Give Me Diesel for My Truck- Matthew 25:1-13
PRAY- Give Me Diesel for my truck-
The Scripture Lesson is partly about time- and not being late.
A man pacing back and forth glanced at his watch and yelled upstairs to his wife, "Honey, are you ready yet? We're going to be late for the party."
Shouting back, the woman replies, "For crying out loud, Ed, I've been telling you for the last half hour that I'll be ready in a minute!"
Our scripture today is about being late for a party- its teaching to "not be late" is not aimed at unbelievers- it is aimed at believers- Let’s read it
Matt 25:1-13- 25:1 "At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6 "At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'
7 "Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.'
9 "'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'
10 "But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
11 "Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!'
12 "But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.'
13 "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
(from New International Version)
Sometimes it is important to translate the scriptures- into present day terms- to get the understanding
Matt 25:1-13- The NDV- New Diesel Version
25:1 "At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten farmers who took their trucks and went out to meet the John Deere Dealer who was giving free use demonstrations of a new combine. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their trucks but did not take a second tank of diesel with them. 4 The wise farmers, however, had diesel in a second tank along with a full tank in their truck. 5 The John Deere Dealer was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep with their trucks running.
6 "At midnight the cry rang out: 'The Dealer is coming! Come out to meet him!'
7 "Then all the farmers woke up and put their trucks in gear. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your diesel; our trucks are going to be empty soon.'
9 "'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to a Busch station and buy diesel for yourselves.'
10 "But while they were on their way to buy the diesel, the John Deere Dealer arrived. The farmers who were ready went followed him to their fields and received free use of the new combine. And the way to the field was blocked for the others.
11 "Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Use the combine on our field!’
12 "But he replied, 'I have to level with you- You’re not on my potential customer list.'
13 "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
This is a parable of warning!
Parable is a fictional story- devised to teach an important truth
Learning truth via fiction
Main Truth: Don’t miss out on living life as God’s servant.
This is a story about getting into right relationship with God- and not waiting to further that relationship
Life lived as a servant of God- is a journey
It has many steps- I have abbreviated these steps into three main categories
(should I have one of Danny’s truck’s up there?)
1. Salvation- getting a truck (by the grace of God- why wouldn’t you accept a free truck from the Lord?)- choosing not to live in darkness anymore
A Lamp is essentially like a Truck- in basic terms they are both containers
They both have tanks for fuel.
We are not given the fuel first- with out a lamp or Truck- the oil and diesel would just be spilled fuel on the ground
God freely gives us the lamp- but he asks us to obtain the fuel
He makes possible that we Can live like Christ
He gave us His death on the cross- We cannot make our own lamp- our own truck that will be able to carry us where we need to go
On our own we cannot make a lamp with enough ability to outshine the darkness of this world and our own selfishness
On our own we cannot build a truck with an engine powerful enough to climb the hills of sin in our life- God gives us the lamp- the truck
2. Discipleship- getting fuel for your truck
Waiting- learning how and when to use your truck- keeping it tuned up - fuel ups- learning from the Word and fellow Christians- Praying and worshiping
Making repairs- when things go wrong- that’s repentance
Salvation and discipleship- like the Oil or the Diesel in our Parable- are things you can’t borrow from someone else- they can tell you where to get it (at the store- ie church) but they can’t give you their salvation-
You have to have your own salvation and discipleship
Think about it- Why didn’t they just walk side-by-side?
Jesus doesn’t say they walked side by side- because this parable is teaching us that we each need to be individually ready to follow the Lord
There are Christians- who have the attitude- I will know the Lord when I see Him or hear from him. They don’t fill up their tank with Prayer- With regular worship- with Bible study or Sunday school- they lean merely on their own resources- Will they recognize the Lord stopping by to call them to follow?
I say "Yes, but will you have the gas to follow him?"
There's a story that comes form the sinking of the Titanic. A frightened woman found her place in a lifeboat that was about to be lowered into the raging North Atlantic. She suddenly thought of something she needed, so she asked permission to return to her stateroom before they cast off. She was granted three minutes or they would leave without her.She ran across the deck that was already slanted at a dangerous angle. She raced through the gambling room with all the money that had rolled to one side, ankle deep. She came to her stateroom and quickly pushed a side her diamond rings and expensive bracelets and necklaces as she reached to the shelf above her bed and grabbed three small oranges. She quickly found her way back to the lifeboat and got in.Now that seems incredible because thirty minutes earlier she would not have chosen a crate of oranges over the smallest diamond. But death had boarded the Titanic. One blast of its awful breath had transformed all values. Instantaneously, priceless things had become worthless. Worthless things had become priceless. And in that moment she preferred three small oranges to a crate of diamonds.
Discipleship- is a process of learning to see life as it really is- an opportunity to love and serve God’s children. The disciple lifestyle, like the woman with the lifeboat- will seek to add things into their life- that make them a better servant of God
Disciples realize life is not pointless- it is purposeful
Realizing- like the wise farmers/virgins- that it does very little good to have a lamp without oil- no fuel for your truck- means no ability to follow the Lord when he comes by- a vessel with no fuel is a vessel with no vision!
The Lord is always coming by in our lives- asking us to serve in various ways- often- we have let the fuel run out in our tanks and our lights are off- we miss God’s leading- we can’t see him- and don’t have the means to follow. We must fill up often and repeatedly- going to the Spiritual Busch station- the Scriptures- to Prayer- to Worship- These activities fill up our tank and this makes us ready to follow the Lord
Without Discipleship we won’t be ready for the next stage of the Christian life.
3. Service- Using your truck- to do work- Lamps and trucks are both travel improvement devices. They both help us see at night- they improve our journeys- make us better able to know what we are doing in a dark world
Another interpretation- is that the Lamps- or in our case- the trucks- are not just for the journey to the party- but they are used to help do the work at the party. The bridesmaids were likely responsible for much work at the wedding feast.
The point of Christianity is not to "just save your soul" - this is the mere beginning- the point of Christ is to save people to become servants of love in the world.
Though it is NOT the acts of service that save you- it has long been held that a person claiming to be a Christian who does not do works of service and love- may be a sign of unbelief. True belief in the self-less- self-giving good news of Jesus Christ- leads people to be doing acts of service to others.
Martin Luther- who is famous for emphasizing God’s grace- also said this in his commentary on Romans, "O it is a living, busy, active, mighty thing, this faith. It is impossible for it not to be doing good works incessantly. It does not ask whether good works are to be done, but before the question is asked, it has already done them, and is constantly doing them. Whoever does not do such works, however, is an unbeliever."
If we are to use our God-given truck- we must not stop at having it- this is like accepting Christ and never doing anything beyond that- it would be like getting a truck and keeping it in the garage- never using it
God’s gonna call you to friendly work- loving your neighbors- and Don’t be surprised if he calls you to difficult work- Loving your enemies- one thing for sure is the Christian life is full of opportunities to do good in this world
To serve others- to look out for those in need
To tell others that they are dearly loved by God
To tell them that God has love for them, and work for them to do
Dale Bruner, "The Christian life is not just the initial thrill of a conversion, nor is it the series of thrills in praise services with their wonderful music; the Christian life is often dog-day service to households, in season and out, with or without ecstasy, in the simple determination to give faithful and creative service to others, with the correct sense that one day we will give an account of service to a Lord who will either be thrilled or repelled."
Often the second two stages overlap. The Learning and Serving- are often hard to untangle from each other- for when we serve- we inevitably Learn- and we learn- we should inevitably be drawn towards Service and Love
The life of a conversion-only Christian- they were so spiritual- that they never got to work- is in peril of missing the true party of God- God intends for us to move past conversion- into becoming a disciple- a humble, loving servant
You can be too late- you can have a lamp- or a truck- and miss the way to the real party- the real purpose of life.
Thief on the cross- it is never too late in this life- to start the journey
Conclusion:
Don’t live a Dark, Directionless, Dull Life
Let your light shine- get your fuel ups- look out for God coming by and calling you to work-
Don’t miss the party- fill up your truck and head out to the harvest- there’s work to be done.
The Scripture Lesson is partly about time- and not being late.
A man pacing back and forth glanced at his watch and yelled upstairs to his wife, "Honey, are you ready yet? We're going to be late for the party."
Shouting back, the woman replies, "For crying out loud, Ed, I've been telling you for the last half hour that I'll be ready in a minute!"
Our scripture today is about being late for a party- its teaching to "not be late" is not aimed at unbelievers- it is aimed at believers- Let’s read it
Matt 25:1-13- 25:1 "At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6 "At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'
7 "Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.'
9 "'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'
10 "But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
11 "Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!'
12 "But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.'
13 "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
(from New International Version)
Sometimes it is important to translate the scriptures- into present day terms- to get the understanding
Matt 25:1-13- The NDV- New Diesel Version
25:1 "At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten farmers who took their trucks and went out to meet the John Deere Dealer who was giving free use demonstrations of a new combine. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their trucks but did not take a second tank of diesel with them. 4 The wise farmers, however, had diesel in a second tank along with a full tank in their truck. 5 The John Deere Dealer was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep with their trucks running.
6 "At midnight the cry rang out: 'The Dealer is coming! Come out to meet him!'
7 "Then all the farmers woke up and put their trucks in gear. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your diesel; our trucks are going to be empty soon.'
9 "'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to a Busch station and buy diesel for yourselves.'
10 "But while they were on their way to buy the diesel, the John Deere Dealer arrived. The farmers who were ready went followed him to their fields and received free use of the new combine. And the way to the field was blocked for the others.
11 "Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Use the combine on our field!’
12 "But he replied, 'I have to level with you- You’re not on my potential customer list.'
13 "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
This is a parable of warning!
Parable is a fictional story- devised to teach an important truth
Learning truth via fiction
Main Truth: Don’t miss out on living life as God’s servant.
This is a story about getting into right relationship with God- and not waiting to further that relationship
Life lived as a servant of God- is a journey
It has many steps- I have abbreviated these steps into three main categories
(should I have one of Danny’s truck’s up there?)
1. Salvation- getting a truck (by the grace of God- why wouldn’t you accept a free truck from the Lord?)- choosing not to live in darkness anymore
A Lamp is essentially like a Truck- in basic terms they are both containers
They both have tanks for fuel.
We are not given the fuel first- with out a lamp or Truck- the oil and diesel would just be spilled fuel on the ground
God freely gives us the lamp- but he asks us to obtain the fuel
He makes possible that we Can live like Christ
He gave us His death on the cross- We cannot make our own lamp- our own truck that will be able to carry us where we need to go
On our own we cannot make a lamp with enough ability to outshine the darkness of this world and our own selfishness
On our own we cannot build a truck with an engine powerful enough to climb the hills of sin in our life- God gives us the lamp- the truck
2. Discipleship- getting fuel for your truck
Waiting- learning how and when to use your truck- keeping it tuned up - fuel ups- learning from the Word and fellow Christians- Praying and worshiping
Making repairs- when things go wrong- that’s repentance
Salvation and discipleship- like the Oil or the Diesel in our Parable- are things you can’t borrow from someone else- they can tell you where to get it (at the store- ie church) but they can’t give you their salvation-
You have to have your own salvation and discipleship
Think about it- Why didn’t they just walk side-by-side?
Jesus doesn’t say they walked side by side- because this parable is teaching us that we each need to be individually ready to follow the Lord
There are Christians- who have the attitude- I will know the Lord when I see Him or hear from him. They don’t fill up their tank with Prayer- With regular worship- with Bible study or Sunday school- they lean merely on their own resources- Will they recognize the Lord stopping by to call them to follow?
I say "Yes, but will you have the gas to follow him?"
There's a story that comes form the sinking of the Titanic. A frightened woman found her place in a lifeboat that was about to be lowered into the raging North Atlantic. She suddenly thought of something she needed, so she asked permission to return to her stateroom before they cast off. She was granted three minutes or they would leave without her.She ran across the deck that was already slanted at a dangerous angle. She raced through the gambling room with all the money that had rolled to one side, ankle deep. She came to her stateroom and quickly pushed a side her diamond rings and expensive bracelets and necklaces as she reached to the shelf above her bed and grabbed three small oranges. She quickly found her way back to the lifeboat and got in.Now that seems incredible because thirty minutes earlier she would not have chosen a crate of oranges over the smallest diamond. But death had boarded the Titanic. One blast of its awful breath had transformed all values. Instantaneously, priceless things had become worthless. Worthless things had become priceless. And in that moment she preferred three small oranges to a crate of diamonds.
Discipleship- is a process of learning to see life as it really is- an opportunity to love and serve God’s children. The disciple lifestyle, like the woman with the lifeboat- will seek to add things into their life- that make them a better servant of God
Disciples realize life is not pointless- it is purposeful
Realizing- like the wise farmers/virgins- that it does very little good to have a lamp without oil- no fuel for your truck- means no ability to follow the Lord when he comes by- a vessel with no fuel is a vessel with no vision!
The Lord is always coming by in our lives- asking us to serve in various ways- often- we have let the fuel run out in our tanks and our lights are off- we miss God’s leading- we can’t see him- and don’t have the means to follow. We must fill up often and repeatedly- going to the Spiritual Busch station- the Scriptures- to Prayer- to Worship- These activities fill up our tank and this makes us ready to follow the Lord
Without Discipleship we won’t be ready for the next stage of the Christian life.
3. Service- Using your truck- to do work- Lamps and trucks are both travel improvement devices. They both help us see at night- they improve our journeys- make us better able to know what we are doing in a dark world
Another interpretation- is that the Lamps- or in our case- the trucks- are not just for the journey to the party- but they are used to help do the work at the party. The bridesmaids were likely responsible for much work at the wedding feast.
The point of Christianity is not to "just save your soul" - this is the mere beginning- the point of Christ is to save people to become servants of love in the world.
Though it is NOT the acts of service that save you- it has long been held that a person claiming to be a Christian who does not do works of service and love- may be a sign of unbelief. True belief in the self-less- self-giving good news of Jesus Christ- leads people to be doing acts of service to others.
Martin Luther- who is famous for emphasizing God’s grace- also said this in his commentary on Romans, "O it is a living, busy, active, mighty thing, this faith. It is impossible for it not to be doing good works incessantly. It does not ask whether good works are to be done, but before the question is asked, it has already done them, and is constantly doing them. Whoever does not do such works, however, is an unbeliever."
If we are to use our God-given truck- we must not stop at having it- this is like accepting Christ and never doing anything beyond that- it would be like getting a truck and keeping it in the garage- never using it
God’s gonna call you to friendly work- loving your neighbors- and Don’t be surprised if he calls you to difficult work- Loving your enemies- one thing for sure is the Christian life is full of opportunities to do good in this world
To serve others- to look out for those in need
To tell others that they are dearly loved by God
To tell them that God has love for them, and work for them to do
Dale Bruner, "The Christian life is not just the initial thrill of a conversion, nor is it the series of thrills in praise services with their wonderful music; the Christian life is often dog-day service to households, in season and out, with or without ecstasy, in the simple determination to give faithful and creative service to others, with the correct sense that one day we will give an account of service to a Lord who will either be thrilled or repelled."
Often the second two stages overlap. The Learning and Serving- are often hard to untangle from each other- for when we serve- we inevitably Learn- and we learn- we should inevitably be drawn towards Service and Love
The life of a conversion-only Christian- they were so spiritual- that they never got to work- is in peril of missing the true party of God- God intends for us to move past conversion- into becoming a disciple- a humble, loving servant
You can be too late- you can have a lamp- or a truck- and miss the way to the real party- the real purpose of life.
Thief on the cross- it is never too late in this life- to start the journey
Conclusion:
Don’t live a Dark, Directionless, Dull Life
Let your light shine- get your fuel ups- look out for God coming by and calling you to work-
Don’t miss the party- fill up your truck and head out to the harvest- there’s work to be done.
posted by Palouse Fed. Church at 8:59 PM
1 Comments:
this is too good to be from an inexperienced, rookie pastor. You are not living up to your self description.
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