CLOSED DOOR

“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” (Matt. 25:10 NKJV).

A very sobering picture is being painted here by the Lord Jesus in this parable about the ten virgins and the closed door. Thus, we want to note the procrastination regarding the closed door, the preparation for the closed door, and the permanency of the closed door.

Procrastination – “While they went to buy.” The closing of the door for the wedding feast occurred when the five foolish virgins were out shopping for oil for their lamps. They had procrastinated in getting oil for their lamps, and so they were away when the door was closed. Thus they were shut out of the wedding feast. The lesson here is that procrastination in spiritual matters will bring tragedy to the soul. When it comes to matters of the soul, there can be no procrastination. It has been said that those who say they will be saved in the eleventh hour die at 10:30.

Preparation – “Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding.” The five wise virgins who had prepared their lamps with enough oil entered the house for the wedding feast. Preparation was the key to enjoying that great moment. So it is with salvation. The prophet Amos said, “Prepare to meet Your God” (4:12). There are many folks who are not prepared, but those who are prepared, will enjoy the blessings of fellowship with God while those who are not will be shut out of heaven forever. Are you ready to meet God?

Permanency – “The door was shut.” The tense of the word “shut” means the door was shut permanently. That means there was no opportunity for those who were outside to get into the wedding feast. This reminds us of the shutting of the door of Noah’s ark (Gen. 7:16). Once it was shut, no one on the outside could get in. Opportunity was gone. So it is in the matter of salvation. Once the Lord Jesus returns, the door is shut, and there will be no more opportunities to enter. Oh, the awful tragedy of being shut out of heaven permanently.

(Adapted from Butler’s Sermon Starters Vol. 3)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“When you live in the light of eternity, your values change!”

Rick Warren (1954 – Present)

Baptist Pastor and Author

Word Study

Example

In 1 Peter 2:21 we read, “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps” (NKJV).

Example is the Geek word hupogrammós (ὑπογραμμός = hoop-og-ram-mos'). It is made up of two words: “hupo” which means before, and “grapho” which mean to write. Thus, the word literally means writing under and was used of words given to children to copy, both as a writing exercise and as a means of impressing a moral. Sometimes it was used with reference to the act of tracing over written letters. Figuratively, it was used to signify a model or example of conduct to be imitated or to be avoided. In classical Greek, hupogrammós was used to refer to a pattern, model, or outline. In the Septuagint hupogrammós was used in reference to a copy of a letter. In the New Testament hupogrammós was used to mean model or example. The Lord Jesus Christ is our example, pattern, and model for living in times of suffering.

“Fear Nots” Found in the Bible

“Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord” (Jer. 1:8 KJV).

Did You Know…

According to Book of Proverbs, a farmer who will not plow because of the cold is called a sluggard – “The lazy man will not plow because of winter; he will beg during harvest and have nothing” (Prov. 20:4).

Bible Quiz

What was the final obstacle the children of Israel had to face before entering the Promised Land?

**Answer to last week’s Bible Quiz: According to Matthew 21, out of what did the Lord Jesus say God perfected praise? “Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants” (Matt. 21:16).

Names For the Lord Jesus in the Bible

“LIFE”

"Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me!” (John 14:6 NKJV).

1. Meaning – LIFE speaks of the Lord Jesus as the Source, Giver, and Preserver of life.

2. Insights – God is declared to be life, or the living God, because He is the source or fountain of life. However, in John 5:26 we read, “For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself.” Thus, this attribute is here ascribed to the Lord Jesus. So, He has the words of life (6:68), the light of life (8:12), and He came that we might have life and have it in abundance (10:10). And just as death spells separation from God, so life implies communion with Him (17:3). Further, the Lord Jesus gives us life both now and eternally. His life provides the surest model for our own. There is no other source of life beside Him.

Did You Know – Christian History

Henry Melchior Muhlenberg was born September 6, 1711 in Einbeck, in the German Electorate of Hanover. He was a German-born Lutheran clergyman and missionary.

Muhlenberg studied theology at the University of Gottingen and came under the influence of the Pietist movement through fellow students. After completing his studies in the spring 1738, Muhlenberg secured a teaching position at the Francke Foundation's Historic Orphanage. He was ordained in 1739, and served as assistant minister and director of the orphanage at Grosshennersdorf from 1739 to 1741.

Meanwhile, the German Lutherans who arrived in large numbers Pennsylvania in 1735 were in need of pastors. They asked European Lutherans for help and in response, German Lutheran leaders asked Muhlenberg to become pastor of the Congregation in Pennsylvania. After a rough Atlantic crossing of twelve weeks, Muhlenberg arrived in South Carolina in 1742. There he saw slavery first hand and, and prophesied that one day God’s judgment would descend upon the nation that tolerated such a cruel system.

Continuing north, Muhlenberg arrived in Philadelphia November 25, l742. When he arrived, the Lutheran church had no organization and he was greeted with skepticism by the three Lutheran churches that he was to oversee. But Muhlenberg was not deterred. He immediately got to work building up the churches in the region. He travelled extensively across the colonies from the Hudson to the Potomac Rivers. A great organizer and hard worker, his firmness, tact, and patience made him respected by his people. Thirty years later there were 81 congregations in Pennsylvania and nearby states and 30 in other parts of America. Muhlenberg was the virtual founder of the American Lutheran church.

Muhlenberg died in l787, having realized his dream of planting churches in America. Lutherans were so scattered and records so inadequate that no one knows for sure the full extent of Muhlenberg’s success. But when he died after forty years of labor, John Christopher Kunze, another influential American Lutheran wrote, “To the late Dr. Henry Muhlenberg, who died in the year 1787, belongs the immortal honor of having formed in Pennsylvania a regular ministry, and what is somewhat remarkable, to one of his sons, who officiated as Lutheran minister from the year 1773 to 1776 in the city of New York, that of having formed the evangelical ministry of New York State.”

A Little Humor

A teacher was giving a lesson on the Old Testament and asked one of her students, “Tommy, who knocked down the walls of Jericho?” Tommy answered, “Well, it wasn’t me.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“Being ready for Christ’s return shows we are either disinterested or delighted!”