Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
June 10, 2007 - W0723

When we were children, my mom would bring us to see the parades in Ala Moana Park.  She would pack her goza mat, which we would sit upon, and watch the parade.  After it was over, she would let us run around and play, as long as we were in her sight.  Of course, I didn’t listen and on one occasion I fell and tore a chunk of skin from my ankle.  As I went crying to my mom, she went into her bag and brought out a bottle of iodine.  I cringed at the sight, because it stung more than the hurt and tears just overflowed from my eyes.  In those days, we didn’t have Mercurochrome or Neosporin, which are for sissies anyway.  Iodine is for the ‘men.’ Anyway, as much as it stung, it was good for me because it killed the germs before it had time to grow and do more harm.  

Today we will see that Matthew 25 is like an ‘iodine lesson’.  It might hurt and sting at first, but it kills anything bad before it can grow.  This lesson begins with the book of Proverbs.  It is written in couplets or contrasting statements of good and bad placed side by side to give us a better idea of what God is saying.  Sometimes they are comparisons, but most of them are contrasts of wise vs. foolish acts.  For example, it will state:  A good person does this but a bad person does this.  Or a wise person will be this, but a foolish one will be this.  Proverbs sounds good to us if we are the good or wise person.  But, many times, we can identify more with the bad or the foolish person.  And, that hurts us to know we have been foolish.

Such is the case in Matthew 25, where it describes the parable of the wise and foolish bridesmaids.  It is a parable to give us an understanding of God and His Kingdom.  

“The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.  Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.  The five who were foolish took no oil for their lamps, but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil.  When the bridegroom was delayed…”(Matthew 25:1-5 NLT).

The bridesmaids are waiting for the bridegroom to arrive at the dinner reception.  It is late in evening and they don’t know exactly when he will arrive.  Their lamps are to light the way for him when he does come.  They wait for him with their lighted lamps so he will be able to see the entrance.  Now, it was midnight by the time the bridegroom arrived. Since the five foolish bridesmaids did not have enough oil to keep their lamps alight, they begged the other five to give them some.  But the wise bridesmaids refused because there would not be enough oil to keep all the lamps lit.  They told the foolish ones to go and buy more oil and so they did.  But, when they were gone, the bridegroom arrived and those bridesmaids that were ready went in with him to the wedding feast.  Then the doors were shut.  When the other bridesmaids returned, they knocked on the door and called to the bridegroom to let them in.  But, he said he did not know them and refused to open the door.  The story ends with this warning from God: “Be on the alert because you do not know the day or the hour of my return.”

The bible is showing us that the bridegroom represents God, so we must be wise enough to bring extra oil.  Why?  Because, there will be times when God may seem to be delayed.  This happens when our expectations don’t pan out or our prayers are not yet answered.  And the timetables of our dreams are at a standstill.  But, the wise will bring extra oil for times such as these.  Whereas, the foolish ones will bring only enough oil that, if everything went exactly as planned, they would be fine.  Of course, God is telling us that things don’t always turn out as planned.  When that happens and the oil runs out, we will need that extra oil so our patience won’t run dry when our dreams haven’t happened.   If not, we will want to bail out.  That extra oil keeps us steady and unfailing.  Especially in the workplace, there is a need for extra oil when things are not going as we planned.  In ministry, our zeal to volunteer dampens as the realities of human imperfections make it a challenge.  So, don’t bring just enough oil, assuming that things will go as planned.  The Bible calls that foolishness. 

God gives us lessons from this parable that I call ‘iodine lessons’.  They are worded as couplets in Proverbs.  They will mirror what is wise and what is foolish, like two sides of a coin.  Like a mirror image, it helps us to see if we are one or the other.  Sometimes, we don’t like what we see.  Those ‘iodine lessons’ hurt at first, but they kill the germs of foolishness.  So, our first ‘iodine lesson’ is:

1.     WISDOM SAYS:  BE FLEXIBLE FOR GOD’S WAYS AREN’T ALWAYS MY WAYS.

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.”  (Isaiah 55:9).

How many times have you told God that it has to be done your way?  And, then you wonder why he isn’t listening.  But, the Bible tells us we must bring more oil so we can learn that God’s ways aren’t always our ways.   

The fool believes that if he doesn’t like someone, then God won’t like him either.  The fool is confident that the way he wants things to be done is the only way it will be.  The fool wants that job, now or that amount of money, now or even that girlfriend, now!

·        FOOLISHNESS SAYS:  IT’S MY WAY OR THE HIGHWAY.

“The way of a fool is right in his own eyes.” (Proverbs 12:15).

Samson was like a fool when he insisted that his parents bring Delilah to him.  He didn’t want an Israelite woman because he desired the beauty of Delilah.  We are like that too, with God.  But, we need to learn that our God is a roundabout God.  And, we need to understand His ways as a roundabout God.  When God brought his people out of Egypt through the Sinai Desert, he didn’t lead them straight from the land of Goshen to Canaan.  He had them wander through the desert because there were things inside of them that had to be worked out in order to be ready for what God was to give them.  You see, it only took a moment to get the people out of Egypt, but it would take 40 years to get Egypt out of the people.  He is a roundabout God and when we fail to understand this, we will bail out of our relationship with him when we don’t get what we want, now!  And we start to marginalize God because he didn’t meet our expectations.  The only way to overcome our marginalizing God is to Bring More Oil.  That is the wise choice.  Before saying that it has to be your way or the highway, remember that God sometimes takes the longer route.

You parents do this with your children when you want them to become what you want them to be and you want them to do it now.  Spouses do it to each other also.  We want our wives or our husbands to get their act together, NOW!  What does God say to us when we get to that point?  He says, BRING MORE OIL.  Sometimes, the ones we think aren’t going to make it, do.  And, the ones we think will make it, don’t.  We don’t know who is right or wrong.  Only God does.  Just think, when you get to heaven, of the people you will see there that you didn’t think would make it.  Or, the ones you thought would make it but aren’t there?  And then, think of the people who will be just as surprised to see you there also.  Bring more oil so you won’t lose patience with those around you. 

Early in my ministry, God sent me to Hilo, even though I didn’t want to be there.  It rained for 28 days straight when Anna and I arrived.  But, when it came time to leave, it was most difficult to leave those people whom we had come to love and cherish.  But, God knew that I had to go there first because there was a lot in me that needed to be worked out.  I had too much pride and my life had to be simplified.  After 12 years, God decided I was ready to move on.  You see, God never makes mistakes.  But, in order for me to understand God’s ways, I had to bring that extra oil.  It taught me to give God his space and learn to trust him.  Now comes the second ‘iodine lesson’, which is…

2.     WISDOM SAYS:  THINGS DO GET DELAYED.

“In case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.” (1 Timothy 3:15).

Paul is telling the people how they must conduct themselves should his arrival be delayed.  He is instructing them as to how they should behave while they are waiting for him.  God is giving us instructions on how to conduct ourselves during our seasons of delay, when the job we want isn’t there or the events we have planned aren’t happening.  But, we can’t follow these instructions without extra oil.  And, it comes from our daily devotions because it helps us to understand God’s instructions for life.  There are consequences to not bringing this extra oil.  We will know it through our anger, pridefulness or opinionated attitude.  However, God will teach you how to conduct yourselves in these seasons of delay, but you have to bring the extra oil.  If you don’t, you will hear that…

·        FOOLISHNESS SAYS:  IT’S NOT MY FAULT.

“A fool does not delight in understanding, but only in revealing his own mind.” (Proverbs 18:2).

If you want to take the time to understand life, you will need that extra oil and an extra five minutes.  It has been said that the difference between an amateur and a professional is five minutes.  The difference between success and failure is only five minutes.  Just five minutes to listen and think before you speak.  Five more minutes to help a child with their homework or to listen to your spouse.  Take just five more minutes to hear God in your daily devotions. It’s like taking five more minutes at work to think through a task to verify its correctness or five more minute to call someone to confirm that your report is accurate.  Five minutes determines an amateur or a professional.  It determines success or failure.

Everything passes God’s desk and nothing gets through without his approval.  This means that things do happen for a reason.  It may not be good for you.  It may be an ‘iodine lesson’, but all you need to do is take some time to understand God’s roundabout ways.  Which means, your children won’t become freeze-dried because of something they said that doesn’t make good sense.  Don’t marginalize what they say.  Your understanding of God’s words will help you see beyond that and make wise decisions that may be to discipline rather than to punish.  Your time with God and the extra oil you bring will ease the friction and make things go smoothly.  But, the fool, as Proverbs 18:2 states, refuses understanding to reveal his own mind.

When we miss that understanding, there is the danger in blaming others.  You start to exonerate yourself and place others on your timetable because you believe it is their fault.  You will fail to see what is right and what is wrong.  Then, you are in danger of becoming like Proverbs 30:20. 

“Equally amazing is how an adulterous woman can satisfy her sexual appetite, shrug her shoulders, and then say, ‘What’s wrong with that?’” (Proverbs 30:20 NLT).

Life is not going to be fair, so grow up and bring more oil.  Otherwise, you will blame even the flaws of leadership.  Maybe the immaturity of a crusty leader causes you to blame them.  But, maybe God put you under that person so that you learn to bring more oil.  God is saying that if you don’t have it here, you won’t have it anywhere else in your life.  Understand the ways of God so you bring will barrels of oil into your life to meet future struggles.  Then, the third ‘iodine lesson’ is to know that… 

3.     WISDOM SAYS:  GIVE GOD VETO RIGHTS.

God can see further into the future than you can, so allow him his veto rights when things don’t go your way.  We are looking at golden nuggets whereas God looks at the legacy we will leave to our children.  A legacy that others are looking at and we don’t even know they are looking at us.  A legacy that will affect the kingdom of God either positively or negatively.  Don’t fight against him because you cannot win and it will be the worst defeat you can imagine.  When you find yourself angry with God, just remember Psalm 115:3.

“But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.” (Psalm 115:3).

God has veto rights and he directs our steps.  The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory belongs to the Lord.  However…

·        FOOLISHNESS SAYS:  GOD MOVES ON MY TIMETABLE.

“My times are in Your hand.” (Psalm 31:15).

His times aren’t in your hands.  Your times are in His.  God is in control. 

So, take the extra oil because God has veto rights.  When you think you have things under control and that they will go well, remember, it probably won’t.

When we have practicum’s here at New Hope, we have visiting pastors from all around the globe.  And, so we like to impress them by giving them our best.  But, I remember that time when someone pulled a fire alarm and it disturbed the service.  We tried taping up the blinking lights and muffling the noise, but it didn’t help much.  The next time a group comes, someone runs into a utility pole and we lose all electricity.  We had to use back-up generators and have people hold up lights during the service.  It was so lame.  Each time a group comes, something else goes wrong.  Finally, I give up and just laugh it off.  That’s when God says, “Good.”  Now, learn this:  You don’t have to prove anything to anyone.  And, you aren’t here to please anyone but God.  In other words, you’ve got nothing to prove and no one to impress.

So let’s all be a person like Hebrews 1:9.

“You love what is right and hate what is wrong.  Therefore God, your God, has anointed you, pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else.” (Hebrews 1:9 NLT)

When the bridegroom is delayed, bring the extra oil.  It becomes an oil of gladness that God will anoint you with.  Then, what you thought was a distraction becomes no more. 

DISCUSSION ITEMS

1.      If your plans aren’t working out, what do you think God is telling you? Describe your lesson (s) learned as you waited on God in a difficult situation.

2.      How can you relate to the man/woman of foolishness in any of the 3 ‘iodine lessons’, and give an example?  Now, identify with the man/woman of wisdom and give an example.

3.      Can you remember a time when God’s roundabout way of planning things for your life was so much better than your own plans?

4.      Describe the joy of gladness that filled your heart when you brought extra oil in times of God’s delay in your life.  How was that joy felt in and around you?

5.      If you believe you have suffered defeat at the hands of God because of your foolishness in refusing to listen, what is one step you can take today to replenish ‘oils of wisdom’ for future victories?