Spiritual and Emotional Preparation

“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 [a]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.

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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.

Matthew 25:1-13.

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THINGS ARE ALREADY BAD IN THE WORLD

It is tempting to think we don't need to be among those who endure. Perhaps we will be raptured out before things get too bad. But here is the reality:

• Christians around the world are being tortured, maimed, killed, their homes and possessions taken, their children and wives raped. They are being tortured and kill...because they follow Jesus Christ.

• The need to endure is already here in this world.

• I tis heating up here in America.

  • There have been parents who lost their children because of the current gender ideology.

  • People have had their bank accounts frozen because they spoke their beliefs on social media.

  • Others have lost jobs and been arrested by the FBI because they were outspoken about their beliefs.

  • Just to name a few.

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The Bible says we should expect and be prepared to endure:

• Tribulations (John 16:33)

• Persecutions (2 Timothy 3:12)

• Trials (James 1:2-4)

• Fiery trials (I Peter 4:12-13)

• Sufferings (Romans 5:3 and 8:18)

• Affliction (2 Cor 4:6-18)

Just to name a few of the many times this subject is talked about in the Bible.

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WE HAVEN'T BEEN TESTED

God is saying to the church in America - we are not ready. We are hearing it from many different leaders in the body of Christ. Matthew 10:32-33 says: “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.

 

We are in danger of being among those who deny Jesus before men. I know these sound like strong words but look at what is going on around us.​ Most of us have not been tested or tried very much. We've dealt with sickness and loss of loved ones, maybe a difficult accident. Maybe some of us have experienced mild persecution because we talked about Jesus at work.

 

But most of us have never faced any kind of persecution because of Jesus.

 

Ever had a door slammed in your face or been yelled at because you were trying to share the love of Jesus with someone?

Have you thought what you would do if someone came to you and said,

• "Deny Jesus or your fired."

• Or, "Call your coworker who is a girl by her preferred pronouns or lose your job." (If we step into that radical agenda, we are denying the truth in God's word…said He made them male and female!)

• God forbid that we will ever face "Deny Jesus or we'll take your home or land…kids or spouse" as is the reality in other places.

 

Would your faith and trust and love of Jesus Christ sustain you?

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WE AREN'T PREPARED

We need to prepare to endure…get oil in our lamps every single day! Does it kind of make you mad to hear me keep saying that? My initial reaction when I kept hearing this from different arenas…even in my prayer time was:

• I pray

• I seek the Lord

• I want to obey Him

• I would never deny Jesus

 

Peter said that…and denied Jesus three times just hours later.

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How many seemingly godly leaders who have done much for Jesus have fallen recently? Don't think that they stepped into ministry planning to do those things. Maybe some were wolves in sheep's clothing, but I would bet most of them wonder how they got there and what went wrong.

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Recently we had some South Africans who came to our country for the first time. They shared their observations of America

You have everything you need and then some and you can get it all pretty easily. Plenty of food, electricity, running water, doctors. You have very little need to trust the Lord. You are weak and unprepared for any hard things because all you need is provided. (Note: In their country…and most around the world, they don't take for granted things like a home, running water, electricity, food. They've been enduring and preparing for years because basic necessities are not always readily available.)

We are weak because we don't have to rely on the Lord for our continued existence.

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WHAT ARE WE LIVING FOR?

Let's all take a good hard look at what we are living for.  Most of us in the Western World, by and large, live for me, myself and I.

• What I need.

• What MY family needs

• What WE want

• Don't mess with US!

• It's kind of the American way - make your way, you can be anything, do anything. It's what we've been taught.

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I want to propose it is not the Kingdom way.

 

Part of the reason we aren't ready to endure is because the things of this world pull us and draw us and have the highest place in our lives. We would never say we put these things before Jesus, but how many people have you known who walked away from God because they lost a loved one or a church leader was found to be in major sin?

 

The reality is, most of us, have one eye on this world and one or maybe a half of one on Jesus and our eternal lives.

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But if we truly have our eyes on Jesus - no matter the storms, we will not slip under the raging waters and be drowned.

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If we truly live for eternity - they can take everything away from us, even mistreat us and we will still be secure in who we are in Jesus and where we are going after they take our lives.

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TAKE AS MANY AS WE CAN

I want to be ready for whatever storms may come. I want my lamp to be FULL of oil. I want to be so close to my Savior that I have His thoughts, His responses, I hear His voice and feel His presence in the good times and in the hard.

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And I want to take as many people as I can along with me!

• All the desperate people around us that don't know they need Jesus.

• All the desperate people who sit in pews each Sunday wondering if there is more to Christianity than what they are living.

• All the ones who think just praying a prayer of salvation and living however they want is enough.

• It is all of our jobs to be praying without ceasing so we are close to God's heart when He asks us to share His love, His Gospel, His word with someone.

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We have the best news in the world, why would we let anyone perish without knowing!

 

PREPARE US, LORD

I pray that God would prepare us.

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I'll be honest, I don't like conflict and it is tempting to think maybe if I just stay quiet and keep my head down, I might be able to slide by.

 

But then I realize, that's exactly what the church did in Nazi Germany as the Jews were hauled off to be killed, starved, tortured. This time it won't just be the Jews. Satan hates the Christians too.

 

It is time to arrange our lives around our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ - His words, His commands, His Desires, for His glory.

 

So, who is leading?

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Is He the one that leads us each day, the one we look to for the answers,

the one we seek to hear His voice and obey right away?

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Or do we just keep Jesus in our back pocket and pull Him out when we have a need? 

The world and its ways are so loud. Eternity seems so far off.

 

 

HE HAS SO MUCH MORE FOR US THAN WHAT WE ARE LIVING!

And an eternity far beyond our imagining…not boring or dull. God is anything but boring and dull.

 

And The enemy knows that if you get on your knees and spend time with God and let Him teach you and change you and grow you and lead you, you will

• Be unstoppable in the Lord.

• Bring God's glory every place you set your foot.

• People will be saved and changed  because you will speak God's words to them, because you will know how to pray for every situation.

• The enemy knows if you get oil in your lamp each day, you will not back down or deny Jesus for a temporary payoff.

• You will stand with Jesus as a warrior and nothing the enemy tries to throw at you…in your own mind or from others will cause you to falter or stumble.

• You will be victorious.

• You will stand before the Lord some day and see the smile on Jesus' face and hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

 

If you seek Him, you will find Him! (Jeremiah 29:13)

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If you need help or more information about salvation, faith, or getting oil in your lamp, please contact us at Contact@ShadowCommission.org.

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Another resource to consider is the Seeking Wisdom Conference which was held in Kansas City in July 2024. You can purchase the recorded archives here.