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<div><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Wisdom <br>
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Wisdom consists of the anticipation of consequences. <br>
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Norman Cousins <br>
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Preparedness <br>
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John Wesley was asked what he would do if he knew his Lord would return
at that time the next day. He said in effect, "I would go to bed and go
to sleep; wake up in the morning, and go on with my work, for I would
want Him to find me doing what he had appointed." <br>
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Traditional <br>
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Second Coming <br>
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The first perversion of the doctrine of the second coming of Christ is
perpetrated by those I'm going to call "prophecy mongers." You know
these people. They come with their charts and graphs, with their
predictions and projections, claiming to have special insight into the
workings of God in the world, so that they're able to cue us in on just
where we are in the divine timetable. And somehow, every political event
of the past fifty years fits neatly into their scheme of things. But
Jesus said that no one--not even himself--knew the day or the hour of
his coming, but only the Father. <br>
<br>
But there is another distortion of this doctrine that is equally
vitiating although in comes from a completely different direction. Here I
refer to those who, far from exaggerating the eschatology of Jesus,
want to minimize it because they are embarrassed. They rationalize it or
demythologize it or spiritualize it, so that they can embrace Jesus and
his teachings without getting all the supernatural trimmings that go
with it. The fundamentalist and the rationalist share a common
assumption about the second coming. They both assume that this is
teaching we can easily understand and exploit and have at our disposal,
so that it no longer threatens us, no longer hangs over our heads like
Damocles' sword, ready to fall upon us and shatter our pretty
pretensions into a thousand smithereens. The fundamentalist over
explains the second coming, and so takes away its mystery, while the
rationalist explains it away, robbing it of its meaning. <br>
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Jesus said, "Keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour."
It is here at the point of waiting that most of us have our greatest
difficulty. <br>
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The Minister's Manual: 1985, San Francisco: Harper & Row, p.25 <br>
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There Is a Deadline <br>
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Did you hear about the Christmas parade in central North Carolina? Many
elaborate floats passed by when suddenly a simple hay wagon pulled by a
tractor starts by. On the wagon are several fraternity boys from the
university. They are madly sawing boards and nailing things together.
The puzzled expressions of the onlooker's faces changed to laughter when
they read the sign on the back of the wagon. It read: "We thought the
parade was next week!" Isn't that just how it is? There is a time to
prepare, and there is a deadline after which nothing will do. Either
you're ready or you're not!<br>
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Stephen M. Crotts, Sermons for Sundays after Pentecost: Music from Another Room, CSS Publishing Company, 2003, 0-7880-1968-6e <br>
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The best way to prepare for the coming of Christ is never to forget the presence of Christ. <br>
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William Barclay in You Can Say That Again, Christianity Today, Vol. 39, no. 8. <br>
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<div><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Late, Late, so Late! <br>
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Don't be caught unprepared. That's the message in the parable of the ten
maidens. Nineteenth century English poet Alfred Tennyson in his Idylls
of the King adapted that parable to write this for Queen Guinevere, who
learned too late the cost of sin: <br>
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Late, late, so late! and dark the night and chill!<br>
Late, late so late! but we can enter still. <br>
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Too late, too late! ye cannot enter now. <br>
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No light had we: for that we do repent;<br>
And learning this, the bridegroom will relent. <br>
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Too late, too late! ye cannot enter now. <br>
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No light: so late! and dark and chill the night!<br>
O let us in, that we may find the light! <br>
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Too late, too late: ye cannot enter now. <br>
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Have we not heard the bridegroom is so sweet?<br>
O let us in, tho' late, to kiss his feet! <br>
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No, no, too late! ye cannot enter now. <br>
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John MacArthur, The Fate of the Unprepared <br>
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I'd Hurry If I Were You <br>
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The late Lewis Grizzard, a humorist and author of many columns and
books, was by his minister in the hospital. Grizzard was scheduled to
have open-heart surgery the next morning. He confessed to his minister
that he had not exactly been a paragon of virtue and asked if there were
still time to repent. The minister looked at his watch and replied,
"Yes, but I’d hurry if I were you." <br>
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Johnny Dean, The Scariest Sound in the World <br>
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Commentary: Historical Background <br>
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In order to catch the impact of this story, we need to know some
historical background of a first-century Jewish wedding. Eastern and
Western cultures are very different. In an Eastern culture the
bridegroom is often a more important figure than the bride and
frequently paid for all the expenses of the wedding. A Jewish wedding
had three parts or stages to it. First, there was the formal
engagement/betrothal which was almost always arranged by the parents of
the future bride and groom. Later (up to a year or more) came the formal
religious ceremony in the bride’s home. This was a religious service
similar to our wedding service. Thirdly, there was the wedding banquet
(feast), generally at night, at the house of the groom and it generally
lasted about seven days and could take place right after the ceremony or
weeks later. The bridegroom would come to get his bride and they would
walk together to the wedding. It was an elaborate affair that cost a lot
of money. It was,
therefore, a social event to which their friends were anxious to attend.
The bride and the groom walked down the street and their bridesmaids
would take part in the ‘welcoming ceremony’ by lighting the way with
lamps held by the wedding party. It would be a major faux pas for anyone
in the wedding party not to be by the road ready to welcome the
bridegroom and bride. <br>
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That is the background of the picture our Lord draws here. Here are ten
young women waiting to join the wedding party. They are expecting and
waiting for the bridegroom and the bride. <br>
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Richard A. Todd, Ten Sleepy Women <br>
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Advice on How to Wait <br>
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In the Old Testament, the prophet, Amos, tells us what not to do as we
wait. Amos brings a complaint from God against the people concerning
their worship. God complains against those who think they are ready, who
say they desire the day of the Lord. He complains that they go about
worshipping as they always have, not thinking about what their worship
means. They don't notice that their worship should turn them in the
direction of doing justice, of showing God's love to their neighbors.
God is unhappy with those who are indifferent toward their faith. Amos
quotes the Lord: "I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight
in your solemn assemblies .... Take away from me the noise of your
songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps" (Amos 5:21, 23).<br>
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Most of the book of Amos tells us what God hates about our hypocrisy and
religious practices. Amos makes it clear what not to do as we wait for
the day of the Lord. But Amos also goes on in this passage to give us
some positive guidance about what we should be doing as we wait for the
return of our Lord. Amos continues to speak God's word: "But let justice
roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream"
(Amos 5:24). <br>
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Phyllis Faaborg Wolk, Invitations to the Light, CSS Publishing Company <br>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">What's Your Purpose in Life? <br>
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Josh McDowell tells about an executive "headhunter" who recruits
corporate executives for large firms. This headhunter once told McDowell
that when he interviews an executive, he likes to disarm him. "I offer
him a drink," said the headhunter, "take off my coat, undo my tie, throw
up my feet and talk about baseball, football, family, whatever, until
he’s all relaxed. Then, when I think I’ve got him relaxed, I lean over,
look him square in the eye and say, ‘What’s your purpose in life?’ It’s
amazing how top executives fall apart at that question." <br>
<br>
Then he told about interviewing one fellow recently. He had him all
disarmed, had his feet up on his desk, talking about football. Then the
headhunter leaned over and said, "What’s your purpose in life, Bob?" And
the executive said, without blinking an eye, "To go to heaven and take
as many people with me as I can." <br>
<br>
"For the first time in my career," said the headhunter, "I was
speechless." No wonder. He had encountered someone who was prepared. He
was ready. His purpose, "To go to heaven and take as many people with me
as I can." You and I might not express it that way, but do you doubt
that this is one man who has extra oil for his lamp? <br>
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Gary Nicolosi, Preparing for the End Time<br>
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