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I had you read that whole passage, and it's really just the beginning of that. The parable of the ten virgins, the parable of the ten virgins. And so I wanted to, Brother Jeff was actually asking me about this parable, so that's usually which one I pick. It's whichever one anybody asks me about, that's the one I'm probably going to preach on. The parable of the ten virgins, so I wanted to explain this parable, and actually there's a really awesome truth to this parable, and just in general what this is talking about. The first thing I wanted you to see is, look in verse three, verse three and four there, it says, they that were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. So what you have here is you have ten virgins, five are wise, five are foolish. The reason that they're called wise is because they took oil, and the reason that they were called foolish is because they didn't take any oil. So you have half and half, 50% here were wise, 50% were foolish. And so the first thing that I wanted to nail down is what does the oil represent? And it's simply, I believe the oil represents the Holy Spirit, or it represents the Spirit of God. And so most people, I've actually, you never know, there's always different thoughts and theories out there, but I thought most people thought that the wise ones were saved and the other five foolish ones were unsaved. I thought that was just pretty much across the board, but now there's, some people believe that all of these are saved and they're just different types of saved people. But I'll show you without a shadow of a doubt that the five foolish virgins are not saved. There's no doubt that they're not saved. But first I want to just talk about the oil. And so go to 1 Samuel chapter 10, 1 Samuel chapter 10. And I want to show you how the oil and the anointing of oil is inferring the Spirit of God. And so in 1 Samuel chapter 10, what we're going to see is where Samuel is anointing Saul to be king over Israel. And so with both Saul and David, we see this oil and then the Spirit of God being a part of that or being represented there. So in 1 Samuel chapter 10, in verse 1, notice what the Bible says here. It says, then Samuel took a vial of oil and poured it upon his head and kissed him and said, is it not because the Lord hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance? So this is where the Lord chose Saul at first to be king over Israel. And he told Samuel to take a vial of oil and to anoint his head. Go down to verse 6 there because right after he does this, he's basically talking about what's going to happen when he anoints them. And then it explains exactly what's going to happen later on. But in verse 6, he's explaining what's going to happen with Saul. It says, and the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them and shalt be turned into another man. And let it be when these signs are come unto thee that thou do as occasion serve thee, for God is with thee. So when he anoints them with oil, what's the first thing that he's talking about that's going to happen? The Spirit of God is going to come upon them, and he's going to prophesy. Go down to verse 9. This is where he actually does it, where actually he anointed them, and this is where it came true that he prophesied that the Spirit of God came upon them. So he anointed them with oil, and then he told them, hey, the Spirit of God is going to come upon you, and you're going to prophesy. So in verse 9 there, it says, and it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart, and all those signs came to pass that day, and when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him, and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. What's interesting is Saul actually is mentioned about the Spirit of God coming upon him as one of the most people that the Spirit of God is coming upon in the Bible. Saul and Samson, that it's mentioned that the Spirit of God, now obviously we know that with Jesus, the Spirit of God was upon him more than anybody, but it's interesting that Saul was, but so Saul, when he was anointed with oil, the Spirit of God is coming upon him, and obviously the Spirit of God departed from him, and obviously in the Old Testament, it was a little different because we didn't have the indwelling of the Holy Ghost until the New Testament, but the Spirit of God still did come upon people in the Old Testament, and so that's actually, if you want to look at the Spirit of God coming upon people, it's going to be mentioned in the Old Testament more than new, but go to 1 Samuel chapter 16, so we'll see the same thing with David. So remember, Saul disobeyed God, and God rent the kingdom from him, and he rejected Saul from being king over Israel, and he saw him a man after his own heart, David, and so this is where Samuel anoints David, so 1 Samuel chapter 16, verse 13, 1 Samuel chapter 16, verse 13, it says, Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brethren, and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up and went to Ramah. So see, the same exact thing happens here. He anoints him with oil, and immediately he's saying the Spirit of God came upon David from that day forward. So you see how the anointing oil is representing, it's obviously a physical thing, and there's a lot to this, and I'm not going to get too much into this, but I want you to see how I believe that this oil that's in their lamps is representing the Holy Ghost. Remember, in these parables you have physical things that are representing spiritual things, and so obviously just off the cuff when you're dealing with the ten virgins, why are they foolish? Because they didn't take any oil, right? That's just off the cuff because what does oil do? It allows your lamp to burn longer, right? If you just had a wick and you lit that wick and you didn't have any oil on it, then it's just going to burn up that wick really quick, and then it's gone. If you have oil, oil sustains the, you know, that's what's going to burn is the oil, and now you're not just burning a wick, okay? And so oil, that's why they were foolish. They didn't have oil, so their lights went out. So just off the cuff, that's what that parable is saying, is that five were smart about it, took oil with them. The other two were dumb, and they didn't take oil with them. I mean, that's just the physical aspect, but in the spiritual aspect, the oil representing the Holy Ghost, meaning five people have the Spirit and five people don't have the Spirit when the bridegroom comes, and so five are saved, five are not saved. And so, but go to 1st John, chapter 2, and I want to talk about the just other proof as far as the anointing and the oil representing the Holy Ghost, because there's other proofs of this in the New Testament, dealing with us in general as believers, having the Holy Ghost inside of us, but also with Jesus Christ himself. So 1st John, chapter 2, go down to verse 20 first. So 1st John, chapter 2, and verse 20, the Bible says, it says, But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. Now, I believe that unction is the Holy Ghost, because down in verse 27, he's clarifying how you're going to know all things, because in verse 27, it says, But the what? The anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you, but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. Now, think about this. The anointing that you have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you. Why? Well, go to John, chapter 14, because this is the promise of the Comforter that was going to come, and he was going to teach you all things. So the Holy Ghost is who we're talking about here. The Holy Ghost is that anointing. The Holy Ghost is that unction, and that's why you know all things. That's why you need not that any man teach you. That's one of the great things about the New Testament is the fact that we're indwelled with the Holy Ghost, and the Holy Ghost lives inside of us, and we don't need to go to a prophet to get understanding. If you have the Holy Ghost inside of you, and you have the Word of God, that's all you need. And so in John, chapter 14, and verse 16, notice what it says. John, chapter 14, verse 16, says, Then I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him, but ye know him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. Now, when he spoke this, obviously the indwelling hadn't happened yet, because he hadn't been glorified yet. The Holy Ghost wasn't indwelling until, remember, as soon as he was resurrected, he breathed on his disciples, and they received the Holy Ghost. But, he said, he's with you, and he shall be in you. And notice in verse 26, in that same chapter, verse 26, there it says, But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you. So, the same thing, the anointing which you have received of him abideth in you, and he need not that any man teach you. Why? Because he teaches you all things, and he bringeth all to remembrance. And so, the Holy Ghost is the anointing. That's the anointing that you receive when you get saved, the anointing of the Spirit of God. And so, that oil, that anointing oil is the representation of that. But also, think about Jesus Christ himself. Go to Acts chapter 4. What does the word Christ even mean? And so, I want to show you just the correlation here with Jesus Christ and the Spirit of God. And it says in Acts chapter 4 verse 25, it says, Who by the mouth of thy servant David hath said, Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ. Now, this is a very famous passage because this is quoting Psalm chapter 2. Now, go to Psalm chapter 2. So, in this passage it says that they were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ. Now, we know that Christ means Messiah because, you know, in John chapter 1 it says they have found the Messiah which is being interpreted the Christ. And so, we know Messiah and Christ are synonymous or synonyms, but we'll see that there's another synonym that describes what the word Christ means. Psalm chapter 2 or Psalm 2 verse 1, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder and cast their cords from us. So, in Psalm 2 it says that he's his anointed, and then in Acts chapter 4 it quotes it as Christ. Well, think about it. What does it mean to christen something? I mean, if you think about the word Christ, Christ is coming from the fact that you're christening something or anointing something. When you christen something, you're anointing it, okay? It's just a synonym to mean the same exact thing. So, Jesus is the anointed. He is the Christ. He is the Messiah. All those three words are the same exact word. It's just synonyms for that same word. But, do you see how anointed gives you a little more understanding of what Christ means? Maybe because he's the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and isn't that what they did with Saul and David is they anointed them with oil because they were the king? And so, Christ just means that he's the king. He's the anointed one to come. He's the chosen one. And, obviously, he's the elect and all these different titles that Jesus has. But, go to Hebrews chapter 1 because we're going to see that Jesus had the spirit above everybody because he is God. He's the son of God. So, obviously, he's going to have the Holy Ghost anointing more than anybody else. So, Hebrews chapter 1, dealing with the son, in verse 8, it says, But unto the son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity. Therefore, God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. So, this isn't just talking about a physical oil. But, if you think of the high priest, he was anointed with oil. Aaron, you know, talks about the oil that went down and on his beard and to the skirts of his garments. And so, they would anoint the high priest. Jesus is a high priest forever after he ordered Melchizedek. So, there's a lot of reasons why he would be anointed with oil. But, what does that represent? Well, he's anointed above his fellows with the oil of gladness above his fellows. Well, go to John chapter 3. And, I know you're saying, all right, we get it. You're beating the horse here. But, I just want you to see that it's not an unprecedented thing to see oil being represented or representing the Holy Ghost. You know, think about the fact that even in the church ordinances now, if someone is sick, you know, unto death, so to speak, in James chapter 5, you're to bring oil and anoint them with oil. You know, and I believe that, I mean, I don't think that I believe that's a church thing that you can do. If you have somebody that that's in the church and they're literally like there's just something that they can't get over or it's something that's like life or death and, you know, bring it before the church and the elders of the church to bring oil and anoint them with oil and ask God to heal them. But, there's a reason why we're using oil. Because we're symbolizing the Holy Ghost. Just as much as that bread and that juice symbolize the blood and body of Christ, the oil symbolizes the Holy Ghost. But in John chapter 3, notice what it says in verse 34. John chapter 3 verse 34, it says, For he whom God had sent speaketh the words of God, for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. The Father loveth the Son and have given all things into his hand. Why is he anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows? Because he hasn't given the Spirit by measure to him. If you read 1st Corinthians chapter 12, notice that, you know, to separately to their several abilities, the Spirit has given out different types of gifts of the Spirit. Not to Jesus. It was not given by measure to him. He was anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows, meaning he was anointed above everybody. You know, we have special gifts and some people have gifts and the Spirit gives gifts to people, but Jesus had it all. And Jesus was anointed above that because he's God. And he had the comforter, you know, obviously the Holy Ghost came upon him after he was baptized and he had the Spirit of God from that point on. And obviously Jesus is from everlasting. That's not what I'm talking about, but what I'm saying is that Jesus, the man Christ Jesus, was anointed with the Holy Ghost there right after his baptism as well. So anyway, I just wanted you to see that, that I believe the oil represents the Spirit. So the five foolish virgins did not have the Spirit. It says no oil. It doesn't say they had some and they didn't bring enough to fill it up. Notice they brought no oil. It doesn't say that they just ran out of oil. No oil. And so that's what I believe about that. Now, back to the parable here of the five, or the ten virgins. Another proof why they're not saved. Now if they don't have the Spirit, that makes sense they're not saved, right? So in a lot of these parables what you'll see is saved, lost, saved, lost. This parable, what do you have? Five saved, five lost. In the next parable, what do you have? You have the two that are saved and then the one guy that was lost at the end. And the talent was taken away, meaning he was taking away his ability to be saved after that. Then you have at the end, what do you have? The sheep and the goats. So you have all these things where it's very contrast as far as who you're talking about. So, no one would doubt that the sheep are saved and the goats are lost in that parable, okay? And maybe we'll get to that eventually in another sermon. But without a shadow of a doubt, these people, these five virgins that didn't have oil weren't saved because notice what it says in verse 10. So Matthew 25 verse 10. Matthew 25 verse 10, it says, And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, verily I say unto you, I know you not. Now, you should know just from Matthew 7 and all this that when the Lord says, I know you not, that's not a good thing, okay? That's very bad. So go to Luke chapter 13, because this actual same thing with the door being shut and saying, I know you not, is actually in Luke 13. And there will be no doubt that these people are not saved. But I'm going to read Revelation chapter 3, dealing with the church of Philadelphia. Revelation 3 7 says, And the angel of the church of Philadelphia write, These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth. So you can see who is this parable, who's the bridegroom dealing with? Jesus. Even with John chapter 3, where we're going with the spirit is not given unto him by measure, right before that, John the Baptist saying, He must increase, I must decrease, and I'm the friend of the bridegroom, but the bridegroom, you know, and so he's comparing himself to John the Baptist is the friend of the bridegroom, and Jesus is the bridegroom. So in this parable, what this is really dealing with is end times where Jesus is coming back. And so we're going to see also another aspect of this, after we get through this, but I want to prove to you, first of all, that the first five, the five wise are saved, the five foolish are not saved, because one has the spirit, those five have the spirit, these are the five don't have the spirit. But even more so because these five that don't have the oil, are coming up to him saying, Lord, Lord open to us. And he says, I know you not. So in Luke 13, look at this passage here, Luke 13, verse 23. Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? Now, what's the subject here? Okay, no doubt, we're talking about people being saved from hell, being saved as Christians here. And he said unto them, strive to enter in in at the straight gate for many I say unto you will seek to enter in and shall not be able. When once the master of the house has risen up and has shut to the door, you begin to stand without and to knock at the door saying, Lord, Lord open unto us. And he shall answer and say unto you, I know I know you not when she are sound familiar. This is exactly what's being said in the 10 virgins. They say open unto us, they even say, Lord, Lord open unto us. And he says, I know you not. Keep reading there in verse 26, then shall you begin to say we have eaten and drunken in thy presence and thou has taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not when she yard apart for me, all ye workers of iniquity, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And you shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and ye and you yourselves thrust out. Is there any doubt that those five virgins are not saved? Because that is literally I'm, you can take actual just snippets of this right here and just put it right into that because that's exactly what's being said. Lord, Lord open unto us, the door was shut. Is that what it says here? Is that the fact that the master of the house has risen up and has shut to the door? Isn't that what happens with these, the door was shut and those five virgins came back and wanted to enter in and he says, I know you not. And that's exactly what we're dealing with here. So these are definitely not saved people. And they're gonna go to hell. Now, what's this parable teaching us here? Well, what I believe this is teaching us is the same principle that we see in Matthew 24, Matthew 25 is coming right after Matthew 24, when we're dealing with the second coming of Christ. And just like we were talking about in Matthew 25, with the talents, and we saw the correlation with the talents with the last bit of that chapter, we're talking about the good servant and the evil servant. This actually correlates perfectly, these 10 virgins, the five that were that were wise, the five that were foolish with the two being in one field, one was taken, the other left. Two were grinding at the mill, one was taken, one was left. Notice 50%. Five and five, you have 10, five and five, so half of them were taken, the other half were left in all these cases. So go to Matthew 24 and verse 40 there. What I believe this is teaching us because what we're going to see is a principle here in Matthew 24 of not letting your house be broken up. And you may ask yourself, why does it say watch? If we're saved, why are we worried about watching for when he comes? There's a reason why, and I'm going to show you why. But Matthew 24 touches on this and it talks about, it gives you the reason right after it's talking about there's going to be two in the field, one's going to be taken, one shall be left. So in verse 40, it says, then shall two be in the field, the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill, the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore, for ye know not what hour your lord doth come. But know this, that if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready, for in such an hour as ye think not, the son of man cometh. Notice in Matthew 25, 13 it says, how does this thing end? Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the son of man cometh. That's exactly what we're talking about. And it correlates perfectly with Matthew 24 because we have two that are in the field, one's taking, one's left. Two that are grinding at the mill, one's taking, one's left. And it's also, you have the same thing, only you have a bigger group of people than two, you have ten. Guess what? Half are taken, half are left. And why is it saying, it says, why are we watching? Why does it say the watch? Because he would have watched and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Notice that with all these, they're together. You have two that are in the field, they probably know each other. They could be family members. And, you know, there are two women grinding at the mill. I don't think they're strangers if they're grinding in the mill together. And a lot of times family would work together on things and they're farming together as a family. And so their house is being broken up because only one is leaving, the other is being left. Notice in Luke, I'll show you without a shout out, this has to be family, okay, because notice in Luke 17, this is another passage dealing with the rapture and dealing with Jesus coming back. There's no doubt that this is talking about Jesus coming back when one is taken and one is left because he's talking about you don't know when the hour when the son of man cometh. And so this stuff lines up perfectly because Matthew 24 talks about this. Then it goes into the good servant, evil servant. What's Matthew 25? A parable about these being taken, these other left, and then you go into a good servant, evil servant parable. So it lines up perfectly with the progression of things. But in Luke chapter 17, verse 34, notice what it says, I tell you in that night there shall be two men in one bed. The one shall be taken and the other shall be left. Now these are family members, okay, probably brothers if anything, but they're people that definitely know each other because you're not going to be sleeping in the same bed with a perfect stranger probably. And this isn't talking about, you know, sodomy here, okay. People try to bring this stuff up and it's like, no, okay. I've been on trips where I've had to sleep in the same bed with somebody because we're just, you know, you're poor and you need, you need a place to stay, okay. But, you know, unless you're a queer, you don't worry about that type of stuff. So anyway, in Luke 17, there's two men in one bed, one shall be taken, one shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together, the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field, the one shall be taken, and the other left. And they answered and said unto him, where, Lord? And he said unto them, wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together. And this is talking about, if you, if you couple this with Matthew 24 where it says that, it's talking about Jesus Christ coming. So it's talking about the rapture. And so, but I want you to see that we're dealing with families being broken up, the house being broken up. That's why we're watching and waiting because we don't want to see the house, our house is broken up. Dealing especially with salvation. So there's actually, when it, when it talks about this, right before it gets into the one shall be taken, one should be left, do you know the two stories it brings up? And this is, obviously when we're dealing with Noah and the flood, I've been talking about this on how the flood is being brought up, but there's two different people and their families that are brought up. Noah and Lot. One, the family wasn't broken up and he saved his whole house. Lot, no. He, his, his family was broken up. So it's giving us two exact examples of someone that was watching and waiting and they didn't suffer their house to be broken up and someone that wasn't watching and waiting and they suffered their house to be broken up. So let's look at that story. So you're in Luke 17, stay there in Luke 17. And this is probably going to be a short one tonight, but you know, that's just the way it rolls with this. I mean, this is a short parable. And it really is pretty basic. I mean, it's just the fact that these five had the Holy Ghost, they were saved. These five don't have the Holy Ghost, they're not saved. When Jesus comes, he's only taking those that are saved and therefore their house was broken up and they were split. The five went with Jesus, the five didn't. And so, but in Luke 17, we get into the story of Noah and Lot. So we, we, we already saw the pattern, you know, at the end of Luke 17, dealing with one should be taken, one should be left. And it's using these two stories to show that correlation. But Luke 17 verse 26, it says, and as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise, also as it was in the days of Lot, they did eat, they drank, they, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built it. But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the son of man is revealed. So you have two examples in the Old Testament dealing with the fact of a correlation of Christ coming. And obviously both of them, you're dealing with God's wrath coming upon the earth either in the flood or with the fire coming down from heaven. And so we've been talking about this a lot anyway just because we've been going through Genesis and we've been talking about the flood. But in one case, Noah saved his whole family. In the other case, Lot didn't. And so Hebrew, go to Hebrews chapter 11. And it even says that. So we're talking about not suffering your house to be broken up. And I would say this is a heed that we should, or this is a warning that we should heed even if Christ wasn't coming back in our day. Because you never know when you're going to die and you never know when your children are going to die or people in your family are going to die. Do not suffer your family to be broken up. Do not suffer your house to be broken up. You don't know. You don't know when you're going to die. What is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. So therefore, that could, you know, you could die at any moment. Okay, that is a true statement. Jesus can't come at any moment. We know that things have to happen before he does. But even the aspect of just life and death, don't suffer your house to be broken up. And be like Noah, not like Lot. And so in Hebrews chapter 11 verse 7 it says, By faith Noah being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house, by the which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. So Noah saved his whole house. His three sons, his three wives and his wife, they all made it safely through that. You know, they came off the ark, you know, unscathed. Did that happen with Lot and his family? Go to Genesis chapter 19. Genesis chapter 19. So I hope this helps you understand when you're dealing with in Matthew 24 or in these all of the discourses where it's saying watch, be ready. Watch and be ready because you don't know when Jesus is going to come. Why is it saying that to us when we know we're already saved and we know that we would be taken up in the rapture? Why? Because you don't want to suffer your house to be broken up. You may be saved, but are your family members saved? Is your house in order? Is everybody that you care about taken care of? Or will it be broken up in that time? So, Genesis chapter 19, famous passage dealing with Sodom and Gomorrah. But notice in verse 14, this is when the angels are trying to get Lot and his daughters and his wife out of the city because they're going to destroy it. Notice in verse 14 it says, And Lot went out and spake unto his sons-in-law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place, for the Lord will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons-in-law. And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife and thy two daughters, which are here, lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. So Lot had more than those two daughters that he took with him out of there. He had at least two other daughters because it says the sons-in-law, meaning sons plural, meaning he had at least two sons-in-law. So that means he at least had two other daughters that died when God rained out fire and brimstone on Sodom. And so he lost two daughters at least. But then he loses his wife. Genesis 19 verse 26. In verse 26 it says, But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. Luke 17, when we're dealing with this, it goes down and says, Remember Lot's wife. Don't suffer your house to be broken up. You need to have your house in order, and you need to be prepared before all this goes down. When you're dealing with the great tribulation, you need to have your house in order. You need to be watching. You need to be ready. When you're coming down to the end, you don't need to be like, all right, we need to get stuff figured out. We need to get rooted and grounded. We need to make sure everybody's saved. No, you need to get that settled now. Now is the accepted time. Now is the day of salvation. Your time is always ready when it comes to the fact of being saved and getting that settled. So don't suffer your house to be broken up, but we're to watch and be ready. Now go to Matthew Chapter 26, and I want to couple this with talking about this being ready because it talks about being ready, being sober, watching and waiting, and it's not talking about the fact, well, if you don't, then you're going to go to hell. That's not what it's saying. It's talking about the fact that if you're not watching and waiting, you may die in tribulation because you were caught off guard, but more so, you're going to suffer your house to be broken up. Think about what it says in Luke Chapter 21. You go there, and I was just thinking about this just off the top of my head here. Luke 21. But in Matthew Chapter 27, or 26, you're in 26, but in Luke 21 is obviously a parallel passage dealing with end times. In Luke 21 it says, and take heed to yourselves lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as the snares shall come on all them that dwell on the face of the earth, the whole earth, watch ye therefore and pray always that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things, that it shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man. Now, why would it say that? Now, it's not saying that you may be accounted to go to heaven because unless those days are short and no flesh should be saved, that means that a lot of Christians are dying, and so if you're overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness and the cares of this life, you're not going to be ready for that great tribulation. You're going to be offended. You're going to fall away. You're going to be, you're going to probably maybe be killed in this whole thing because God's not necessarily going to put his protection on those that aren't doing what they should be doing, but also think about this. What was Lot like? Because Lot pitched his tent towards Sodom, and so Lot, obviously after this, he got drunk. Now, Noah got drunk too, so I know that's true too, but what I'm saying here is that Lot obviously wasn't living the the staple Christian life that he should be living, right? Because his daughters didn't listen to him. His sons-in-law thought he mocked. Why would they think he was mocking? Probably because he was just doing the same stuff they were doing, and so for him, it'd be like someone that's, you know, you get out of the party seat, you get out of the partying seat, and then you go talk to your friends about the gospel, see what they say to you. They're going to mock you and be like, oh, you got Jesus now? And so that's exactly what happened with Lot. So it's a warning to not be overcharged with that stuff. Cares to this life because then when it comes down to the fact that you see the signs coming and you're saved and you're like, hey, you guys need to get saved. This is coming down. They're going to laugh at you. They're going to laugh at you and think, what are you crazy? You've been just, you know, you've been living for the same stuff we've been doing all this time, and now you're telling me that I need to do this and that or to be wary of God's wrath that's coming upon the earth. So it's a great correlation with not suffering your house to be broken up. The fact that we're not going to win people by lifestyle evangelism, but you're going to have a lot more credibility if you're living a righteous life. If you're not living a righteous life, people aren't going to take you as seriously. They're going to think, they're going to look at you like you're mocking. And so, but Matthew chapter 26 and verse 41, they're dealing with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. And I just want to show you something here when you're dealing with this watching and praying. And so, Matthew 26 verse 41, it says, Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Now, if you correlate this, that's the one that most people will quote. If you were to say the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Well, go to Mark chapter 14 and we'll see a synonym for, for willing. The spirit indeed is willing. Mark 14 verse 38, same, you know, past, same, same story. But Mark 14 verse 38 says, Watch ye and pray lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. So, what we find here is the fact that we are spiritually ready. When you deal with the inner man, you're ready, you're sober, but your flesh isn't. And that's the call to action all the time throughout the Bible was the fact that put off the flesh, put on the new man, be sober, be vigilant, you know, watch and be ready. Your, your soul's ready. And people that aren't saved, their time is always ready to be ready, meaning that they need to get saved, they need to get their soul ready. See, their spirit is ready, but their flesh is weak. And so that's what you're needing to reign in. That's what needs to be watching. That's why he's saying to watch and be ready. He's not saying like that your soul's ready, but that you're physically ready. So, you gotta walk in the spirit and be ready. And so, but in, in 1 Peter chapter 4 and verse 7, it says, but the end of all things is at hand, be therefore sober and watch unto prayer. So, we're supposed to be sober. The end of all things is at hand. Remember, in Revelation chapter 1 and chapter 22, it says, the time is at hand. And so, the end of all things is at hand, be therefore sober and watch unto prayer. That's the call that they're calling us out to, but why? You know, we're already saved. We know that if, if Jesus came right now, even though we know that's not gonna happen, if he came right now, we'd be ready, spiritually. We'd be ready. I mean, he's gonna take his own with him. And so, we're ready, we're saved, we're ready to go. We go back to Matthew 24. Matthew 24. That's what it's talking about. Not suffering your house to be broken up. And this, this parable of the 10 virgins is talking about that. It's just basically a bigger picture dealing with the two are in the field, one should be taken, one should be left. It's giving you more information about those two. Guess what? The one that was taken had the Spirit of God, had oil, and they were ready. The other one didn't have the Spirit of God. They didn't have oil and they were foolish and they were left and the door was shut. That's exactly, and it just, that parable gives you more information and makes you understand that saved loss. That's what you're dealing with. The one that was taken was saved. The one that was left was lost. And so, by Matthew 24, just to kind of wrap this up, Matthew 24, it says, Watch therefore, in verse 42, I'm sorry, Matthew 24, verse 42, Watch therefore, for you know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the good men of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore, be ye also ready, for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh. Remember in the parable, when did the, when did the, the bridegroom come? Midnight. He came at midnight. When did the thief come breaking up in the night? When is Jesus coming back as a thief in the night? And so, and even in Matthew, chapter 13, it says you don't know what watch he's coming, either at the, in the cock crowing, or in the morning, or at midnight, or in the evening. So it tells you, you don't know when he's coming. So it's clearly talking about the second coming of Christ, but that you're going to be ready. Why do we need to be ready? So you don't suffer your house to be broken up. So that you're not living for the world when this, all this stuff goes down, and you're caught off guard, first of all, because how are you going to stand before, and why is it such a blessing to stand before him, because you're alive, to see that, so you can be one of those that, you know, lift up your head, and look up for your redemption, draw an eye. Don't you want to be one of those, you know? And obviously, there's nothing wrong with being killed for the cause of Christ, and being martyred for the cause of Christ, but I'd like to make it to the end, make it through that great tribulation, and see my Savior coming in the clouds, and save me out of that. And so, how are you going to stand before that? You're not going to be caught off guard by living by the pleasures of this world, and being overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and also, people are going to take you seriously in the end times when you come at them with the gospel, and say, hey, you need to get saved. And, you know what, if you've been living for God, and you've been going soul winning, week in, week out, and you've been, you've been tugging on your family member's hearts, you've been trying to give them the gospel, give them the gospel, give them the gospel, they see all this stuff going down, there's World War III, there's famine, there's pestilences, and you're saying, listen, you need to get saved now. Now's the time, because Jesus is going to come soon, and this stuff's going down, you need to get saved, you know what, they may actually take you seriously. But if you've been living for the world, and you've been drunkenness, and you've been living with the world, and you've been living with them, when all this stuff starts going down, and you say, listen, this is the Lord, and the Lord's coming back, he's going to pour out his wrath, and you want to get saved before this happens, you need to get saved now, because you may die, or you may get thrown into the wrath of God, they're going to mock at you, and be like, why, who's this person to tell me how to be saved? And so that's why we need to be watching, we need to be sober, we need to be ready, we need to be rooted and grounded in the truth, we need to be doing what we need to be doing now, before that great tribulation comes, because then we'll be ready, and people will take us seriously. Because they'll look at you and say, yeah, he's been telling me this all along, this stuff's coming to pass, I need to get saved. You're going to have some gravity behind what you're saying, if you've been living for God, you've been watching and waiting, then your family members may listen to you. But how about you get your family members saved before that happens? Okay, get your house in order, you know, get your family members saved before that happens. Try to get your children saved at the earliest age possible, get that settled, then it's not like at the end you're trying to win them over and they're going to think you're mocking at them. You know, think about parents that, you know, they may be saved, but they don't take them to church, they don't get them in the things of God, and then they wonder why they don't want to get saved, and then they don't get saved, and now it's a real chore to get them saved, and they think that you're mocking at them when you say you need to get in church, when you haven't been in church all this time, and you haven't been doing what you should be doing all this time. And so, all I'm saying is that this is a great parable to show us, hey, don't let your house be broken up. The parable of the virgins, ten were wise, ten were foolish, it's a perfect picture of the rapture, it's a perfect picture of end times on the fact that five were saved, five were lost, five were taken with the bridegroom, five were left, two were in the field, one was taken, one was left, two were grinding a mill, one was taken, one was left, two men were in a bed, one was taken, one was left, do not suffer your house to be broken up. Be diligent, be sober, be vigilant. Because your adversary the devil walketh about seeking, as a rowing lion, seeking him he may devour, and we need to be sober and watching and waiting for others. You know, it talks about in the bible and the fact that to me, for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labor, yet what I shall choose I what not. If I have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. I'm a straight, it says I have a straight, I'm in a straight betwixt two. Having a desire to part and be with Christ, which is far better, nevertheless, to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. That's why you need to be watching and waiting. That's why you need to be sober and diligent because it's more needful for the folks out here that we are. So don't get saved. So let's end with a word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you for tonight. We thank you for this parable. And Lord, we thank you for the truth of why you need us to be watching and waiting. Why we need to be sober. Why we need to be ready for the end times and Lord that you can give us all this information in the Bible to fit it all together, to piece it all together. And Lord, I just pray that you help us to take this to heart, help us to realize the need to be living a godly life, to be ready now before the hard times come. And Lord, to ultimately bring more glory to you, see more souls saved, and Lord, to be a light unto this dying world. And Lord, we love you and pray all this in Jesus Christ's name. Amen.