet. The lake is fed by the Linville River which runs cold year-round and so the lake feels pretty cold fairly quickly when you get down below where the sun’s rays can penetrate and warm.
Being down on the bottom of the lake even at that shallow depth was really neat. I could see and track fish swimming along the bottom and see what was lying down below. The fins allowed me to swim with great ease despite having the extra weight of the oxygen tank, regulator, and mask.
Since that little incursion I have always wanted to get my own certification and do more diving. Maybe that can become a reality someday. But in my reading about diving I have learned about a few things. One is that diving can be really dangerous if you do not plan properly and another is that conditions under the water can be life threatening. One thing divers can do to mitigate some of the danger is to dive with a buddy.
Buddy diving is where divers dive in pairs. Experts say that divers of equal ability and experience make the best buddies, but I certainly think that a more experienced diver can also be of great help to a novice. Not only can a more experienced diver offer technical assistance in diving and getting back to the surface of the water, but buddies can help with entrapment in nets or ropes, they can share oxygen if one runs low or breathes so fast that they deplete their own supply. Truly having a buddy during a dive can make the dive more fun, but more than that it can save your life.
The Army had a similar concept they called battle buddies. We were not supposed to go anywhere except the latrine alone. We were mandated to be with another Soldier at all times in combat to increase the chances of survival for both.
The Ten Virgins and Its Symbols
I believe that this same concept of having a dive or battle buddy has lots of merit in the church too. Jesus even believed in and told His disciples to function the same way. We see it in how He sent the disciples out two by two (Mark 6:7) and we see this in His parable of the ten virgins.
As we all know, Jesus often spoke in parables. He did this because He wanted to give examples that people could relate to. He used comparisons with everyday activities of life to reveal the most profound truths. The parables also served to protect that precious truth from those who did not care about spiritual things. For the mind that was not seeking God Jesus appeared simply as a good man telling stories, but for those that were seeking spiritual growth and a connection with the Lord the stories brought hope and a call to holiness.
Such was the possibility for those who heard the parable of the ten virgins. Jesus began by saying that the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. They would often wait and meet the groom to accompany him to the home of the bride that he might claim her as his own and take her to his home.
The Virgins
Most of us are very familiar with this parable. We know that the virgins represent those who are waiting for Jesus to come and take His bride, the church home with Him. We see this in Paul’s writings too. In 2 Corinthians we see this.
**Read 2 Corinthians 11:2**
Here the language is clear. Paul understands that in order for us to be ready to meet our Lord we must not allow ourselves to married to this world, but we must remain chaste and pure from defilement. We see this same sentiment echoed in Romans 12 where we are told to not be conformed to this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.
The number ten here is not of any specific significance, but more just an even number Christ used to tell the story. Foolish and wise are adjectives used to describe the nature of those who make up the group. The wise represent those who made the proper preparations for the Bridegroom. The foolish did not make adequate preparations to ensure that they were ready to meet the Lord. Both groups are Christians who wanted to meet the Lord. Both were faithful outwardly, but only one group had the oil they needed to become part of the wedding procession.
The Groom
Jesus is of course the Groom who will come to claim that which He has ransomed from this world of sin and heartache. We can read in John, 1 Thessalonians, Revelation, and other places how He is planning to come and take us home. One of my favorite promises is found in John 14. **Quote John 14:1-3** We can know and trust that Jesus is coming soon to collect those whom He has purchased with His own blood. When Jesus makes a promise is not made according to the fleeting standard of men but according to the standard of God.
The Oil
Each virgin had on their person a lamp used to light the way in the wedding procession. Those lamps required oil. Most of us recognize that the oil is representative of God’s Holy Spirit. A vision was shown to Zerubbabel in Zechariah 4:1-14 that shows this comparison more fully. When I anoint people for healing I use oil as we are instructed to do so in the book James chapter 5. The Holy Spirit accomplishes the healing and the oil is representative of the Holy Spirit coming to that person.
No doubt we all understand this parable and its related symbols. This is not new information that I bring to you today, but rather a brief review as I attempt to make a new point to you today.
Discovering Discipleship
Over the past several weeks together we have been talking about the concept of discipleship and even during prayer meeting we have begun talking about how our church can become more discipleship-centric. Today as we consider this very familiar parable of Christ, I submit to you that we can find many lessons in discipleship.
First, let’s consider the make-up of the virgins. We talked about this a little already, but let’s get deeper now. There was a group of virgins waiting. Yes, they represent the church that is waiting to meet Christ and yes, only half of them were actually ready to meet Him when He came. Yes, half were called wise and half were called foolish. Yes, half were filled with the Holy Spirit and half were not.
But we need to ask the question, “Why were only half of them ready?” Why did only half of the virgins have the Holy Spirit? Was it because they did not know about Him? No. Each one had a measure of the Spirit of God, but some did not have enough. How much of the Spirit did they have? They had enough to be convicted that they needed to come and meet Jesus. Each of us has a measure of the Spirit because we see Him bring us to a point of making a decision to follow Christ to one degree or another.
All of those that were waiting for the bridegroom were Christians who knew about the Lord and His will for their lives. None who waited for Him were ignorant of the Lord and what He had done to save them. What they lacked was the level of commitment that caused them to be intimately connected with the Spirit of the living God. Why did they lack that commitment? Is it possible that the wise virgins could have done more to help equip their spiritual dive buddies?
Borrowing Oil
Another aspect of this parable is that oil was not transferred from one virgin to another. When the so-called foolish virgins came to a point of needing more oil they were not able to receive more from their wise counterpart. Unlike divers who can share oxygen in an emergency we cannot simply cause the Holy Spirit to flow from us to another person. If we are found to be among the foolish virgins we cannot just borrow some Oil from someone else. We must go to the source ourselves.
Leading vs. Sending
Although we cannot receive the Holy Spirit from anther believer, there is a role that the so-called wise virgins play in assuring that the foolish have enough oil. I think we can also look at this parable and see a possible failure of the wise to minister to the foolish. How so you may ask. What if the wise virgins had taken the time to inquire of the foolish about their standing with the Lord? What if the wise had taken steps to ensure that all who waited were actually ready and not just part of the group?
In Revelation Jesus speaks to the churches in Asia Minor. Seven churches received messages from the Lord that had both local and global applications. Laodicea was one such church (Rev 3:14). They had works that were neither hot nor cold but rather lukewarm and useless. Yes, they were Christians and they worshipped the one true God of heaven, but they had come to a place in their religious experience where they were not zealous for the Lord. They were content with the status quo in their Christian experience and thought that they had spiritually arrived when in reality their riches were of earthly not heavenly value and because of such those believers were wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. Jesus counseled them to buy from Him gold—heavenly treasures—that have been purified with the fire of suffering and trial. He also offered them white garments of purity and eye salve that would allow them to see their condition and His righteousness. Could it be that the foolish virgins in this parable represent those Laodecian Christians who have an appearance of being ready but who are really empty of the Holy Spirit Oil necessary to be prepared to meet the Lord? I think so.
You may recall that the wise virgins were asked about giving some of their oil to the foolish. What was the response of the wise when the foolish wanted some of their oil? In Matthew 25:9 the wise told them to go out and buy for themselves. Could the story have turned out differently if the wise had acted differently? No, the wise could not give up their oil lest they also be unprepared to meet the Lord, but I wonder how the story could have been different if the wise had taken steps to call the foolish to a deeper level of commitment before the bridegroom came.
This is where discipleship comes into this parable. And here is the difference between leading and sending someone. Yes, there is a time to send but there is also a time to lead. A disciple is one who is willing to lead others, they are willing to train, teach, encourage, and model the life Jesus has called us to live.
*Retail Illustration* Have you ever gone into a store and had trouble locating something? Today’s stores are huge and it feels like sifting through a needle in a haystack sometimes to find something. I just love searching forever looking for an item and almost as long for someone to ask for help. I prefer shopping in a store where the associate will take the time to walk you over and offer assistance in finding the item. I do not like going to those stores who when you ask for help simply say, “It’s over in such and such section or on aisle whatever.” I prefer those stores that lead you rather than send you.
Being a faithful disciple is much the same. Yes, it’s a lot easier to just tell someone, “Go share your faith and tell the world hos Jesus has changed your life.” But it is much more effective to take them by the hand and say, “Let’s go tell the world how Jesus has changed our lives.”
This is how Jesus worked. Day after day He spent time with His disciples teaching them how to reach the lost, lonely, and hurting. Day after day He showed them through loving example how to meet the scoffers and nay-sayers. Through example Jesus taught His disciples how to love the un-lovable of society. Through example Jesus taught them to love those who were counted as national enemies, to love those who were considered unclean and unlearned.
Through personal instruction Jesus opened the Scriptures to them. Through personal effort He sought those who misunderstood or misinterpreted the Bible. This is our example: Jesus and His life ministry to the disciples and those that followed Him.
We Too Can Lead
Believe it or not all of us can be leaders just like Jesus was. Within our sphere of influence we too can lead others to Christ. No, we may not all be called to be preachers, evangelists or teachers, but we can all share how Jesus has changed our lives. Of course the obvious part of the equation is that we must have allowed Him to change our lives. If we have not drank from the Spring of Living Water how can we lead others to appreciate its value? If we have not eaten the Bread of Life how can we know that it satisfies? If we have not allowed the Holy Spirit to come into our lives and fill us with His life-giving power how we can we testify of how awesome it is to live for Him?
But when we have drunk and when we have tasted and when we have been filled we can and will testify with power and conviction. When we are connected to the Life-giver, Jesus Christ, we will be motivated by His intense love for others. When we are motivated by His love we will seek out the foolish virgins so to speak and look for how we can lead them to a deeper experience with the Lord. May it never be said of us that we simply sent others without first trying to lead them.
Yes, the parable was not intended to discuss things at this deeper level and the wise may have tried in times past to lead the foolish to have a deeper experience. My goal today is simply to encourage us to be vigilant and aware of those that we might encourage to a deeper walk with the Lord. This is the weekend that much of the Christian world pauses to remember the sacrifice that Jesus paid to redeem us. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to serve with other pastors from around the community for a Good Friday service. Yes, I know that we as Seventh-day Adventists do not do the whole Easter thing because of its ties to paganism, but we do affirm strongly that Jesus died for our sins and rose again on the third day to give us victory over sin and the grave.
Today, I believe that because Jesus lives now as our High Priest He can still teach us to teach others. He can still instruct us that we might instruct others. And I believe that Jesus wants us to lead others to Him and not merely send them.
**Teaching to Ride a Bike Illustration**