Transcription
[Music] Thank you. Glory to God. Get your Bibles. Get your Bibles. Get your Bibles. Get your Bibles. On your phones, or your—or your watcher, wherever you read the word from. You might have it printed into your eyeglasses now, but go to the Gospel of Saint Matthew, chapter 25, verse 1-13, and there you will find my assignment for today. You watching online, I want you to get your word. Don’t just watch; get your word. Get your word. Get your notes, so you can learn, so you can grow, so you can develop. Amen. Matthew, the 25th chapter, verse 1-13. When you have it, say Amen. If you look and say, “Wait a minute,” you got everybody who said, “Wait a minute,” still got Bibles on your phone. It’ll make you look like a Bible scholar. You can just punch it in; it pops right up. I still like the Bibles. I like to turn pages and write stuff in my Bible. I tell you, I appreciate it. And it reads like this:
At that time, the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were foolish; five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight, somebody said, “Midnight,” at midnight the cry rang out, “Here’s the bridegroom; come out to meet him.” Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, “Check this out, give us some of your oil. Give us some of your—or give us—can we—can we buy a cup of oil? Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.” “No,” they replied, “there may not be enough for both of us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy something for yourself.” But while they were on their way to buy, the Lord—the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut. Later, the others also came. “Lord, Lord,” they said, “open the door for us.” But he replied, “Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.” Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. Glory to God. Can you say Amen? I want to go back to that ninth verse; that’s what really got me. That ninth verse: “No,” they replied, “there may not be enough for both of us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourself.” Look at your neighbor and say, “Get your own oil.” Oh yeah. Look at the other name; say, “Get your own oil.”
Let’s pray while we’re standing. Spirit of the Living God, fall fresh on us as we discuss—as I discuss with them what You have discussed with me. I believe You for blessings seen and unseen. I believe You to unravel the word and untangle it in such a way that we get an understanding and are enriched by the word of God. I praise You in advance for what You’re about to do. Have Your way, O God, in Jesus’ name. Someone shout Amen. You may be seated. Yeah, let’s go to work. Glory to God. The text before us today is normally an eschatological text. That points to—eschatological just means the end of all things; how all things wrap up. It is normally used in the context of end times to give the church a better sense and an understanding of the coming of the bridegroom for his church. But today we want to go even deeper than just that. There is an inability, actually, to explain heavenly things to earthly people. Consequently, Jesus spoke a lot in parables, because as high as the heavens are above the earth, the Bible says, “So are my thoughts above your thoughts and my ways above your ways.” When Jesus comes down from heaven, he comes to deliver us a message about the kingdom of heaven. And throughout, he uses parables to teach us. Parables are stories that he uses that we can relate to, to explain things that we cannot relate to. So over and over you will hear the phrase, “The Kingdom of Heaven is…” Lacking these types of terms are parabolic in nature or metaphorical. They are meant to help you understand what it’s like. It’s like going to Hawaii and coming back home and trying to tell your cousin and them what it was like. He uses these parables; he uses these illustrations; he uses his teaching to give us a deeper understanding of heavenly things, because he has come down from above and he’s trying to explain spiritual things. And spiritual things are not visible things, and so he’s using visible things so that we might have a deeper understanding of the truth that is set before us. A lot of what Jesus talked about was not the church; it was the kingdom. The kingdom is a bigger idea; the church is a part of the Kingdom, but the kingdom itself is a subtotal of God’s plan for the world at large and what he’s going to do both with Israel, with the church, and with all of us. The kingdom is the King’s domain; it is an abbreviation for the King’s domain. Everything up under his authority. You remember in Isaiah 6 when it said that that, “In the year King Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.” Well, in the Bible days, the longer the King’s train, the bigger the kingdom. And God’s kingdom is so big that his train filled the temple. His kingdom is bigger than your community; his kingdom is bigger than your neighborhood; his kingdom is bigger than your ethnicity; his kingdom is bigger than your opinion. I hate to tell you this: his kingdom is bigger than America.
[Applause] I know y’all don’t want to talk about that, but his kingdom is bigger than America. We think that God’s kingdom is just America, so we think, “God bless America,” and in other words, let the rest of the world go to hell. But in reality, what happens in one part of the world affects people in the other part of the world, and God is concerned about everybody. Somebody say, “Everybody.” You gotta take the “V” out if you’re gonna do this right. You gotta… Now he is the master rabbi. He’s a master Rabbi, and a rabbi is a teacher. And when he rose from the dead and Mary saw him in the garden dressed in gardener’s clothes, she thought he was a gardener until she heard his voice, and then she said, “Raboni.” Raboni literally means Master Teacher. So as we step into the text right now, we are stepping into the classroom of the Master Teacher. The Master Teacher. The Master Teacher. I kept thinking to myself, of all the things to say about Jesus risen from the dead, to see him resurrected from the dead and meet him in the garden and call him the Master Teacher—that means everything that she had come to learn was a result of hanging out, listening—that Jesus taught, and she was grateful, not just for him being her savior, but for him being her teacher. And I want you to know him as a Master Teacher. Amen. Our Uber Teacher. An amazing teacher. An incredible teacher. An authentic teacher. A profound teacher. A prolific teacher. A powerful teacher. A life-changing teacher. Jesus—Roberta—the Master Teacher. The Master Teacher. He must have been amazing because people would rather fight from hunger than to miss his class. He must have been amazing because if he got in a house and started teaching, you had to cut the roof open to get anybody else in to him. He must have been amazing because Peter said, “I cannot leave you; the words that you speak are spirit and our life.” He must have been amazing because as he spoke his word, he gave life to people. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. He must have been amazing because he woke up out of sleep and spoke a message to the winds and the waves, and the winds lay prostrate and the waves collapsed to the floor. Roberta, the Master Teacher. The Gospel of Saint Luke contains the largest total number of parables—about 24, 18 of which are unique parables that you will not find anywhere else. That is absolutely true. The Gospel of Matthew contains 23 parables, of which 11 are unique and not seen anywhere else. The Gospel of Mark contains—contains eight parables, of which—of which two are quite unique. See, Jesus loved to tell stories. He was a storyteller. He was a storyteller because communication is not complete with speaking; communication is only complete with understanding. So if I teach a truth, then you don’t get it, I haven’t communicated; I’ve just made noise. Jesus, determined to bring the kingdom to earth and help us to understand, is using things we can relate to to explain things we have never seen. The Kingdom of Heaven is lacking… The Kingdom of Heaven is lacking… The Kingdom of Heaven is lacking… It is like a mighty rushing wind; it felt like a dove. He’s using things that you can relate to to explain things that you cannot relate to. The Holy Spirit is not a dove, but he descended like as a dove. It was like as a body, rushing wind on the day of Pentecost; clothing tongues appeared unto them and set upon each of them; they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. He’s using things you can relate to to help you to understand that which is unexplainable. Are you with me so far? The last three parables center around how seriously we take moments. This is a moment. This text is about a moment—a moment that came while they were asleep, a moment that came at an unexpected time, a moment that they were—how some of them were ill-prepared for. He is teaching us to value and to prepare for moments that haven’t come yet.
[Music] How many of you are preparing for moments that haven’t come yet? He’s teaching us to prepare for moments that have not come yet. He’s teaching us about the moment of his return. He’s—he’s teaching us about his relationship to us. He’s teaching us about the moment and the unannounced moment, the unexpected moment, the sudden moment. You can’t wait till you’re in the moment to get ready. You can’t wait till the recital to have a rehearsal. Come on, talk to me. You can’t wait till you’re going into an interview to prepare a resume and say, “Just a minute, let me type up this resume, and I’ll be right back in a minute.” No, it’s too late. All of that work has to be done in advance. You’ve got to be building the ark before the rain can fall. You’ve got to have the business plan before you get the building. Come on, talk to me. You have to have the bassinet before you have the baby. You have to have the house before you can move in. You—everything has to be done in order and in advance. And that’s why the just shall live by faith and not by saying, because God is just asking you to be ready for now; he wants you to be ready for next. So in this particular parable, he’s telling them to value the moment and to prepare for the moment, and that the moment will not announce itself, but it will come. Secondly, in the 26th chapter, he starts teaching them to value money. He starts talking about—in the King James Version it says, “He gave unto one servant he gave two talents; another servant he gave five; to one servant he gave one.” If you read it in an NIV, it’s not talking about talents like being able to sing; it’s talking about resources like money. And he’s telling him, “You should have put it to the exchanges; you should have invested it.” He’s teaching them to value—not love, not worship, but value money. And if God didn’t value money, he wouldn’t have told the Hebrews to borrow from the Egyptians before he brought them out, and then used what they borrowed as gold to build the Tabernacle in the wilderness. It was built with money. Somebody say, “Money.” So in this one he’s talking about moments; in the next one he’s talking about money; and in the third one he’s talking about sheep and goats. And, “When I was hungry, you would feed me; when I was in prison, you would visit me.” And he’s teaching us about mankind. So he’s talking to us about moments; he’s talking to us about money; and he’s talking about mankind. God is watching how you manage moments. You don’t like it, but God is watching how you manage money. And God is watching how you manage mankind. God cares how you treat me. You might not like me, but God cares how you treat me. God is watching how you treat me—not just me, at the least of these—the inmates, the person that’s in the hospital, the poor people, the destitute, the—the—the people that need care and love. God is watching how you treat mankind—not just your kind. Oh, that went right over your head. I saw it; it just flew like a dove. Yeah, mankind. And so these three parables embody that. I won’t deal with all three parables because I’m focused on one. This text is about the moment of marriage. And the problem is, in this—in this Western culture, when we hear them talk about marriage, it does not line up with our point of reference, because our marriages are not like that. We don’t have ten virgins. I mean, we got… you know… I didn’t mean it like that. I mean, we—we probably do have about ten. But—but—but uh… yeah, I’m sorry. I just have a little fun with you. Glory to God. Hang in there. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. You’re gonna be okay. Breathe in. Breathe out. It’s gonna be okay. But we don’t have a wedding that requires ten virgins to be prepared with oil, because our cultural understanding of a wedding is something Jesus is not using. He is using the—the Hebrew customs of marriage to explain marriage. And when I talk to some of my Nigerian friends—any Nigerians in the house? Make some noise. Yeah, y’all—y’all’s weddings are a better reflection of what the weddings were like in Jesus’ time than our weddings are, as I understand it anyway. Your weddings require multiple parts. There’s different—what you call the White Wedding, which is the part we have—that’s all we have—the White Wedding. That’s all we can afford. But—but when I describe wedding, I think you’re going to really relate to it, because in the Jew marriage it included a number of steps. A first was betrothal or engagement, which involved the prospective groom traveling from his father’s house to the home of the prospective bride, paying the purchase price if it had not been paid already, thus establishing the marriage covenant. So the covenant begins before the wedding. To be betrothed, or let me use a modern word, to be engaged, was a covenant. Sometimes the arrangement was made while they were children, and they’d never met each other. And there was a price paid. Gentlemen, there was a price. You didn’t just get to marry her because she was five and five foot nine.
[Music] It costs you something. I think if we paid a little bit more going in, we wouldn’t end up paying so much going out. See, in our culture you pay backwards; you have to pay to get out. In their culture you had to pay to get in. You’ll get it later. Never mind. And so it costs them something to do that. And if the groom delivered the payment and paid the price of the truffle to start the engagement, it was as much a covenant as the wedding. That’s why when Joseph heard that Mary was pregnant, he said, “I’m going to put her away or give her a bill of divorcement,” and they weren’t even married yet, because they were still in covenant. Are y’all getting it? You with me so far? You with me? Can I go deeper? So the groom would travel and pay the price for her and leave, because he couldn’t marry her until he had built her a house. And it was not uncommon for the groom to be gone over a year or more building her house. Whoa, that kind of reminded me of, “I go to prepare a place for you, that where I am, there you may be also. I shall drink no more wine until I drink it new with you in the kingdom of God. In My Father’s house there are many mansions; there if it were not so, I would have told you. So but I’m not going to put you in one of them. I go to prepare a place for you, and when I come again I will receive you unto myself, that where I am…” Oh, y’all aren’t with me.
[Applause] So she’s waiting for him to come get her, and she does not know exactly when she—when he’s coming. Her bridesmaids don’t know exactly when he’s coming. They have to be ready at a moment’s notice. So with—because once he comes, the celebration begins. There are two parts to the celebration: there is the wedding feast, which is crowded, or the married supper of the Lamb, where everybody comes, and you have to have a lot of people to come to the supper. And then there is the ceremony where only few can enter in. I need you to understand, because not only do we not understand the kingdom, we don’t understand the parable because we don’t get married like that. We drive down to the JP in a pair of blue jeans and a t-shirt and a greens that we got from Walmart. And can you imagine somebody espousing you and they’ve gone for over a year and you don’t know when they’re coming back? Now they didn’t have FaceTime, so you had to trust. And we’re living an entire night if you go to Walmart and stay too long. Where you been? Can you imagine being gone for over a year and you remain pure and you remain committed and you remain in focus? You had to have discipline; you had to have faith; you had to have integrity; you had to have endurance; you had to be long-suffering; you had to be prepared; and you had to be clean; you had to be smelling good; you had to be fresh, because he would not take a bride that had spot, wrinkle, blemish, or any other such thing. You had to stay ready for—you do not—when the master was coming.
[Applause] Foreign—whether they were preparing for the supper or the actual ceremony, I am not sure, but I am sure once the door was closed, it was too late to attend. Can we go deeper? We have ten virgins here. I’m just now getting to the text. I had to do all of that in the pretext so that you can appreciate the text now. Can I get to the text? I want to get to the text. We had ten virgins here. They had a lot in common: they were all female; they were all virgins; they were all in the same place at the same time, waiting for the same event; they had the same opportunity; they had the same exposure; they had the same experiences; they had the same lanterns. The only thing that was different is that five of them had brought an extra jar of oil, and five of them did not. Five of them did not underestimate how long it might be, or when he might come, or, “If he comes at night, I need to be ready.” Five of them were prepared for the unexpected. Glory to God. Five of them were just there; they had the look; they had the dress; they had the lantern, but they had no oil. There are people amongst us that had the look; they had the dress; they had the slogan, but they have no oil. At the end of the day, either you have it or you don’t. It’s not enough to look blessed; it’s not enough to look like a Christian; it’s not enough to have the walk and have the talk. If you have no oil, you’re not ready for the blessing. How will you handle the fact that all ten of them had potential? I want to talk a moment about the agony of potential. All ten had the potential—the possibility—but potential is painful if it’s not taken advantage of, if it’s not maximized, if it’s not fully used, if it’s not fully executed. All of them have potential. I was talking to a young man the other day. I said, “You got to be one of the most talented people I know. I said, ‘You are so talented; it’s amazing.’” He said, “Yes, and it drives me crazy, because I have all kind of talent and yet I remain unsuccessful.” There are people in prison with talent; there are people with needles in their arms with talent. Having talent is not enough; having potential is not enough. How you steward the potential determines whether you go up or whether you go down. It’s a terrible thing to have great potential and poor results. It’s a terrible thing to have an opportunity that you fail to act on and end up in torment and become somebody else’s hater because they did more with…
Their opportunity than what you did with your your. Not shouting enough. I'm going over here. Some people hate you because you took advantage of your opportunities and they did not.
We both got up this morning. We both breathed there this morning. We both got dressed this morning. Don't hate on me because I was more ready for the opportunity than you were. If you would have heard what I've said, holla at your boy right now. Oh, God gives us the opportunity; it is an opportunity. How we steward the opportunity is up to us. You can blame your mama; you can blame your daddy; you can blame your sister; you can blame your brother; you can blame your whole family; you can blame your community; you can blame me; a size; you can blame your weight; blame whatever you want to blame, but you're only playing games with yourself. You fell asleep with no oil. You fell asleep unprepared. You fell asleep because you thought it would be easier than it is, and there's nothing worse than the regret that comes from getting serious too late. [Applause] Glory, that's so good. I'm gonna get the TV myself. There's nothing worse than the regret of getting serious too late in a marriage, in a ministry, in a business, in a leadership role. It doesn't matter where you apply this truth; it will fit you; it will fit all sizes. I'm kind of scared of stuff when they say it fits all sizes, but this will fit all sizes. They were all in the same place at the same time, wearing the same outfit, carrying the same lanterns, and they all fell asleep. The wise and the foolish fell asleep. They're prepared and they're unprepared fell asleep because the bridegroom tarried so long. They fell asleep. We're dealing with a sleepy church. I'm gonna say that again from the steps so you can hear me: We're dealing with a groggy church. If you don't have church on Sunday, we don't see you. We're dealing with a groggy church. If we clap too long, it gets on your nerves; and we don't clap enough, it gets on your nerves. We're dealing with a groggy church. If you have to walk too far, you don't come. We're dealing with a groggy church who leads during the altar call. We're dealing with the groggy, sleepy, lethargic, indifferent church, what the Bible calls a lukewarm church. But I came to ring the alarm this morning. I came to sound the bell. I came to wake you up. I came to get you excited. I came to tell you that every day is a gift from God. Every breath you breathe is a gift from God. Every move you make is a gift from God. Every time you stand is a gift from God. There's somebody that hadn't stood up in 10 years. There's somebody that hadn't been out of the hospital, been in a hospice for three years, and there you are, wasting days, murmuring and complaining about stuff that don't matter. It makes me sick. He gets on my nerves that you're not happier, you're not more grateful, you're not more thankful. There's somebody in the hospital that would trade places with you right now. There's somebody in the nursing home that would trade places with you right now. And if you don't want your life, give it to somebody else. [Applause] Oh, I feel something in this room. Something is about to happen in this place today. I feel some gratefulness coming up in somebody's spirit. I feel somebody growing up in this room right now. I feel somebody waking up out of their sleep right now. I feel somebody that's about to seize the moment, that's about to take advantage of now, that's about to step into the opportunity that you've been given. I feel somebody in this place has starting to recognize, I'm blessed. Whether I'm in the city or in the field, whether things are going good or bad, I'm blessed in the city; I'm blessed in the field; I'm blessed in my uprising; I'm blessed in my down setting; I'm blessed; I'm blessed; I'm blessed; I'm blessed with my single self; I'm blessed with my marriage; oh, I'm blessed in my apartment; I'm blessed in my mansion; I'm blessed on my motorcycle; I'm blessed in my jet. Anyway you bless me, Lord, I'm blessed. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] What good is potential without preparation? Somebody shout preparation. He's looking for your neighbor and say preparation. People who are in preparation don't have time to be haters, don't have time to be gossipers, don't have time to read bloggers, don't have time to respond to foolishness because you're in preparation. I want the folks that are in preparation to make some noise in this place. [Music] foreign [Music] I came to church because I'm in preparation. I got out of bed this morning in preparation. I came because I'm expecting something to happen in my life. I've been in preparation every day. Preparation, preparation, because potential without preparation leads to frustration. Potential without preparation leads to frustration. Potential without preparation leads to frustration. What I'm trying to tell you is that what God has for you is bigger than what you imagine; it's bigger than what you thought about; it's bigger than what was in your head; it's bigger than what you fantasize. Now unto him that's able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we may ask or think, God said what I got for you is going to blow your mind. Get rid of your meager plan. Get ready to help make a call and expect me to show up, all right. [Applause] All my extra all people make some noise in this place. I got extra. I got extra oil. I'm 64, but I got extra oil. Get rid of your nursing home; I ain't coming. I got extra oil. I got stuff to go. I got places to go. I got people to see. I got extra oil. Extra oil means if it takes all night, I'll fight all night. If it takes all night, if it takes all a month, if it takes all year, I've brought extra oil because I refuse to underestimate my future. foreign [Applause] I might look like a fool right now, but I'm getting ready. I'm getting ready for something that hadn't even happened yet. I got some just in case oil. I got some juicing I wish a devil would oil. I got some all around inside of me. Don't start nothing; I'll fight back. If the singers don't sing and the preachers don't preach and the deacons don't be, I got my own. I got enough. Glory, that if you pick on me, you're gonna be shocked. So [Applause] somebody shout preparation. You can, you have got to get past this. The least I can get by with is what I'm going to do. Having a lantern with no oil means you're dependent on him coming during the day. [Applause] That means that you get your greatest blessings at the most unexpected times. That means that your blessing may not be convenient; it may not come when you feel like it; it may come when you're tired; it may come when you're in a dream state; it may come when you're in a crisis; it may come at a bad time, but when God opens the door, you gotta move. You may be high; you may be low; you may be rich; you may be poor, but with the Lord, get ready. [Applause] Get ready. Get ready. Get ready. Get ready. Get ready. Get ready. Get ready. Get ready. Get ready. Get ready. That's the whole message in a nutshell. Get ready. Get ready. Get ready. Get ready. Eyes have not seen, ears have not heard, neither have entered into the heart of man what God has in store for them that love him. And if you're not ready, you're foolish. Five were wise, and five were foolish. It is foolish to underestimate the power of an opportunity. It is foolishness to have prepared for what is about to happen in your life. [Applause] Most foolish people do. When the time came and they weren't ready, they looked to the wise and they said to the wise, "Yo, bro, give me the hookup." And I'm saying, "Yo, bro, ain't no hookup over here. Get your own oil." Turn to somebody and say, "Get your own oil. Get your own oil. Get your own oil." It's not my fault you didn't prepare. It's not my fault you dropped out. It's not my fault you walked away. It's not my fault you quit your job. It's not my fault you won't go hard. It's not my fault that I brought extra oil. It's not my fault that I took this serious. I don't know who I'm talking to, but I feel like I'm talking to somebody. God is saying that somebody, whatever he's going to do in your life, is bigger than your plan; it's bigger than your strategy; it's bigger than your preparation. You need to run home and increase your strategy, enlarge your tents, and strengthen your toilet paper. Oh, God, I feel like preaching. God is about to blow your mind. You're gonna need extra oil. [Applause] Somebody shout extra. When Kobe came and they shut down the state and the buildings were open and I had to preach in here with no people, some people said, "How are you going to do that?" I said, "I enjoy the call and response. I enjoy listening that you talk back to me. I enjoy the way we have church," but just in case you don't come, I brought my own oil. I brought my own puss. I brought my own dryer. I preached almost a year with nobody in the building but my wife and a couple of more because I got enough oil down inside of me that they could turn the camera on while you're at home and I can still do what I gotta do because I got enough oil. Do you, you have enough oil that if you don't have what other people have, you can make it? Then let me help you with the guilt that comes when you have enough but you attract people who don't. [Applause] Help me, Jesus. [Applause] Because for every wise virgin, there was a fool. [Applause] Isn't it amazing how you attract people who are so different from you that if you are not careful, you become guilty trying to be a savior to everybody else when you have just enough oil for the calling, for the position, for the opportunity, for the favor. I'm going to give you some help today. I'm going to give you some resources today. The Bible said, "Tell them no." Somebody shout no. Oh, I just set somebody free. I just set somebody free. Somebody just got free in here. You've been wanting to say no, but you said, "I can't say no; I'm related to them. I can't say no; I grew up with him. I can't say no; I'm in love with him. I can't say no; I feel sorry for him," but I'm gonna help you out. Open your mouth, hollow through your mask, and shout no. Wisdom demands that you know how to say no. You can't be a wise virgin and not say no. It is foolish to say yes to a fool. If they wasted their oil, they'll waste yours too. And you, you're so busy being nice that you are saying yes to a fool. So the last virgins were wise enough to say no. "I will not be your provision." So we, we talked a little bit about potential; we talked a little bit about preparation; and we talked about provision. Foolish people think that wise people are their provision. I'm coming against—uh, y'all pray for me because I'm coming against a strong spirit. I'm coming against a spirit that's killing us. I'm coming against the spirit of entitlement. They think they ought to have your house; they think they ought to have your car; they think they ought to have your favor; they think they ought to have your relationship. For every wise person in here, there's a fool trying to burn up your oil. And the answer the Holy Spirit gave you today is to just say no. I release a no, a no spirit in this place. I know. I know. Get your own oil. [Applause] You see, I'm still too wise to underestimate the journey, and I may run out of oil if I don't learn how to say no. There are some people in this room who are depleted, not because you didn't have enough oil, but because you could not say. While other people are being delivered from drugs and cocaine and domestic violence and all those other wonderful things that they're being delivered from, you, you need delivered from people. I'm going to say this for the people in the back: Every wise person in here has a fool close by. [Applause] Goodbye. That's what the text says: Five wise, five foolish. Every wise virgin had a fool trying to get your oil, and it was no need in interceding; it was no need in going into towns; it was no need in getting slain in the spirit; just say no. Get your own oil. I don't know how many more hills I will have to climb. It's midnight. I don't know how far I'll have to go before daybreak. This is somebody who is wise enough not to underestimate that just because you are elected and selected doesn't mean that you won't have to face adverse conditions. I need oil enough in case it's harder than I thought; in case marriage is harder than I thought; in case raising children is harder than I thought; in case opening up a business is harder than I thought; in case pastoring is harder than I thought; in case being an entrepreneur is harder than I thought. I have to have reserve. We are in a season right now where reserves is all that matters. You need reserve wisdom, reserve grace, reserve resources. You need to have stuff on reserve. You got to stop spending every day your money, your energy, your time, your compassion, your emotions, your efforts, because we are in a midnight season, and you only have a jar full of oil, and it's cold, as it sounds, and as tough as it sounds, you have to sometimes say, even to your own family—oh, who said that—get your own oil. Say it with me: Get your own oil. Say it again. Say it again. I don't, I don't counsel people like I used to. I might do one or two. If you don't get it by that second time, I refer you. [Applause] Because I can't be laying up at three o'clock in the morning crying about what's going on in your marriage and messing up mine while I'm worried about yours. Get your own oil, because I learned that if they don't obey session one and session two, there's no need in me going through session three and session four. You're gonna do what you wanna do anyway. Get your own oil. I'm talking to all the people who are spending all your time on the phone listening at other people's troubles who never take your advice and you still answer the call every time it rings. I just release you. I just broke a chain. I just opened up a door. I just opened up a window. I just got you ready to go into another dimension. They didn't obey what you told them yesterday; they didn't do what you told them last week; they didn't do what you told them last month. Tell them, "Get your own oil," and hang up the phone. Hang up the phone. Hang up the phone. Hang up the phone. [Applause] Behold, the bridegroom cometh. And what got me is all ten of them trimmed their wick once. Y'all trimming your wick for—why would you trim your wick? Because they're fools. Yeah, why would you trim your wick? You're so sure that I'm gonna come through that you're trimming your wick based on my bank account, I mean my oil. You're spending my money; you're spending my wisdom; you're spending my time. You're trimming your wick for—[Applause] And I come to a close. The wick is the thing that turns oil to light. It is the object of conversion. Everybody had a lantern; everybody had a wick; but only five had oil. It is the wick that turns the oil to light. Everybody who has ever read their Bible over two weeks understands that the oil is a type of anointing, and whenever you see the Bible talk about oil, you are talking about anointing. And in order to convert the anointing into light, there has to be a wick that's dipped down in the oil that is soaking it up. Everybody's here, but everybody's not soaking. Everybody's listening, but everybody's not soaking. There's a book in this room right now that are soaking up this oil that's coming forth and converting it into life. [Applause] So the wise virgins left; they have left the building; and they told the foolish ones, "Get your own oil." And the wise ones went in to the ceremony or the supper, and the, and the bridegroom closed the door. [Music] Yeah, what do you do when by the time you get your oil and get yourself together, the door is closed? By the time the foolish ones took life serious, by the time you recognize that life is not a game, by the time you recognize that you are not a kid anymore, that it ain't about you being cute with your broke self, with your dysfunctional self. Yeah, you're fine, but you're crazy. It's not about—[Applause] You got all kind of selfish posts everywhere and no retirement. You got on Gucci underwear and can't send your kids to school. You a prophetess, but you can't see how to own your own place. [Applause] Oh, I'm gonna make somebody mad. I'm gonna make somebody mad. I'm gonna make somebody mad. How can you be that anointed and have no lights? You need to dip your wick in that oil and convert some of that anointing into enlightenment. [Applause] I'm almost close. The oil is the thing that's missing. We got people who can sing like never before. Never in the history of the church have we had people who can do the kind of riffs that they do now. All kinds of stuff, all kinds of talent, all kinds of instruments, all kinds of buildings. We've never had buildings like this. We've never had opportunities like this. We've never had information at our fingertips like this. There's nothing you can't Google; there's nothing you can't find. We've never been exposed to education with the click of a button like this. So we've got more lanterns, but we've got less oil. The old folks didn't sing good, but they sang with power. They didn't have five riffs, but they had a glory. The old church didn't have padded pews, but there was a glory that would hit the church. The power of God would saturate the church. People got delivered in the church. We survived atrocities in the church. You know what we need? We need more oil. We need all the preachers; we need all these singers; we need people playing instruments until the power of God knocks you off the instrument. We need the kind of oil that comes down in the church where witches don't feel comfortable in the service. We need the kind of oil in the church that binds people together, that deals yokes, that pass down barriers, that opens doors, that loosens the bound, that sets the captive free. We need the kind of oil to come in this place then depression cannot come in here; fear cannot come in here; suicide cannot come in here. We need the kind of oil that will break yokes and tear down barriers and open doors. We need the kind of oil that'll give you favor on Monday. We need the kind of oil that will loose resources from the north, the south, the east, and the west. We need the kind of oil that are set before you an open door. We need the kind of oil that will bring your children into alignment. We need the kind of oil that will pronounce generational blessings until you and your daughter, you and your son, you and your grandson, you and your granddaughter are walking in the supernatural power of God. We need the kind of oil that covers our families, that clothes our bodies, that comes with our resources. We've even all in praise. Can I get an oily praise? I need three minutes of an oily praise. foreign [Music] Church, I need an oily church. I cannot come from substance abuse and sit up in a dead, dry church. I need something that will counteract the addictive behavior of my past. I got a double to fight. I need some oil better to drive my devils away. I need the kind of oil that will renew my mind and quicken my spirit. I better stop, but I feel loyal coming in this place right now. The walls can't stop it; the roof can't stop it; the pills can't stop it; the mass can't stop it. If you open your mouth, God will release glory in this place. Father, I stretch my hands to you. No other help. I throw my head in his law all over that, all over fear, all over suicide, all over my anger. God is sending a fresh oil, fresh off press. Oh, I got oil for sale. I got oil flowing. Anybody wants some oil? foreign [Music] [Laughter] [Music] And drive depression, drive suicide right out of this building right now in the name of Jesus. If you've been feeling depressed, this word is for you. Put some oil on it. Let the oil of the Holy Ghost—
Stop flow in this place right now, in the name of Jesus. Shout yes. Behold, the bridegroom cometh, up soon and very soon. We are going to see the King. Time is winding up; it's winding up. We've never seen our country like it is today; it's a sign that time is winding up. Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. He's coming in clouds of Glory. So yes, all right.
[Applause] [Music] [Applause]
Only a fool could be standing in the middle of a pandemic—the worst we've seen in a hundred years—and call it political when it's in Italy and Rome and Brazil and Europe and Russia. How can it be American politics?
[Applause] [Music] [Applause]
How can a mask take away your freedom, but a seat belt don't bother you at all?
[Applause]
If my faith is only proven by whether I wear a mask or not, you really want to have faith? Leave your door unlocked. Leave your pocketbook in your car, in your door unlocked. Let's really play Faith. Let's walk across Interstate 35 with our eyes closed. Let's really believe God. I mean, we gonna really spread it if that's what faith is. Wise people prepare for the times they are in. Wise people—if it means carrying around an extra jar of oil—all dressed up. Can you imagine what that looked like? All dressed up with a jar of oil, looked like urine, walking around with you, just in case. You gotta be willing to look crazy and still be prepared, because the only thing that matters is that you survive the times you're in.
[Applause]
I was watching—I had the news on down low—and I was reading my Bible, and I was studying my Bible, and the News was in the backdrop. And after a while, I stopped reading my Bible and I started looking at the news. And I looked at the news a while, and I looked back at my Bible. And as the news was flashing around the world and it was showing what was going on in Cuba, and it was showing what was going on in Brazil, and it was showing what was going on in Iraq, and it was showing up what was going on in America, and then I looked at my Bible. And then I looked at the news, and it was showing what was going on in Haiti. And I looked at my Bible, and then I looked at the news, and it was showing how hospitals were filling up. And I looked at my Bible, and I looked at the news. And after a while, I couldn't tell one from the other. Generations against generations; mothers killing daughters; fathers hating sons. Everything the Bible said would happen: diseases and plagues, one right after another. Can't finish one before here comes another one. Don't you think that might mean that the bridegroom—Jesus said, when you see these things at this time, it is a sign that the bridegroom cometh.
Big holiday. When I go to the news and do interviews, they say, you know, it's a post-Christian society. I said, no, I didn't know that, because it doesn't look post-Christian to me. I said it does look like people are changing the way in which they ingest information. Big box stores have given way to delivery services; everything is having to recreate how they reach their audience. But my numbers are not declining. Any given Sunday, there's 29 to 32,000 people on YouTube; 35 right now—35,000 people on YouTube right now; ten thousand or so on Facebook right now; nineteen thousand on the app right now. Just because people have stopped coming to church in masses, that doesn't mean that they're not coming to Jesus, because the Jesus I know cannot be confined to a building. This is not post-Christian; this is pre-arrival. Now is your salvation nearer than when you first believed.
Finally, the spirit of the man is the candle of the Lord. The spirit of a man, Proverbs says, is the candle of the Lord. Not wax candle, because wax candles were created in the 19th century. So when the Bible says the spirit of the man is the candle of the Lord, it's really talking about oil through a lantern—the spirit of a man. It's a place where God illuminates revelation—the spirit of a man, not the flesh. Everybody dancing doesn't have revelation, and everybody has revelation. It's not dancing. If, if you are getting this in your spirit, that's where God is sending illumination; that's where the oil turns to light. Check yourself out. Whatever was on your mind, worrying you and oppressing you, take yourself out. Do you feel it now? You know why you don't feel it? You drug that thing
[Applause]
into the glory of God and the anointing of the spirit.
[Applause]
Wonder what would happen if you did that in your living room; if you did it in your kitchen; if you did it in your house. This is not a post-Christian era. It might, because of various situations that we're going through, be a post-church era, where people are coming to church less, but just because they're not physically in the building, there are way more people watching me through that lens—they know who are in this building—and all of those numbers I gave you, that's just streaming; that's not even touching television. Our messages are being translated right now into how many different languages? 50. 50 different languages right now. There are people watching us at midnight right now; there are people who are up at two o'clock in the morning to watch this broadcast right now. How does somebody get out the bed at two o'clock in the morning to hear somebody preach? No, it's not about hearing me preach; it's midnight.
[Applause]
The word of God is more treasured today than it has ever been. One company says we get more engagements than anybody in the country except Lady Gaga. Engagements—it's where people are active. Faith responds to a page or a post or information. People are hungry; they don't care whether you're black, whether you're white, whether you're blue, whether you're green, whether you're a woman or a man. If I have a car wreck, I do not examine the paramedic, half of my doctors I can't even spell their name. But if you can, if you can fix this right here, if you can fix this right here, if, if you can fix what's going on right here, this is not about color; it is not about politics; it is not about the nomination; it is about midnight, and the cry is being made, and who's got oil and who doesn't? Anybody feeling kind of oily right now? Heads about, eyes closed. The oil is in this place. I'm asking for something really tough to, to, to admit: Are you foolish? Are you professing something that you don't possess? Are you foolish? Do you have lanterns and wicks and no oil? Are you foolish? Do you know Christian colloquialisms but don't know Christ? Are you foolish? Are you here because some cute girl is here? Are you foolish? Are you here because you want to do business? Are you foolish? Do you not understand that the lantern without the oil leaves you standing in front of a closed door? If the foolish virgins would have recognized their foolery sooner, they would have gotten in. I'm just asking: Have you been foolish? Whatever you value, what good is it with a respirator in your mouth, with tubes down your throat feeding you? Are you foolish? I know you're cute, but are you foolish? I know you're smart; I know you're educated; got more degrees than a thermometer, but come on, this is not about knowledge; it's about wisdom. Wise, foolish. Do you know Jesus? I'm not calling you a fool to call you foolish, because all of us have done foolish things, if the truth were told. You, you get to be wise from the things you learn from being foolish. If the Holy Spirit is drawing you, and would you stand just a moment so nobody has to crawl over you—if the Holy Spirit is drawing you, if you're able to stand, if the Holy Spirit is drawing you, and all the signs of the times are upon us—if the Middle East is trembling; if we've just seen war between Israel and Gaza; if we're seeing troops being pulled out of Afghanistan; if we're seeing coups in Haiti and almost in America; if we're seeing earthquakes; if we're seeing buildings collapse like pancakes and nobody knows why—you're going to keep going like everything's normal? Are you foolish? Then it's time to get wise. Come down this aisle with one thing on your mind: to meet Jesus. One thing on your mind. If you're watching online, there's a number on the screen for you to call right now if you want to meet Jesus. Our prayer warriors are ready to pray with you right now. Are you, are you wise or are you foolish?
[Applause]
It's not about being perfect. The people, the, the people who have oil are not perfect; they're prepared; they're flawed; they're still people; they make mistakes, but they're prepared. Midnight is very dark, and it doesn't mean that it's daybreak. It may be six hours till daylight; I don't know how long it's going to be. Mask on, mask off; open doors, closed doors; I don't know how long it's going to be. Jobs, seeing jobs out; technology or artificial intelligence; I don't know how long. Are you foolish?
[Applause] [Music]