Live for Jesus

Matthew 25:1-13 (NKJV)

The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins

25 “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ² Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. ³ Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, ⁴ but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. ⁵ But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.

⁶ “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ ⁷ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.

¹¹ “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ ¹² But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’

¹³ “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

I want to ask you straight out! Why are you not living for Jesus? The hour is late and Jesus is soon to return. Many don’t understand they only have so much time, then it’s over. Death comes suddenly: a car wreck, a stroke, a heart attack, a stray bullet. Then there is the rapture, the catching away of the church. The clock is ticking. Where will you spend eternity?

Luke 16: 19- 31

The Rich Man and Lazarus

¹⁹ “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. ²⁰ But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, ²¹ desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. ²² So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. ²³ And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

²⁴ “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ ²⁵ But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. ²⁶ And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’

²⁷ “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, ²⁸ for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ ²⁹ Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ ³⁰ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ ³¹ But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.”

Matthew 24:3-14

The Signs of the Times and the End of the Age

³ Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

⁴ And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. ⁵ For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. ⁶ And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. ⁷ For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ All these are the beginning of sorrows.

⁹ “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. ¹⁰ And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. ¹¹ Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. ¹² And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. ¹³ But he who endures to the end shall be saved. ¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

John 19: 38 – 40

³⁸ Now after these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one for fear of the Jews, requested of Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away His body. ³⁹ Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred litras weight. ⁴⁰ So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.

Live for Jesus

Matthew 25:1–13; Luke 16:19–31; Matthew 24:3–14; John 19:38–40

I want to ask you a question today, and I do not want you to answer me—I want you to answer it in your own heart:

Why are you not living for Jesus?

What are you waiting on? What does this world have that is worth gambling your eternity for? Jesus tells us in Matthew 25 about ten virgins who were all waiting for the bridegroom. All ten had lamps. All ten became sleepy. All ten heard the midnight cry. All ten got up and trimmed their lamps. But only five were ready, because the wise had oil in their vessels with their lamps. The difference was not that one group heard the cry and the other did not. The difference was preparation before the cry ever came.

Then suddenly the cry rang out at midnight: “Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!” (Matthew 25:6). At that moment there was no more time to prepare. The foolish virgins wanted what the wise virgins possessed, but preparation could not be borrowed. You can borrow somebody’s Bible. You can sit beside somebody who is full of the Holy Ghost. You can have a praying mother, a praying father, a praying grandmother, a praying pastor but there are some things nobody can possess for you.

Nobody can repent for you.

Nobody can believe you.

Nobody can surrender your heart for you. 

You must know Jesus for yourself.

Matthew 25:10 contains some of the most sobering words Jesus ever spoke: “Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.” There was a time when the door was open, but then there came a moment when the door was shut. That is why I am preaching to you with urgency today. You have time right now, but none of us has been promised tomorrow. Death can come suddenly. A car accident, a heart attack, a stroke, an unexpected tragedy—and Jesus also told His church to watch for His coming. The question is not whether eternity is coming. The question is whether you are ready for eternity.

Jesus gives us another sobering picture in Luke 16:19–31. There was a rich man who lived in luxury while a beggar named Lazarus lay at his gate. Eventually Lazarus died, and the rich man died also. Death came to both. Money could not stop it. Poverty could not prevent it. Position could not change it. Jesus tells us that after death the rich man found himself in torment and cried for mercy. But Abraham told him that “between us and you there is a great gulf fixed” (Luke 16:26).

Do you see the connection? In Matthew 25 there was a door that was shut. In Luke 16 there was a gulf that was fixed. There are decisions we can make now that we will not be able to make then. There are prayers we can pray now that we will wish we had prayed then. There is mercy available now that we must not presume upon forever.

Today the door is still open.

Today the gulf has not separated you from the opportunity to repent.

Today Jesus is still calling.

The rich man finally stopped asking for himself and started thinking about his five brothers. He said, in effect, “Send somebody to warn them so they don’t come here.” Abraham answered, “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them” (Luke 16:29). The rich man answered that if somebody went to them from the dead, surely they would repent. But Abraham said that if they would not hear God’s Word, they would not be persuaded even if one rose from the dead.

Church, Someone did rise from the dead! His name is Jesus Christ. He was crucified, buried, and on the third day He arose. The greatest witness God could ever give this world has already been given. Jesus is alive!

And I have my own testimony. In 2020, COVID put me on a ventilator. When they took me off that ventilator, they could not tell whether I was going to live or die. I came close enough to death to understand that tomorrow is not something we control. But God gave me more time. God allowed me to stand behind this pulpit again. And I believe one reason I am standing here today is to tell somebody:

Do not waste the time God has given you. I got another day, but you do not know that you will. While the door is open, come to Jesus.

Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 24 that there would be wars and rumors of wars, famines, pestilences, earthquakes, deception, persecution and increasing lawlessness. He said that because lawlessness would abound, “the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). But then He said, “he who endures to the end shall be saved” (Matthew 24:13). Jesus was not giving us these signs so that we could calculate dates. He was telling us to stay awake, stay faithful, stay ready and keep preaching the gospel.

So I am not here today to frighten you. I am calling you to Jesus. He’s talking to you now, Jesus is calling you, the gentle Savior. He is the Lamb of God who gave Himself for your sins. John 19:38–40 tells us that Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus took the body of Jesus and wrapped Him in linen with myrrh and aloes. They placed a dead body in a tomb, but that tomb could not hold Him. On the third day, Jesus arose victorious over death, hell and the grave.

And because He lives, the door is open today.

You do not have to leave here wondering whether God will forgive you. Jesus has already paid the price. You do not have to clean yourself up before you come. Come to Him and let Him change you. You do not have to carry your sin another day. Repent. Believe the gospel. Give Jesus your heart. Give Jesus your life.

I ask you one final question:

What are you going to do with Jesus today?

Not tomorrow.

Not someday.

Today.

The wise virgins were ready before the midnight cry. The rich man wished he had listened before the gulf was fixed. Jesus warned us to watch because we do not know the day or the hour.

The door is open right now.

If your heart is beating, the invitation is still being given. If the Holy Spirit is dealing with you, do not harden your heart. Don’t worry about who is watching you. Don’t worry about what somebody will say about you.

Come while the door is open.
Come while mercy is calling.
Come while there is time.
Come to Jesus.

Live for Jesus.