1 00:00:02,120 --> 00:00:04,480 Hey, welcome to the City Point Church podcast. 2 00:00:04,480 --> 00:00:07,280 Thanks for joining us. Every day is an opportunity to 3 00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:10,280 take hold of. So we hope this message inspires 4 00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:13,560 you and builds your faith that it helps you have more of a God 5 00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:15,960 perspective for your day. Enjoy you're. 6 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:19,160 Ready to receive something and lean in? 7 00:00:19,160 --> 00:00:21,080 Would you confess out loud tonight? 8 00:00:21,080 --> 00:00:27,200 My heart is open. My ears are alert to grow and 9 00:00:27,200 --> 00:00:32,640 change and never be the same. Full stop. 10 00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:40,080 Please be seated As lightning comes. 11 00:00:41,600 --> 00:00:45,600 Do we know what verse that's from As lightning comes? 12 00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:53,360 Matthew 24 verse 27, it says for as the lightning comes from the 13 00:00:53,360 --> 00:00:57,160 east and flashes to the West, that's pretty quick. 14 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:03,600 So also will the coming of the Son of Man, Jesus Christ be. 15 00:01:04,480 --> 00:01:08,680 You know what that's telling you and I it's going to happen real 16 00:01:08,680 --> 00:01:12,040 fast and it's going to be sudden. 17 00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:17,320 Who's ever been outside and you've heard a clap of lightning 18 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:21,040 just happen and sometimes you even look up and you can't even 19 00:01:21,040 --> 00:01:24,960 see the clouds, but sometimes you can't see the clouds. 20 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:27,480 So what is it? Is it going to rain? 21 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:30,600 Is it not going to rain? Is it going to come today or is 22 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:33,840 it going to come tomorrow? Well, the church has always 23 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:36,080 believed that he's coming right now. 24 00:01:36,400 --> 00:01:42,440 And I, I think, and I know in my life, I have to live my life 25 00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:48,040 with an urgency that Jesus is going to come back right now. 26 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:52,600 And when we lose that urgency, we lose effectiveness. 27 00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:57,920 When the church starts forgetting about the return of 28 00:01:58,040 --> 00:02:02,000 Jesus and he's just all concentrated on the blessings of 29 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:06,640 God, we lose an urgency and we lose effectiveness. 30 00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:11,600 He is a God blessing. He is someone who's interested 31 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:15,080 in your every moment and everything and every thought and 32 00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:18,800 every situation. But the reality is, is we have a 33 00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:21,880 mission you and I have been called to. 34 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:25,400 When you give your life to Jesus, you enter into a realm of 35 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:27,200 mission. You are a missionary. 36 00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:31,040 We have a purpose. We have a mandate on our lives. 37 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:35,800 And it's to see heaven come to earth and earth go to heaven, 38 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:39,240 whatever that looks like. Yeah, we can get into a theology 39 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:40,960 class, but we're not doing that here tonight. 40 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:47,480 The day or the hour of Jesus coming back for his people, we 41 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:52,680 do not know. But the season in which he comes 42 00:02:52,680 --> 00:02:57,960 back, we do know. And Church, lean in. 43 00:02:58,480 --> 00:03:00,600 Just lean forward for a bit. Can we all lean forward for a 44 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:02,560 bit? Listen to this. 45 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:07,320 We're in the season, We're in the season. 46 00:03:08,640 --> 00:03:11,960 So there's no waiting. There's no tomorrow's. 47 00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:16,360 There's no I'll sort it out tomorrow or just one more time 48 00:03:16,360 --> 00:03:20,600 and I'll deal with it tomorrow. This is the time you wanted me 49 00:03:20,600 --> 00:03:22,640 to prove it to you tonight from the word of God. 50 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:25,280 I'll do that anyway, whether you wanted me to or not. 51 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:27,400 It's just part of my message. It's it's what I got. 52 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:32,880 And so the season in which he comes back, we do not know, but 53 00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:37,520 we are in the season as lightning comes and goes. 54 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:42,280 We never know it's coming, but the signs are there. 55 00:03:42,880 --> 00:03:47,200 We have to be careful. Listen, that we do not explain 56 00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:52,720 away the current science. We need to make sure that we are 57 00:03:52,720 --> 00:03:57,080 truly seeing what's happening in the world around us. 58 00:03:57,080 --> 00:03:59,200 Listen, you don't have to understand. 59 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:01,960 You just have to know what's happening. 60 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:04,480 You don't have to have the correct doctrine. 61 00:04:04,480 --> 00:04:07,480 He that's not the the way we get into heaven. 62 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:12,440 The correct theology is not your passport into heaven, but 63 00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:17,240 knowing He is coming and being prepared for His coming is how 64 00:04:17,240 --> 00:04:19,880 you'll find yourself going to heaven. 65 00:04:20,079 --> 00:04:23,360 And dare I say I'm preaching to the church right now. 66 00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:29,120 Are you ready, Church? Now that's a question for the 67 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:30,640 church. We're going to see it in a 68 00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:35,880 moment because there is the church that isn't ready as well. 69 00:04:36,680 --> 00:04:38,640 And so I wonder who you are tonight. 70 00:04:38,640 --> 00:04:40,400 We're ready. You're ready. 71 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:43,680 We got one down here. Do I have another couple of 100 72 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:48,160 in the room? I don't want to pass through an 73 00:04:48,160 --> 00:04:51,080 unready church. I need people ready that are 74 00:04:51,080 --> 00:04:54,560 with me. We're going somewhere, we're 75 00:04:54,560 --> 00:04:59,480 doing something, we're reaching people because Jesus might come 76 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:03,400 back before you put your head on your pillow tonight, a man, you 77 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:06,920 might think, well, we don't know. 78 00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:12,920 But this we are in the science, we are in the season, we are 79 00:05:12,920 --> 00:05:15,160 seeing it. It's all around us. 80 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:19,160 And like lightning flashes, the word of God says will be the 81 00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:22,920 return of Jesus. Now the return, we don't know 82 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:25,720 really what that looks like. You know, Pastor John will have 83 00:05:25,720 --> 00:05:29,040 a better idea, but it will be wrong anyway, right? 84 00:05:29,040 --> 00:05:32,640 And he'll tell you that it's all of and everything. 85 00:05:32,640 --> 00:05:35,800 That's our answer. It's the theologians answer, 86 00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:38,840 we're all right and we're all wrong at the same time, but 87 00:05:38,840 --> 00:05:41,040 let's just wait and see what happens. 88 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:45,480 Just make sure you're ready because if you're waiting but 89 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:49,640 you're not ready, we're going to see in the Scriptures you will 90 00:05:49,640 --> 00:05:54,880 miss out coming to church. That's not how you get to 91 00:05:54,880 --> 00:05:59,600 heaven, saying I love you and I believe in you. 92 00:05:59,600 --> 00:06:01,560 Jesus. Belief doesn't get you into 93 00:06:01,560 --> 00:06:06,240 heaven. Faith does, but faith without 94 00:06:06,240 --> 00:06:11,520 works is dead also. So that means following Jesus is 95 00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:15,080 how you get into heaven because the devil has faith. 96 00:06:15,080 --> 00:06:17,200 But we're not going to. He's not going to be my next 97 00:06:17,200 --> 00:06:20,040 door neighbor. No way, No way. 98 00:06:20,320 --> 00:06:22,680 He's got a mansion prepared for us in heaven. 99 00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:24,520 Amen. We know that, right? 100 00:06:24,880 --> 00:06:28,480 And the devil's not your next door neighbor, but he, he knows 101 00:06:28,480 --> 00:06:32,080 God is real, but he wasn't ready. 102 00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:37,280 He was deceived. So as lightning comes, we never 103 00:06:37,280 --> 00:06:42,240 know, but the signs are here. So the question is, is are you 104 00:06:42,240 --> 00:06:46,520 seeing the signs? I recommend that everyone 105 00:06:46,520 --> 00:06:51,000 listening to this here tonight opens up the book of Matthew 106 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:56,960 this week and just reads chapter 24 and 25 and start to read that 107 00:06:56,960 --> 00:07:01,360 and just go, OK, God, speak to me here because I am ready. 108 00:07:01,520 --> 00:07:04,560 Nothing's going to stop me from being ready. 109 00:07:04,800 --> 00:07:09,800 There are discussions around how it is that Jesus is going to 110 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:13,360 return. Will followers of Jesus go 111 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:19,080 through the tribulation or not? Will we simply go up in the sky 112 00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:22,400 like the scriptures say that two are in the field and one just 113 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:25,120 disappears? I don't know who that is. 114 00:07:25,120 --> 00:07:27,320 I would it's it's not me or my wife. 115 00:07:27,320 --> 00:07:33,760 So we're both going so, but here's the greater issue. 116 00:07:34,640 --> 00:07:37,920 Here's the better question for for us here tonight. 117 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:41,040 It's not pre Trib, mid Trib, post Trib. 118 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:44,880 Just forget it. It's not it's not, you know, I'm 119 00:07:44,880 --> 00:07:46,720 saying this way or just forget it. 120 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:50,080 Just forget it all for a moment. Here's the question. 121 00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:54,800 Are you ready? Because you can add the theology 122 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:58,320 and you're going to miss it. It's not about all of that that 123 00:07:58,320 --> 00:08:04,040 is in the word of God to keep us straight and to keep us fearful 124 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:08,960 of our Lord and Savior. It's it's to constantly remind 125 00:08:08,960 --> 00:08:12,080 us things are going to happen and they're going to be crazy. 126 00:08:12,080 --> 00:08:15,840 And there's many signs in the word that will give us a guide 127 00:08:15,840 --> 00:08:19,640 of what the seasons we're in and and we are in the season. 128 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:23,240 Preachers all around the world right now are declaring it. 129 00:08:23,240 --> 00:08:27,400 We are in the season. But is the season a minute long 130 00:08:27,680 --> 00:08:31,560 or a minute longer, I should say, or is the season a year or 131 00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:34,600 ten years or our lifetime? I don't know. 132 00:08:34,760 --> 00:08:37,360 None of us do. But we're in the season and 133 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:39,360 that's all we get from the word of God. 134 00:08:40,120 --> 00:08:42,640 So the better question tonight is, Are you ready? 135 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:46,360 Matthew 25 one 213. Can I read a bit of the Bible? 136 00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:49,840 Once you open your scriptures if you got your Bible with us or 137 00:08:49,840 --> 00:08:52,800 your phone, New King James Version to stay up. 138 00:08:53,520 --> 00:08:55,120 If you don't just look at the screen. 139 00:08:55,120 --> 00:09:01,480 Matthew 25 verses 1 to 13. Then the Kingdom of heaven shall 140 00:09:01,480 --> 00:09:07,600 be likening to 10 virgins who took their lamps and went out to 141 00:09:07,600 --> 00:09:12,760 meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise and 142 00:09:12,760 --> 00:09:15,800 five were foolish. All were Christians. 143 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:22,080 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with 144 00:09:22,080 --> 00:09:28,000 them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 145 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:33,400 Verse 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, he's been delayed 146 00:09:33,400 --> 00:09:39,440 2000 years so far. While the bridegroom was 147 00:09:39,440 --> 00:09:44,480 delayed, they all slumbered and slept. 148 00:09:44,480 --> 00:09:52,040 Listen, the whole church slumbered and slept. 149 00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:59,560 Verse 6. And at midnight a cry was heard. 150 00:09:59,880 --> 00:10:05,840 Behold, the bridegroom is coming, go out and meet him. 151 00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:10,400 Then all those versions arose, and trim their lamps. 152 00:10:10,800 --> 00:10:14,320 And the foolish said to the wise, Give us some of your oil, 153 00:10:14,520 --> 00:10:20,120 for our lamps are going out. But the wise answered, saying, 154 00:10:20,440 --> 00:10:26,480 No, lest there should not be enough for us, and you, but go 155 00:10:26,480 --> 00:10:30,760 rather to those who are selling, and buy for yourself. 156 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:36,760 Verse 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, Jesus 157 00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:42,120 came, and those who were ready went in with him and to the 158 00:10:42,120 --> 00:10:46,760 wedding, and the door was shut. Now we've heard this scripture 159 00:10:46,760 --> 00:10:50,120 coming up. Afterwards the other virgins 160 00:10:50,120 --> 00:10:55,920 came also, saying, Lord, Lord open to us. 161 00:10:57,200 --> 00:11:02,960 And he answered and said, assuredly, I say to you, I do 162 00:11:02,960 --> 00:11:10,240 not know you. Watch therefore, for you know 163 00:11:10,240 --> 00:11:21,560 neither the day nor the hour in which Jesus is coming that wakes 164 00:11:21,560 --> 00:11:30,240 us up in the morning. Massive that Scripture. 165 00:11:30,240 --> 00:11:32,840 Surely I say to you, I do not know you. 166 00:11:33,320 --> 00:11:38,840 I pondered on that and I thought, God, how could you say 167 00:11:38,840 --> 00:11:45,000 that? The whole church worships all 10 168 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:49,720 virgins. They were there for him. 169 00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:56,320 See, what it's not saying is he doesn't know you by name. 170 00:11:58,040 --> 00:12:00,440 He doesn't. He's not saying I don't know who 171 00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:08,480 you are, but he is saying the door has been shut because you 172 00:12:08,480 --> 00:12:12,880 weren't prepared for me, because you didn't really know me. 173 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:17,760 You knew one day I'd come. You were there in the ready for 174 00:12:17,760 --> 00:12:20,280 the moment. You came to church every single 175 00:12:20,280 --> 00:12:24,400 Sunday, but you weren't really ready. 176 00:12:27,160 --> 00:12:28,840 You didn't have oil in your lamp. 177 00:12:29,520 --> 00:12:34,120 If you knew me, church, This is why I'm preaching this tonight. 178 00:12:35,440 --> 00:12:43,200 If you knew me knew, you would have known that when I come, I 179 00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:51,440 come and that's it. See, when he comes, the moment 180 00:12:51,440 --> 00:12:56,520 is and then the moment isn't. Does that make sense? 181 00:12:57,320 --> 00:13:01,040 If someone rocks up to your house, there's only one moment 182 00:13:01,040 --> 00:13:03,720 in in which they rock up to your house. 183 00:13:04,880 --> 00:13:08,320 If someone knocks on your door, there's only one moment in which 184 00:13:08,320 --> 00:13:14,160 the knock happens. And so God is saying to us, 185 00:13:14,160 --> 00:13:17,040 while you're here on earth, there is a mission. 186 00:13:17,520 --> 00:13:22,440 Jesus has given us a mission to preach to the world, to let the 187 00:13:22,520 --> 00:13:25,840 world know of their Saviour that loves them because he's 188 00:13:25,840 --> 00:13:29,840 returning one day. We live in mission, but we are 189 00:13:29,840 --> 00:13:35,480 never not ready. We live with an urgency inside 190 00:13:35,480 --> 00:13:42,160 of us because as lightning comes just as fast as it comes, it 191 00:13:42,160 --> 00:13:48,120 also goes as the door shuts. The moment the lock is in, the 192 00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:51,280 lock is in. There's no kind of shut, there's 193 00:13:51,280 --> 00:13:53,760 no half shuts. Does this make sense? 194 00:13:54,560 --> 00:13:57,400 But the world we live in is so vague. 195 00:13:59,080 --> 00:14:01,920 The well, well, your truth is truth. 196 00:14:01,960 --> 00:14:05,760 It's what's your thinking is fine if it's fine with you. 197 00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:10,640 Well, it's it's only a sinful way of living if it's hurting 198 00:14:10,640 --> 00:14:15,280 people and it's all this vague, it's all of this, you know, 199 00:14:15,280 --> 00:14:19,840 lukewarm stuff. But my scriptures say lukewarm 200 00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:23,440 doesn't cut it. The scripture says he'll 201 00:14:23,440 --> 00:14:25,360 actually spew you out of his mouth. 202 00:14:25,360 --> 00:14:29,000 In other words, the door will be shut on a lukewarm person. 203 00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:30,920 I need someone with some oil in them. 204 00:14:31,600 --> 00:14:33,960 I need someone with Holy Spirit in them. 205 00:14:34,240 --> 00:14:38,920 You know what Holy Spirit does? Holy Spirit brings urgent fire 206 00:14:38,920 --> 00:14:42,400 inside of us. That's why we always relate Holy 207 00:14:42,400 --> 00:14:44,920 Spirit to fire. That's a biblical theological 208 00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:48,960 concept, but the reason why is because when we have the Holy 209 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:53,560 Spirit, what it means is it's evidence through an urgent 210 00:14:53,560 --> 00:14:58,760 living, a urgent lifestyle. And so the world can tell if 211 00:14:58,760 --> 00:15:01,960 you've got the Spirit of God in them because you live with 212 00:15:01,960 --> 00:15:05,280 certainty and you live with urgency. 213 00:15:05,840 --> 00:15:10,200 That's a living Christian. And so we have this. 214 00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:14,640 And so I'm calling us tonight and I'm saying as the, as the, 215 00:15:14,880 --> 00:15:18,760 the fire started to get low, is the oil running out? 216 00:15:19,120 --> 00:15:22,760 Do we need a top up Church of Holy Spirit relationship? 217 00:15:23,240 --> 00:15:27,240 Do we need a moment in our lives again church where we, we, we 218 00:15:27,240 --> 00:15:30,640 don't just come to God, but we surrender before God. 219 00:15:31,320 --> 00:15:34,440 Do we need a moment where we don't just come to church, but 220 00:15:34,440 --> 00:15:38,680 when we do, we we open up our lives and we say, here I am God, 221 00:15:39,200 --> 00:15:43,400 my life is yours. We live in life focused on our 222 00:15:43,480 --> 00:15:47,520 circumstance or our lack past the Surya, our lack, when he's a 223 00:15:47,520 --> 00:15:50,680 God of abundance and victory and more and overflow. 224 00:15:51,400 --> 00:15:55,520 See, when we live in the Holy Spirit, you know, the oil flows 225 00:15:55,520 --> 00:15:58,280 out of us. In other words, the Spirit of 226 00:15:58,280 --> 00:16:02,200 God flows out of us. In other words, the fire in US 227 00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:04,960 is contagious and it jumps to the next person. 228 00:16:05,800 --> 00:16:09,760 See, a Bush fire is only a Bush fire because a spark jumped from 229 00:16:09,760 --> 00:16:13,360 one place to another. And this is the Church of Life, 230 00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:16,320 you know, before me, I'm seeing hundreds of people. 231 00:16:16,480 --> 00:16:20,760 And the reality is there's hundreds of sparks, but we can't 232 00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:24,680 let a spark get water on it. We have to get the spark and 233 00:16:24,680 --> 00:16:29,560 say, Holy Spirit, breathe upon me and fire me up so I can spark 234 00:16:29,560 --> 00:16:33,360 someone else's life. And then we make a commitment to 235 00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:36,720 that and we say, Holy Spirit, if I'm still living tomorrow 236 00:16:36,720 --> 00:16:40,880 morning, tomorrow I am going to bring the spark, the fire that's 237 00:16:40,880 --> 00:16:44,200 in me and I'm going to breathe it into someone else's life. 238 00:16:44,640 --> 00:16:47,880 I'm going to pray for someone. I'm going to see a miracle for 239 00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:50,440 someone. I'm going to stand with someone. 240 00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:54,000 I'm going to encourage someone, and I'm going to shed the love 241 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:57,200 of Jesus Christ to someone. We've got church. 242 00:16:57,200 --> 00:17:00,120 If God doesn't come back tonight, you wake up with a 243 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:02,840 mission tomorrow. And if He doesn't come back 244 00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:06,720 tomorrow, which He should by the way, but if he doesn't come back 245 00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:11,119 tomorrow, you wake up the next day with a mission upon you. 246 00:17:11,200 --> 00:17:12,760 Amen. You receive that tonight. 247 00:17:14,079 --> 00:17:20,000 Firstly, I've got 2 sets of three and we got time. 248 00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:22,839 Oh man, we got lots of time. I'm really going to go tonight. 249 00:17:22,839 --> 00:17:25,560 This is good. I always run out of time. 250 00:17:26,520 --> 00:17:32,520 Firstly, the virgins represent followers of Jesus Christ. 251 00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:38,360 The 10 virgins generally represent those who profess to 252 00:17:38,360 --> 00:17:47,680 be followers of Christ, the professing church waiting for 253 00:17:47,680 --> 00:17:53,360 the second coming of Jesus. And then, while all 10 appeared 254 00:17:53,440 --> 00:17:59,240 outwardly similar, the parable distinguishes between those who 255 00:17:59,240 --> 00:18:04,080 are truly prepared, the wise, and those who are not truly 256 00:18:04,080 --> 00:18:09,960 prepared, the foolish. Not all churchgoers are the 257 00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:17,080 same. Some live really following 258 00:18:17,120 --> 00:18:22,520 Jesus, pursuing him. Others live believing but not 259 00:18:22,520 --> 00:18:29,800 following. Also in this passage the 260 00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:39,000 bridegroom is Jesus Christ. Secondly, verse 5 it says but 261 00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:42,520 while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and 262 00:18:42,520 --> 00:18:46,000 slept. Yes, we have all been waiting 263 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:49,600 for Jesus for a really long time, generations. 264 00:18:50,240 --> 00:18:56,240 But we can't afford to experience spiritual fatigue or 265 00:18:56,400 --> 00:19:02,680 spiritual complacency, falling into the state of slumber while 266 00:19:02,680 --> 00:19:07,280 waiting. The slumber emphasizes that even 267 00:19:07,280 --> 00:19:15,720 the faithful can lose focus. We must church. 268 00:19:17,240 --> 00:19:23,560 We must remain focused. We must stay on the mission of 269 00:19:23,600 --> 00:19:27,520 others. That's the mission others. 270 00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:34,960 We must stay on the mission of continually pursuing Jesus with 271 00:19:34,960 --> 00:19:39,360 our lives. Knowing that you are a child of 272 00:19:39,360 --> 00:19:46,920 God isn't enough. We have to pursue him fiercely. 273 00:19:47,400 --> 00:19:51,520 Pursue him fiercely. Pray. 274 00:19:52,280 --> 00:19:55,680 Get up every day and look at your prayer routine every day. 275 00:19:55,720 --> 00:19:57,760 Just look at it. Can I extend it by one minute 276 00:19:57,760 --> 00:20:01,800 today? You know, all yesterday was I 277 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:03,800 half sleeping while I was praying. 278 00:20:04,080 --> 00:20:06,880 Just look at it. Because we fiercely need to be 279 00:20:06,880 --> 00:20:10,360 pursuing the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. 280 00:20:11,480 --> 00:20:14,600 Not complacency, but rather curiosity. 281 00:20:18,040 --> 00:20:23,760 Not complacency, but rather I wonder if I pray for this person 282 00:20:23,760 --> 00:20:29,360 if they'll get healed today. Not complacency. 283 00:20:30,280 --> 00:20:32,480 Oh, is there a leader around? Could they? 284 00:20:33,120 --> 00:20:38,080 Could they run this group? No, I wonder what would happen 285 00:20:38,080 --> 00:20:42,640 through my life if I started to Curiosity. 286 00:20:45,920 --> 00:20:52,760 Not well, I grew up like this, so it's just the way we are, but 287 00:20:52,760 --> 00:20:56,720 rather curiosity. I wonder if these scriptures 288 00:20:58,280 --> 00:21:02,560 really do mean that I should have too much. 289 00:21:05,800 --> 00:21:08,480 I wonder if he really was serious about it. 290 00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:11,800 You know? I pressed down, shaken together 291 00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:15,560 and running over. I wonder if that's legit 292 00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:21,160 curiosity. OK, God, I'm going to give out 293 00:21:21,160 --> 00:21:24,320 of my lack. I'm going to see if you will 294 00:21:24,320 --> 00:21:30,000 turn my lack into more because he says we can test him in this. 295 00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:32,360 Have you ever tested God in that one? 296 00:21:32,560 --> 00:21:38,520 In the financial side? Because I have in a returned, 297 00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:49,880 fulfilled listen, the church has never been called to not be able 298 00:21:49,880 --> 00:21:55,600 to meet the needs of society. Never. 299 00:21:55,640 --> 00:22:01,720 That is not biblical. That means one thing. 300 00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:08,800 The church has to have so much blessing that we can't contain 301 00:22:08,800 --> 00:22:10,520 it. I just set a scripture. 302 00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:18,840 It means that your world needs to get to a point where you have 303 00:22:18,840 --> 00:22:23,560 so much blessing. It's embarrassing to the old 304 00:22:23,560 --> 00:22:26,480 you. I've been there, I've been 305 00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:30,440 there. I remember through COVID, I said 306 00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:32,560 to Mel. I actually said to God, 307 00:22:32,560 --> 00:22:34,720 actually, but I told Mel. Well, I said to God, and I 308 00:22:34,720 --> 00:22:37,320 shouldn't have. I should have told Mel first 309 00:22:37,320 --> 00:22:39,320 because she would have stopped me telling that to God. 310 00:22:40,360 --> 00:22:45,040 But I told God to stop because I was getting embarrassed. 311 00:22:46,560 --> 00:22:49,440 See, that's me falling back into the old man. 312 00:22:50,800 --> 00:22:54,080 And I caught myself about a year ago saying, hey, God, you can 313 00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:59,680 take off the pause because I want to be ridiculously blessed. 314 00:23:00,560 --> 00:23:06,680 I want so much money. It's ridiculous because it's 315 00:23:06,680 --> 00:23:11,240 only when I'm in that situation that I can be the answer to that 316 00:23:11,240 --> 00:23:14,480 situation. I don't want the money for me. 317 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:18,800 You know what, we just live on one car at the moment, one car 318 00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:22,160 and a house and you know, the, the comforts of life. 319 00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:23,480 It's good to have air conditioning. 320 00:23:23,760 --> 00:23:25,760 That's, that's all I really want. 321 00:23:25,760 --> 00:23:30,280 Like at the depths of who I am, you know, my, my dream for my 322 00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:33,720 dream car. I have a cap on the financial 323 00:23:33,840 --> 00:23:36,680 amount I'm prepared to spend. Now I'm talking about the dream, 324 00:23:36,680 --> 00:23:37,960 right? We all got dreams, right? 325 00:23:38,520 --> 00:23:41,360 Because at the end of the day, more than that, I could change 326 00:23:41,360 --> 00:23:44,880 someone's life forever, you know what I mean? 327 00:23:45,120 --> 00:23:48,920 Because we got a mission, but the mission doesn't mean we have 328 00:23:48,920 --> 00:23:52,000 to live in poverty. Because then the church is in a 329 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:55,600 weak state and it can't be an answer to the world around it. 330 00:23:56,040 --> 00:23:59,080 Who wants to be an answer to your next door neighbor? 331 00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:02,000 Who wants to be an answer for your own children? 332 00:24:02,320 --> 00:24:04,760 Who wants to be an answer to the community? 333 00:24:05,200 --> 00:24:09,200 Like, why do we have every community program struggling for 334 00:24:09,200 --> 00:24:13,360 finance when the church, there's churches all around Caboolture, 335 00:24:13,720 --> 00:24:16,640 there's a ridiculous amount of churches and we want more of 336 00:24:16,640 --> 00:24:19,040 them. But the reality is when the 337 00:24:19,040 --> 00:24:22,600 church steps into understanding what it's meant to be walking 338 00:24:22,600 --> 00:24:25,200 in, then we walk into an overflow. 339 00:24:25,560 --> 00:24:30,400 This is the whole reason why the church is no longer called upon 340 00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:32,040 by government. Did you know this? 341 00:24:32,320 --> 00:24:35,840 I've thought about this, God, why has government left the 342 00:24:35,840 --> 00:24:37,600 churches? What? 343 00:24:37,600 --> 00:24:40,960 There was a time in history where the government went to the 344 00:24:40,960 --> 00:24:45,600 church leaders for advice on legislation, but that is no 345 00:24:45,600 --> 00:24:48,240 longer. In fact, the western world's 346 00:24:48,240 --> 00:24:52,640 can't even call ourselves Christian nations, but it's 347 00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:55,080 because we have no overflow anymore. 348 00:24:55,240 --> 00:24:59,120 We forgot who we are. But this is a call this year 349 00:24:59,120 --> 00:25:04,640 through faith of hope to say to you and to say to me, we can't 350 00:25:04,640 --> 00:25:10,680 be satisfied with not enough because we have a world that we 351 00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:12,680 must reach. Why? 352 00:25:13,400 --> 00:25:17,760 Because Jesus might come back tomorrow and we've got to shed a 353 00:25:17,760 --> 00:25:20,760 light. When darkness comes, the light 354 00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:23,000 gets brighter. So don't worry about all the 355 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:26,520 stuff happening in the world. Worry about Are you ready? 356 00:25:27,640 --> 00:25:30,200 Worry about that. And then worry about is your 357 00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:32,400 life influencing someone else's life. 358 00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:37,200 When the world gets darker, God just gets more pure in us. 359 00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:39,400 We, we make some serious decisions. 360 00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:43,520 We get ourselves into alignment with His church, with his 361 00:25:43,520 --> 00:25:48,280 policies in the Word of God, with His standard of living and 362 00:25:48,280 --> 00:25:50,920 everything. Like, did you know there's more 363 00:25:50,920 --> 00:25:52,200 Scripture? I'm going to preach this. 364 00:25:52,200 --> 00:25:54,720 This is not my preach, but I'll just give you a teaser. 365 00:25:54,960 --> 00:25:58,600 There is more scriptures about money than there is about faith. 366 00:25:59,840 --> 00:26:03,560 Did you know that yet? We're happy to talk faith every 367 00:26:03,560 --> 00:26:07,680 single time we get together, and we shy away from talking about 368 00:26:07,680 --> 00:26:10,720 money. Do you know why money is the 369 00:26:10,720 --> 00:26:12,640 biggest subject in the word of God? 370 00:26:12,800 --> 00:26:16,880 Because money is the biggest God that is going to take the church 371 00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:19,440 out if the church doesn't get itself into alignment. 372 00:26:21,280 --> 00:26:26,240 Money is the God of this world. Take money away and you and I 373 00:26:26,240 --> 00:26:30,040 can't get this week to function. Take money away. 374 00:26:30,040 --> 00:26:31,680 Our kids don't go to school this week. 375 00:26:31,680 --> 00:26:33,520 You'll get phone calls by the end of the week. 376 00:26:33,960 --> 00:26:37,240 You'll get a couple of months before you get, you know, tax 377 00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:41,040 things and and rates and you know, electricity is not paid. 378 00:26:41,320 --> 00:26:45,560 The world needs money. Money is the biggest commodity, 379 00:26:45,600 --> 00:26:48,600 commodity tree, whatever that word is. 380 00:26:48,600 --> 00:26:52,440 I need my wife up here in in on planet earth. 381 00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:58,280 But God called you and I to have dominion over the earth. 382 00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:02,440 Money. We should never be a slave to 383 00:27:02,440 --> 00:27:04,360 it. It should be our slave. 384 00:27:04,360 --> 00:27:06,240 And we use it for the goodness of God. 385 00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:09,640 It should be our slave. We should have all the money in 386 00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:11,920 the world. And I'm not talking about, oh, 387 00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:16,320 yeah, the church. I'm talking about the church. 388 00:27:16,560 --> 00:27:17,560 The church. Amen. 389 00:27:18,560 --> 00:27:24,520 And if we can let this sink into us this year, I reckon we'll get 390 00:27:24,520 --> 00:27:27,680 to Christmas time and you'll be emailing me. 391 00:27:27,680 --> 00:27:29,760 Pastor Gray. I'm not sure what to do. 392 00:27:30,120 --> 00:27:34,640 I bought a car, we got updated the house you like, send my kids 393 00:27:34,640 --> 00:27:37,920 to a Christian School. Now we've done all this and I 394 00:27:37,920 --> 00:27:41,160 still have too much. I heard I'm getting the check 395 00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:43,880 coming in in a couple of months time. 396 00:27:44,440 --> 00:27:49,880 You know, it's not lottery stuff, we don't do that, but the 397 00:27:49,880 --> 00:27:52,760 blessing of God, it's too much for me to handle. 398 00:27:53,280 --> 00:27:58,080 Pastor Grey, I'm submitting to you and I'll go Sweets. 399 00:27:58,600 --> 00:28:01,000 There's a mission that Pastor Mel and I have been thinking 400 00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:04,320 about. We can go over to Vanuatu now 401 00:28:04,320 --> 00:28:07,800 with force and with power and help Jay and Lucy and over 402 00:28:07,800 --> 00:28:11,960 there, you know, we can do these things with she Rescue Home. 403 00:28:12,240 --> 00:28:16,160 We can start new churches. Instead of closing down Sunday 404 00:28:16,160 --> 00:28:18,640 services. We'll be open in an abundance. 405 00:28:19,160 --> 00:28:23,320 This is the reality. See, God has no full stop to his 406 00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:27,920 possibility, but we put full stops to his possibilities. 407 00:28:28,480 --> 00:28:33,080 And the full stop is only ever a lack of expansion of our own 408 00:28:33,080 --> 00:28:35,880 minds. But we don't live from our 409 00:28:35,880 --> 00:28:38,800 minds. We live from our spirit man and 410 00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:41,800 the faith that God places in US. Is this OK? 411 00:28:42,360 --> 00:28:44,840 And I'm going to get back to my message because I'm preaching 412 00:28:44,840 --> 00:28:46,760 another one right now, but I'm a bit excited. 413 00:28:48,400 --> 00:28:51,240 I had a bit of time just to go a little bit that way. 414 00:28:51,360 --> 00:28:59,560 So certainly people in the church will miss out, not 415 00:28:59,560 --> 00:29:10,000 because God's nasty, not because God's nasty, but simply because 416 00:29:10,560 --> 00:29:14,760 they're not ready, they're not prepared. 417 00:29:28,960 --> 00:29:36,200 Listen, if you don't have fire in your life, you're lacking 418 00:29:36,200 --> 00:29:46,370 Holy Spirit in your life. If you don't have fire in your 419 00:29:46,370 --> 00:29:57,090 life, it's a sign. It's a I'm not prepared sign 420 00:29:59,520 --> 00:30:08,760 because the lamps needed oil. The sign, this passage of 421 00:30:08,760 --> 00:30:13,880 scripture is telling us where the five virgins weren't 422 00:30:13,880 --> 00:30:17,760 prepared. It was they weren't prepared 423 00:30:17,760 --> 00:30:25,280 because of the lack of oil. And so if you're here tonight 424 00:30:26,040 --> 00:30:29,120 and you're going past the grey, you're a bit crazy on the 425 00:30:29,120 --> 00:30:32,880 platform. But I, I want that sort of 426 00:30:32,960 --> 00:30:35,720 passion. You don't, you don't have to 427 00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:39,720 show it the same way off the platform. 428 00:30:39,720 --> 00:30:43,520 I'm not like this, just like this because of the Holy Spirit. 429 00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:46,840 It's the, it's my gifting and I'm just operating in that. 430 00:30:47,880 --> 00:30:52,080 But the reality is, is the fire is still burning. 431 00:30:53,040 --> 00:30:56,560 You know, I often say if if you come to me for a conversation, 432 00:30:56,800 --> 00:31:00,680 you're going to get Scripture back because I don't play around 433 00:31:00,680 --> 00:31:02,920 with my life. I only get it once. 434 00:31:04,240 --> 00:31:07,600 So I figure I should just use it as good as I can, right? 435 00:31:08,760 --> 00:31:18,360 And so the passion, the fire is a sign of Holy Spirit. 436 00:31:20,080 --> 00:31:27,800 It's a sign of oil and it's a sign of readiness, which means 437 00:31:27,800 --> 00:31:31,960 the opposite to be true. Does this make sense? 438 00:31:33,400 --> 00:31:40,240 And so just maybe I'm calling some of us here tonight back to 439 00:31:43,640 --> 00:31:51,240 Holy Spirit encounter. I was just working out how to 440 00:31:51,240 --> 00:31:57,600 word that the best I could. It's a call back to Holy Spirit. 441 00:31:58,440 --> 00:32:02,600 I know that I needed you to place my faith in Jesus for 442 00:32:02,600 --> 00:32:04,600 salvation. I know that. 443 00:32:05,600 --> 00:32:10,520 I know that you have brought revelation to me, so you're 444 00:32:10,520 --> 00:32:18,200 there with me. But Holy Spirit knowing doesn't 445 00:32:18,200 --> 00:32:24,880 get me to heaven. I've got to be prepared with an 446 00:32:25,080 --> 00:32:30,680 oil. Listen, biblical here, oil that 447 00:32:30,680 --> 00:32:37,080 overflows. There's a reason why you're a 448 00:32:37,080 --> 00:32:42,680 vessel. And the oil gets poured into a 449 00:32:42,720 --> 00:32:46,840 new vessel, a new believer, someone who gives their life to 450 00:32:46,840 --> 00:32:51,840 Jesus. But the whole idea in the Word 451 00:32:51,840 --> 00:32:59,080 of God is your feeling is for the result of overflow. 452 00:33:02,720 --> 00:33:06,400 And if it wasn't at salvation, you would go to heaven. 453 00:33:07,800 --> 00:33:12,360 But the reason why the Holy Spirit in you must bring 454 00:33:12,360 --> 00:33:21,000 overflow out of you is because God uses us to reach the World, 455 00:33:22,560 --> 00:33:28,200 and you can't reach the World in and of your own doing, your own 456 00:33:28,200 --> 00:33:34,000 strength, your own doctrine. It must always and only ever be 457 00:33:34,560 --> 00:33:38,320 the strength of God, the overflowing empowering of the 458 00:33:38,320 --> 00:33:44,600 Holy Spirit and Spirit led which is the Word of God, His 459 00:33:44,600 --> 00:33:46,240 doctrine. Does this make sense? 460 00:33:46,960 --> 00:33:50,440 And sometimes because I grew up in a church, you know, soca 461 00:33:50,440 --> 00:33:53,920 moments and you know which you just walk in on Sundays and the 462 00:33:53,960 --> 00:33:58,320 music starts and just lay on the ground, you know, and it was the 463 00:33:58,320 --> 00:34:02,040 soca moments. But the reality is, is when you 464 00:34:02,040 --> 00:34:06,160 get up off the floor, is the Holy Spirit oozing out? 465 00:34:06,400 --> 00:34:10,520 Is the oil running out? Come on, get a sewing machine. 466 00:34:10,719 --> 00:34:14,040 And if the needle starts laboring, you need to get some 467 00:34:14,120 --> 00:34:17,560 oil and put it on there. And when the the needle starts 468 00:34:17,560 --> 00:34:21,400 to when your life starts to work properly, then what happens is 469 00:34:21,400 --> 00:34:25,400 you sew when you stitch into the Kingdom of God and you touch 470 00:34:25,400 --> 00:34:28,199 people's lives. Does this make sense? 471 00:34:28,760 --> 00:34:31,800 Church. We are a passionate church. 472 00:34:32,120 --> 00:34:35,920 We are a spirit filled church. We are a lively. 473 00:34:35,920 --> 00:34:38,520 We're just the best church ever. We are. 474 00:34:38,800 --> 00:34:43,199 This is amazing, the experience that we all have on Sundays and 475 00:34:43,199 --> 00:34:46,560 all that. It's all amazing, but we need to 476 00:34:46,560 --> 00:34:50,679 walk out of the buildings wet and dripping with the presence 477 00:34:50,679 --> 00:34:55,480 of God and oil on our lives. As we walk down the streets, 478 00:34:55,480 --> 00:34:59,280 there should be a trail of the anointing and the Holy Spirit. 479 00:34:59,880 --> 00:35:03,200 And if you think that's crazy, just read the New Testament 480 00:35:03,680 --> 00:35:07,640 where Peter just walked in the anointing, oil flowed out of his 481 00:35:07,640 --> 00:35:09,920 life, and miracles happen. Come on. 482 00:35:09,920 --> 00:35:13,920 It's not in the Word of God that story because the church isn't 483 00:35:13,920 --> 00:35:18,080 to go back to that. It's in there to remind us that 484 00:35:18,080 --> 00:35:23,120 when we walk in our everyday life, even in the natural realm, 485 00:35:23,120 --> 00:35:27,200 like with Peter, that the oil of the Holy Spirit is flowing out 486 00:35:27,200 --> 00:35:30,080 of us. But you don't get that without 487 00:35:30,080 --> 00:35:33,360 pursuing God with all your heart, full stop. 488 00:35:34,240 --> 00:35:37,320 And so that's the call here tonight. 489 00:35:39,280 --> 00:35:41,760 I've got another three points coming up, so I feel like I've 490 00:35:41,760 --> 00:35:49,160 got Luke 1240. You also must be ready for the 491 00:35:49,160 --> 00:35:53,080 Son of Man is coming out of now. You don't know Hebrews 11/7 by 492 00:35:53,080 --> 00:35:56,080 faith. Noah man I want I nearly 493 00:35:56,080 --> 00:36:01,240 preached just on Noah tonight, being warned by God concerning 494 00:36:01,240 --> 00:36:07,920 events yet to come, and unseen ever in reverent fear 495 00:36:07,920 --> 00:36:11,880 constructed an ark for the saving of his household. 496 00:36:12,800 --> 00:36:17,040 By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the 497 00:36:17,040 --> 00:36:19,960 righteousness that comes by faith. 498 00:36:21,800 --> 00:36:25,520 No one in history knew that God could make the whole world 499 00:36:25,520 --> 00:36:28,880 float. Never done before. 500 00:36:30,040 --> 00:36:36,120 And as I was thinking on those words, I felt like God said to 501 00:36:36,120 --> 00:36:41,360 me, Gray, you have no idea what I'm going to do. 502 00:36:42,760 --> 00:36:46,720 Listen, because it's never been done before. 503 00:36:47,880 --> 00:36:50,080 So I actually can't even think about it. 504 00:36:51,440 --> 00:36:56,200 I have sees a creative God. He can do things that have never 505 00:36:56,200 --> 00:37:00,680 been done before just blow our minds right And when I was 506 00:37:00,680 --> 00:37:05,640 thinking about this in the end times, I'm just like I just felt 507 00:37:05,640 --> 00:37:10,400 like him to say in Gray. No one has ever seen water come 508 00:37:10,400 --> 00:37:14,000 out of the earth like that and rain come down. 509 00:37:16,080 --> 00:37:21,560 Imagine so He's this weirdo guy building an ark, the biggest 510 00:37:21,560 --> 00:37:27,400 boat ever built in history, and all the wicked people are 511 00:37:27,400 --> 00:37:37,120 watching, seeing God's providing for him ideas they've never seen 512 00:37:37,120 --> 00:37:40,560 before. How to make it waterproof. 513 00:37:40,760 --> 00:37:44,520 Never, never done before. God's downloading all these 514 00:37:44,520 --> 00:37:48,640 ideas to Noah, and people are just looking on. 515 00:37:49,320 --> 00:37:53,400 Wasn't anyone curious? Well, the Bible tells us no, 516 00:37:54,720 --> 00:37:57,760 they were all rebellious. You know what that means? 517 00:37:58,320 --> 00:38:02,640 They were all swept up with just what's happening in the world. 518 00:38:04,800 --> 00:38:06,600 The church can be like this, too. 519 00:38:07,480 --> 00:38:11,720 We get all swept up on all the things we see on YouTube and 520 00:38:11,720 --> 00:38:15,880 Facebook, all these, you know, prophets coming out of 521 00:38:15,880 --> 00:38:18,240 everywhere. And I love it all. 522 00:38:19,920 --> 00:38:22,800 But the real question is, Are you ready? 523 00:38:24,840 --> 00:38:27,600 That's the real question as lightning comes. 524 00:38:28,400 --> 00:38:30,680 And here's three points for consideration. 525 00:38:30,680 --> 00:38:37,520 And then I'll finish #1 comfort and convenience over 526 00:38:37,520 --> 00:38:42,680 watchfulness. Comfort and convenience over 527 00:38:42,680 --> 00:38:45,880 watchfulness. Life is built around the ease, 528 00:38:46,480 --> 00:38:50,720 technology, fast access, and minimum minimizing discomfort. 529 00:38:51,280 --> 00:38:55,840 While those things aren't wrong, they can dull our spiritual 530 00:38:56,280 --> 00:39:00,360 alertness. And more than they can they do. 531 00:39:01,480 --> 00:39:06,760 The wise virgins lived with an awareness that the bridegroom 532 00:39:06,760 --> 00:39:10,160 could come at any time. You know what they weren't 533 00:39:10,160 --> 00:39:13,880 interested in? The new LED lamps. 534 00:39:23,760 --> 00:39:25,120 I got one thumbs up. That's good. 535 00:39:25,120 --> 00:39:32,680 Thank you, Sir. They weren't caught shopping 536 00:39:32,680 --> 00:39:37,240 always for the right lamp for one day. 537 00:39:39,040 --> 00:39:46,320 Do you know what I'm saying? Do you see what I'm saying? 538 00:39:47,200 --> 00:39:53,720 They weren't caught up in the latest fats and they were found 539 00:39:54,120 --> 00:39:58,120 ready. And you know what happened is 540 00:39:58,120 --> 00:40:02,760 the fads come and the fads go. 100 years comes 100 years goes, 541 00:40:02,760 --> 00:40:06,960 a generation comes a generation goes 1000 years comes thousand 542 00:40:06,960 --> 00:40:08,720 years grow. The politicians come. 543 00:40:08,720 --> 00:40:12,320 Maybe the politicians go who know what happens, right? 544 00:40:12,960 --> 00:40:16,200 And the all this stuff's rolling along and the world's getting 545 00:40:16,200 --> 00:40:17,960 swept up with all the latest and all. 546 00:40:18,360 --> 00:40:21,840 But if it comes right now, are you found ready? 547 00:40:22,760 --> 00:40:27,720 Because as lightning comes spiritually, that can look like 548 00:40:27,760 --> 00:40:32,040 neglecting prayer because it feels fine in your world. 549 00:40:32,400 --> 00:40:34,000 Who prays when everything's good? 550 00:40:34,080 --> 00:40:36,120 Don't put your end on. It's a weird question. 551 00:40:36,120 --> 00:40:40,680 Thanks for right drifting instead of intentionally 552 00:40:40,680 --> 00:40:47,040 pursuing God, assuming there will always be more time later. 553 00:40:47,480 --> 00:40:51,360 Comfort can quietly replace urgency. 554 00:40:52,400 --> 00:40:59,280 Without urgency, readiness fades away #2 individualism without 555 00:40:59,280 --> 00:41:05,040 responsibility. Culture strongly emphasizes 556 00:41:05,040 --> 00:41:07,720 personal freedom and the independence. 557 00:41:08,040 --> 00:41:12,400 Not all bad, but it can distort how we view accountability. 558 00:41:12,400 --> 00:41:17,800 Before Gods, the wise virgins could not share their oil. 559 00:41:19,280 --> 00:41:21,680 Have you ever read that? Read that and went, are you 560 00:41:21,680 --> 00:41:24,080 serious? Could you not give them half 561 00:41:24,080 --> 00:41:27,680 your oil just to be there? When Jesus comes back, you're 562 00:41:27,680 --> 00:41:32,840 not getting my oil. I love you, but when Jesus get 563 00:41:32,840 --> 00:41:37,360 you know I'm not sharing my oil because I am urgent. 564 00:41:37,360 --> 00:41:41,360 I have a thing in me. You will never find me missing 565 00:41:41,360 --> 00:41:44,960 out on being ready for Jesus Christ. 566 00:41:46,640 --> 00:41:49,160 The wise virgins couldn't share their oil. 567 00:41:50,240 --> 00:41:55,080 That's a confronting truth. Some aspects of spiritual 568 00:41:55,080 --> 00:42:02,840 readiness can't be borrowed. The readiness is your 569 00:42:02,840 --> 00:42:05,680 responsibility. It's my responsibility. 570 00:42:07,360 --> 00:42:12,800 If you want to get out of a world of lack, only you can do 571 00:42:12,800 --> 00:42:16,360 that. You have to join us every prayer 572 00:42:16,520 --> 00:42:19,520 over the next two months, change our mindset. 573 00:42:19,520 --> 00:42:23,520 Start applying the Word of God. You know if Pastor Soraya 574 00:42:23,520 --> 00:42:25,080 doesn't, it doesn't work for you. 575 00:42:25,080 --> 00:42:29,560 It works for her and her family. We have to make these decisions 576 00:42:29,560 --> 00:42:34,000 and we have to be part of it. Today it's easier to rely on 577 00:42:34,000 --> 00:42:39,440 someone else's faith, especially pastors, leaders, church 578 00:42:39,440 --> 00:42:44,320 attendance instead of personal devotion, cultural Christianity 579 00:42:44,320 --> 00:42:49,760 rather than lived conviction. Individualism says I choose my 580 00:42:49,760 --> 00:42:54,600 path, but the Kingdom says I am responsible for my readiness. 581 00:42:55,880 --> 00:43:00,840 When responsibility is avoided, preparation is neglected. 582 00:43:02,000 --> 00:43:07,960 As lightning comes #3 destruction and noise over 583 00:43:07,960 --> 00:43:11,760 devotion. Men, this is something for me. 584 00:43:13,280 --> 00:43:17,760 Distractions and noise over devotion. 585 00:43:18,600 --> 00:43:21,960 Western life is saturated with constant input. 586 00:43:21,960 --> 00:43:28,040 Phones, streaming, social media, work demands, silence and 587 00:43:28,040 --> 00:43:34,920 stillness have become rare. But oil is cultivated in hidden 588 00:43:34,920 --> 00:43:39,320 places. Oil is cultivated with time, 589 00:43:39,320 --> 00:43:44,560 with God, reflection and repentance. 590 00:43:45,480 --> 00:43:53,440 Listening, not just consuming. You can listen to 300 podcasts a 591 00:43:53,440 --> 00:43:57,240 week, but if you're not listening to what the Lord is 592 00:43:57,240 --> 00:44:00,160 saying to you, one podcast would have done that. 593 00:44:02,480 --> 00:44:07,440 Distraction doesn't usually destroy faith overnight, It 594 00:44:07,440 --> 00:44:11,520 dilutes it slowly. I don't need to go to church. 595 00:44:11,520 --> 00:44:16,200 Our kids have sport. See, We don't notice the oil 596 00:44:16,200 --> 00:44:20,400 running low because life is so full of noise. 597 00:44:21,000 --> 00:44:26,760 And I believe that this is the enemy's plan is it gets us so 598 00:44:26,760 --> 00:44:33,920 busy, so much noise, so much information that we lose focus. 599 00:44:33,920 --> 00:44:37,920 But we don't realize what's actually happening in here. 600 00:44:38,760 --> 00:44:40,720 Prayer hasn't happened for a week. 601 00:44:41,880 --> 00:44:45,960 We're reading the Bible or a devotion hasn't happened for a 602 00:44:45,960 --> 00:44:48,240 couple of weeks, but I'll get to there tomorrow. 603 00:44:49,200 --> 00:44:53,520 But what if Jesus comes today? And I'm not saying all those 604 00:44:53,520 --> 00:44:57,400 things send you to hell or anything like that, but I'm 605 00:44:57,400 --> 00:45:00,880 trying to bring a ready a message of readiness to us 606 00:45:00,880 --> 00:45:06,880 tonight. None of these things comfort 607 00:45:07,640 --> 00:45:11,320 independence, Oregon activity are inherently evil. 608 00:45:12,520 --> 00:45:16,120 The danger is is when they become ultimate rather than 609 00:45:16,120 --> 00:45:21,720 submitted. I said in our Bribie location 610 00:45:21,720 --> 00:45:26,280 today you don't read anything in the word of God where God isn't 611 00:45:26,280 --> 00:45:34,320 victor. So for you and I every season of 612 00:45:34,320 --> 00:45:36,800 our life needs to finish in victory. 613 00:45:39,320 --> 00:45:42,920 Now the season might be the worst season of your life and 614 00:45:42,920 --> 00:45:45,800 you got constant moments of God. Where are you? 615 00:45:46,600 --> 00:45:50,760 But as we continue to press in, as we continue to lean forward, 616 00:45:51,000 --> 00:45:55,200 as we continue to read, as we continue to ready our spirits 617 00:45:55,200 --> 00:45:59,720 and our soul and submit the flesh to the Spirit of God in 618 00:45:59,720 --> 00:46:04,720 US, oil Holy Spirit in US. And as we continue to do that, 619 00:46:04,880 --> 00:46:09,120 we will come through the other side and find our victory every 620 00:46:09,120 --> 00:46:13,560 time. Because God is a God of victory. 621 00:46:13,720 --> 00:46:18,560 He's not a God of enough. He's a God of more than enough. 622 00:46:20,840 --> 00:46:25,440 The enemy doesn't always pull people away through obvious 623 00:46:25,440 --> 00:46:29,560 rebellions. Often it's through subtle 624 00:46:29,560 --> 00:46:36,640 delays, quiet distractions, misplaced priorities in our 625 00:46:36,640 --> 00:46:39,960 lives. The call of Matthew 25 isn't 626 00:46:39,960 --> 00:46:45,320 fear. It's preparedness, not panic, 627 00:46:46,720 --> 00:46:51,720 but intentional living. As lightning comes, so will 628 00:46:51,720 --> 00:46:56,520 Jesus Christ. So the question tonight is, are 629 00:46:56,520 --> 00:46:57,320 you prepared?