Are Your Vessels Filled With Oil?

                              Are Your Vessels Filled with Oil?

                         

                            Hello. Welcome to My Little House of Prayer Ministry. I am your host Dayla Smith. I am so very glad that you could join me today. It is a day the LORD hath made to rejoice and be glad and rejoice in. Today’s topic  is Are Your Vessels Filled with Oil? I can’t wait for us to dive into this message. Oh, you’ll definitely want to tune into next week's message. It is a message from the Lord for all of His people. It will encourage all of us in these last days. I am working very hard and diligently on it. So, pray for me as I prepare next week’s message for all of us. I say all of us because I include myself also. I get to learn also. So, I thank all of you and especially my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ of Nazareth for this opportunity. So, without further adieu, let’s begin.

                          Are your vessels filled with oil? This  is a funny question to ask these days. Thanks to technology. But, in the Spirit realm we walk this Christian walk by the light of His Torah truth. Psalms 119: 105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. And Matthew 25: 1-13 says, 25 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: 4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. 6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. 7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. 9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 10 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. 11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. 13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

                               Let’s look at the word lamp in psalms and Matthew. In Hebrew in the Strong’s exhaustive concordance it is nir or ner.  In Greek it is lampas or lampo. Both Hebrew and Greek have the same meaning. To glisten, to light, to beam, to radiate brilliancy, give light, or shine. (From the Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance.)  The torah truth lights up, glistens, shines, beams, radiates brilliancy, or gives light. Light shows us the direction we are headed in. If we are headed the wrong way in a lighted path, because of the light, we can turn around. So, in Psalms we have a promise that as we read and meditate on God’s word, the light of the Torah truth will guide us in the right direction. Sounds awfully familiar to what happened with the urim and thummim. The Priest would ask for direction and the stones would light up. We have a spiritual urim and thummim. Don’t think for one minute that things have changed that much. It is our spiritual heart that lights up. How powerful is this? It is our witness from the Holy Spirit. When truth is spoken, the Holy spirit lights up in our hearts. What happens when it lights up in our hearts? It convicts us. It directs us.  It bears witness to the truth when it is spoken. Look at Ephesians 1:17-18 says, 17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: 18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. 

                    In verse 18, enlightened in the Greek is photizo, meaning to shed rays, to shine, to brighten up, to illuminate, or to make to see. Funny. This is where we get the word photo from. Cameras take control of the amount of light and it’s rays to create a picture. So you see, it is the same in the old testament as the new testament. In the tabernacle, there is the menorah. It has 7 lamps. Isn’t that interesting.  Each post is called a lamp. What do they use for fuel? Pure Olive Oil.  The oil speaks of the Holy Spirit. How are you enjoying this so far? The number 7 in scripture represents the completeness of Christ. The Priests were instructed to place new oil twice a day. This was so that the light of the Torah truth never went out. So, in other words, we are supposed to meditate on God’s word day and night. Allowing the Holy Spirit to instruct us, to be a light for our path, to convict us when we are headed in the wrong direction. 

                           Jesus spoke of 10 virgins. The number 10 speaks of the completeness of the law, judgments, and the covenant. When Jesus shared this parable, He chose the number 10 because he wanted to establish that He was talking about our covenant with the LORD and His laws. The Lord wants His people to walk in a covenant with Him. Remember, The marriage supper of the Lamb is the rehearsal dinner. And, in the rehearsal dinner, you have the groom, the bride, the bridesmaids, and the groomsmen, the bridesmaids, the groomsmen, the ring bearer, the flower girl, the Father of the bride and groom, the Mother of the Bride and groom, and any other family member who participating in any way in the wedding.  Let’s look at the Diagram that is set up Matthew 13:8, when Jesus speaks about seeds and where they fall.

Ephesians 4: 13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.

                      So you see, He wants us to make heaven our home more than we do. He is giving us every opportunity to make heaven our home. He wants us to not only make heaven our home, but also to grow and mature in Him. The only way to grow and mature is to read His love letter/road map. To Pray and seek His face not His hand. Remember, His hand is connected to His face. Hahahahahaha 

                  Next He divides them into 2 groups. Five wise. And, Five foolish. The number 5 speaks of Grace. His grace reached out to both groups. But, the choice was still in their hands as to how they chose to respond to it. The 5 foolish could have chosen to keep their lamps filled with the oil of the Holy Spirit. The 5 wise remained ready. They were watchfull. Prayerful. They kept the Torah truth of God’s word constantly before them. They depended on the truth of God’s word to lead and guide them into a deeper relationship with Him. They stayed repentant before Him. 

                The five foolish only took lamps with them. While the five wise also took vessels. In the Greek, vessels is pronounced angeion, which means a pail or a receptacle. So, they brought a pail also with them that was filled with oil. Remember I said oil speaks of the Holy Spirit. That He lights up the Torah truth of God’s word and convicts and directs us. He teaches us the perfect will of God in Christ Jesus. Hallelujah! They made sure that they constantly were ready spiritually for the call for the marriage supper of the lamb. 

               A wonderful friend of mine shared with me a little nugget she obtained. According to Jewish tradition, Only the Father of the groom knew when the bride and groom would be married. He would call out at midnight on the day He decided it was time. This was handed to them in the old testament laws. In this parable, Jesus says that a cry went out for the marriage supper of the Lamb, when? At midnight. Hallelujah! How powerful is this to you? 

                 In verse 5, the bridegroom tarries. He waits. He waits for His father to tell him it is time to go get his bride. So, if Jesus is our example, and He is waiting. We are called to follow that same example, and wait also. Psalm 46: 10 says,  Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. How do we wait? By staying in God’s word. Read it daily. Meditate on it. Chew on it mentally and spiritually. Allow the Holy Spirit to light up His Torah truths in you. And, pray. Seek His face. Reach out to others with the message of hope He has placed in you. And expect His promises, and His soon coming. His coming back to call us back to Him. 

                   So, the cry goes out and how does each group respond?

The first group, the wise virgins, were ready. They had plenty of oil for their journey. Are you ready? Do you have plenty of oil for your journey? Yes, they all slept. But the 5 wise were ready in their hearts. They kept their hearts alert for His promise to come get them. They walked in His anointing. The anointing of the Holy Spirit. They stayed repentant before Him. They sought His face. They read and meditated on the Torah truth of God’s word. They constantly let the Holy Spirit shine the light on His torah truth. Are you doing this? 

                          You see, when we get to heaven, or the kingdom of God, we will not be walking in. We won’t walk in high and mighty, like we are all that and a bag of chips. No. We will be crawling in. We will  be bowed down and coming low into His presence. In Matthew 19:16-24 says 16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? 17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. 18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, 19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? 21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. 22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. 23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. 24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

So, the rich man had to cast all of his worldly riches, his old life, away before he could enter the kingdom of God. That means we have to do the same. To stay ready and not fall asleep.

              Now let’s look at the five foolish virgins. What happened to them. They looked at the 5 wise and said give us some of your oil.  We are not prepared. We fell asleep thinking surely he wouldn’t be coming today. “I will receive His gift  of salvation tomorrow. “
“ I will pray tomorrow.” “ I can repent and quit this sin tomorrow.” Just like the rich young ruler, they were not ready to get rid of those worldly cares or sins that the Lord was dealing with them to get rid of. Hebrews 12 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us .  So, the oil they once had was used up. There was no longer the light of the Torah truth of God’s word to light their way. They were wanting to rely on someone else's anointing. To depend on someone else’s prayers. To depend on someone going to church in their place. I’m sure we can all put ourselves in that place at some point and time. 

                     When they cry was made, they left to go find and buy oil for their lamps. But it was too late. He comes as a thief in the night.

They were left behind. I don’t want to be left behind. You can be too late in any part of God’s plan for life. No, you won’t miss the kingdom of God right now. Because we all have this moment to repent. He has given each and everyone of us gifts and talents. When you are walking in those gifts and talents, you are good. You are making heaven your home Matthew 6:20-21says, 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. This is what the five wise virgins did. They laid up their treasure in heaven. Their cares were for the kingdom of God. The 5 foolish virgins laid their treasure in the world.  Their cares were for the things of this world. 

                           What happened when the 5 foolish virgins returned? The door was closed. Let me say this, there is a prophecy going out at this time. It has been prophesied. But, now the stage is being set. There is a great revival coming and now is. Don’t despise the small beginnings. It is coming. People will be flocking to the churches. There will be signs and wonders. Not just in the church. But in the earth and the heavens. And,  even now, are. Be ready! There will be a cry. And, even now, it is. There will be a great revival and then the cry will go forth, and the sky will split open. We will be raptured out of here. 

                       You see now is the time to repent. To receive the gift of God which is eternal life according to Romans 6:23. To walk out their salvation with fear and trembling  according to Philippians 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. To know our very lives are in His hand . To do good to us. Not evil or harm. Will you please answer this call? If you don’t know Jesus, as your savior, please pray with me. Please repeat after me. If you do not know the Lord Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. Let me introduce you to Him. It is really simple. First you must acknowledge that you are a sinner in need of a savior according to the mirror of the law of the Lord. Ask Him for His forgiveness for all of your sins and call them out to Him. Thank Him for His forgiveness. Then, forgive those who have sinned or transgressed against you. Then, repent. Repent means to change your mind concerning sinful habits. Change your choice making. Let Him influence your choice making decisions as you get in His Holy Word. Ask Him to be Lord over your life. I want to pray this prayer with you. But, this is just an outline. The real work begins after I pray with you because it is a very personal walk with the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth. 

                    Lord Jesus, I confess my sins and ask for your forgiveness. Please come into my heart as my Lord and Savior. Take complete control of my life and help me to walk in Your footsteps daily by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank you Lord for saving me and for answering my prayer. In Jesus’ name. Amen. Let me say welcome to the family of God. So happy for you in this decision. It is the most important decision you will ever make.

                 Now, are your vessels filled with oil? Are you walking with the Lord? Are you seeking His face? Meditating on His word? And, letting the Holy Spirit light up the Torah truth of God’s word in your heart? Let’s pray. Lord, I repent of the times I held back from you. The times I hesitated to walk with you. The times I was lax when your Spirit came to convict my heart. Thank you for forgiving me. I commit today to get in your word. To seek your face. And, anticipatingly waiting for your soon coming. In Jesus Name, amen.

                  Once again, thank you for joining me at My Little House of Prayer. Remember, I love you, but Jesus Christ of Nazareth will always love you more. Until next week, may your week be blessed.