2024-06-02PM- This Is Not a Park and Ride

I want to be found working for God. I want to be found doing His Word and His will. And as I said that, it brings me to my text today, Matthew 25, starting in verse 1. When you've found your place, say, Amen. Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them. But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh. Go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so, lest there be not enough for us and for you, but go ye rather to them that sell and buy for yourselves. 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. Verse 12, But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. You bow your heads and raise your hands to heaven, and pray that the Lord be with us tonight. Lord Jesus, we come before you today, God. We can feel your presence in the house. We can feel from wall to wall, from back to front, Lord, that you're in the house tonight. We appreciate your presence, God. We ask you, Lord Father, God, be in this service. Lord Father, God, anoint my tongue, Lord Jesus, anoint the words coming out of my mouth, God. Lord God, I ask you, Lord Jesus, anoint these altars. Be with us as we bring this word to the saints, God. Lord Jesus, move in this house, God, anointing in these altars, Lord Jesus, I pray in Jesus' name, amen. It's a very familiar scripture. Matthew, chapter number 25, it's already been mentioned, chapter number 24, this morning during Sunday school, but chapter number 25, it's talking about, Brother Anthony, about the virgins and how they had the ten virgins which took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegrooms. So it tells you that they were on their way and they had their lamps. They already had it, Brother Anthony. They had it and they were on their way, Brother Ron, but I'm reading here where it says that they went to sleep from lack of waiting, or from too much waiting, and I'm here to tell you tonight, saints, how many times have we went through this life, Brother Quentin, when I was young, I can remember preachers getting behind a pulpit and telling us that tomorrow could be the day. Tomorrow could be the day that the Lord comes back. How many of us have looked at that and said, you know what, I said it when I was a child. They've been talking about that for years. I wonder if that's the thought that comes across these virgins' minds as they had their lamps and they had them going while the bridegroom tarried. They all slumbered and slept. My title today, this isn't a park and ride. This isn't a park and ride. Now I'll elaborate a little bit on that title. Every morning or every evening, Brother Tim, when I come home in the mornings or when I'm leaving at night, I drive through Litchfield and I come over here onto the W.A.K. and there's this certain truck. It's a Chevrolet pickup truck. He parks at the park and ride right there by the W.A.K., Brother Anthony, he parks where nobody else can get around. He parks in the grass. His truck's nice. He doesn't want anybody to hit his doors, I imagine. And then there's another car that's sitting there, Brother Quentin, it's a Ford Mustang. And I just noticed these little cars, there's an older Chevrolet sitting over there. It's usually so packed full that there's hardly no room for anyone else. And I got to thinking very recently that those people are parking there every day and they ride to where their destination is. I do not want to do that going through this life. I don't want to come in the church house and find a seat and sit down and park and ride on to heaven. I don't want to ride on the church hill of my brother and my sister. I want to be found using my own wisdom, my own spiritual leadings from God. I don't want to be depending on somebody sitting beside me or somebody sitting in front of me or my parents that I've raised with, that I know that they know holiness and they take me to church. I'm talking to the children here. But I'm going to tell you, Brother Jameson, I appreciate your zeal, your emphasis as you get up behind this pulpit and you obey the Lord. There's never a dull time. You don't get up here, well, I'm going to sing a song today and everybody raise your hands as I find my words here. No, you come up here with a purpose. And every time, I'm amazed at how the Lord can move. Brother Camden, when you stand up and testify, it's not somebody riding the church hill of your dad. It's not somebody riding the church hill of your pastor, but you got up with a word from God and you can get up on the rod and you can preach and you can lead by God and you can be led by God. But I'm here to tell you tonight, this ain't no parking ride. We ain't going to just come up here and depend on the deacon or the pastor or the song leader or somebody to put us on through. We've got to trim our own lambs. We've got to keep our own oil in. We can't just depend on somebody else. You're talking, you're looking at somebody that depended on his parents. I want to be right there and tell you, I depended on them to put us in that van and tell us we're going to church. I remember how many times it was a mandatory thing. It wasn't an option. Brother Tim, I didn't say who's going to who's staying. It was getting the van. By this certain time, we've got two hours to drive the church. You got in the van. You slept on the way. If you were tired, it just worked like that. I was raised, but I'm thankful, Brother Anthony, that my parents put us in that van and drove us to church where they may be now. I'm standing up here behind this pulpit, Brother Camden, and it didn't do me a bit of good to not have the heart in it. It didn't do me a bit of good to sit there and think, I'm riding to church. I'm going to church. I'm there every week. And this is all that I need. I've got my lambs. I've got them. They're burning. I've got them. I'm just going to go over here and slumber a little bit. I'm going to go over here and sleep a little bit. I'm going to sit on the back pew and I'm going to worry about myself for just a little while. I'm not going to worry about my future. But I'm telling you here tonight, the Bridegroom's coming. And he may be tarrying just a little while. I've heard a lot of preachers preach it, but I'm here to tell you tonight, this preacher is telling you, don't get burdened down with the time in between. Don't get set in your ways and think that, you know what, he'll be here eventually, but I don't think it's going to be tomorrow. I've been here tomorrow all my life, and you know what I hear? Tomorrow just never comes. Tomorrow just never comes, Brother Jameson. I've heard that saying quite a lot. Tomorrow never comes. There's deadlines. I've got a lot of deadlines right now that I myself am sitting in life right now with deadlines between both of my jobs that I've got to make. What happens if I slumber and sleep? That deadline's coming. But I have a date. We don't. The angels don't. Nobody knows. There's how many people in this life? How many people that something just sporadic is going to happen? Something with the, say the internet's going to go down like the year 2000 or you're looking back at all these times when there's something just weird going to happen, and everybody's like, oh, the Lord's going to come back. He'll be back tomorrow. By the end of the day, he'll be back tomorrow. We won't have to go to work no more. Happened very recently with something with the cell phone thing down or something at work. All the people started saying, well, this must be it. Well, if we're waiting on a cell phone to go out for Jesus to come back, we're just in a real wrong place right now. I'll tell you what. I don't think you should probably be in the altar worrying about what is in your heart rather than a cell phone. And I'm here to tell you tonight that we've got to keep our lamps trimmed and burning. We've got to keep them fueled, fired, and ready. We can't just depend on our neighbor. We can't just depend on our brother. I can't depend on my spouse. I can't depend on my children to help me and keep me strong. If I'm in this way just because my children need to, and when they get out of the house and I just go on about, I'm doing it all wrong. But I'm here to tell you tonight, this ain't no parking ride. We've got to depend on ourselves. We got to put our own fuel in the lamps. We've got to trim them ourselves. And we've got to depend on ourselves to get forward, depending on the Christ that saved me. Ten years ago, I'm gone 15 years. My wife and me have been together 15 years. But ten years ago, this year, I came down an altar. I was pure when I came up. I was a sinner when I went down. He took me from so much, Brother Camden. I can't forget that. I can't forget. Saints were where He brought me from. Brother Michael, He's brought us all from a long way. And I appreciate what you said a few weeks ago, where you said, you know what He's brought you from. You know what He's brought you from. Individual persons in here, you know. Just like I know, and I'm not going to sit up here and talk about what He brought me from, but I know what He brought me from. It is under the blood. And I can reminisce back to it and think, you know what? I could have been that person. I still could have been that person. I don't know where I'd be. I don't know where I would be right now, Brother Anthony, if it wasn't for Jesus dying on a cross at Calvary, and bleeding for us, and giving us the option, giving us the free will to go this way or that way. And He gave me that unction that night. He dealt with me. He gave me a condemnation for my sins. And I went to an altar. And I went down on my face. And still to this day, I have random people. And when I go visit churches and stuff and say, I was there. When we got to these church views, Brother Anthony, I forget his name, but he was there helping us load them up. And he looked at me and goes, you know, I was there the night you got saved? I don't know what inspired him to tell me that he was there the night that I got saved, but that very moment, I needed that. When you obey the Lord, saints, and you get the unction to tell somebody something, don't hesitate. Do not hesitate. I have had other preachers come up to me. I was there. And I didn't know they were there. I didn't know Brother Deckard was at that service the night that I got saved. But it wasn't Brother Deckard that got me saved either. It was me going to this altar. If I would have been dependent, Brother Deckard's going to be at the revival such-and-such night, and I don't think I can go and I'll get help. Brother Deckard isn't the one to save me, God is. Something drew me to that church that night and I got saved. What are we doing? We remembering when the Lord saved us and how much He brought us from? Are we dependent on that when we come to the church house, Brother Jameson? Are we coming to a pew and we're sitting down and we're thinking this is just another day. This is just another time. I am just going to go on through this hour and hour and a half service and I'm going to go about my time and about my way and I'm going to move on tomorrow. And then tomorrow after that, I've got to look forward to work this week. And I've got to do this many hours and I've got to do this much things and I've got this many deadlines and I have this and that. And it's just life. We're human. We're thinking about this and that and the other. But I'm here to tell us tonight the Bridegroom's coming. He's coming. Is He going to tell you the door's shut? You're a little late? That's my worst fear. And because that's my worst fear, I cannot get complacent. I have to stay sure and I have to stay faithful. It's more than just coming to a church. It's more than just standing up with a song, Brother Camden, but you have to depend on Christ. And that is getting strength from strength. I've heard different brothers preach it and I'll never forget. At Elam Holiness, when Brother Danny Scott came for that, when they had their beginning of that church, when they had the big new church, when they had all the preachers come and he preached from strength to strength. He preached that, Brother Anthony, and I'll never forget. There's some messages, Brother Tim, that you just never will forget because they hit home to you. And if you don't let it run out of your mind, you're not going to forget it. Like when I was growing up, Brother Ray Asher, I could sit there and quote, I don't know how many, not really quote, but just tell you how many titles he had. But those titles and remembering those ain't going to do me no good. I've got to remember what the Lord brought me from. He brought me in mighty long ways and He's not done and I'm not there yet. I've still got my lamp and it's still burning. I've got to make sure that I refuel the fire. When I was sick and I wasn't able to be at church, Brother Tim, it was a hard place. And I felt my lamp was going awful low. And that's kind of where this message comes from because I was just distraught because I just hadn't been to work the week after that. It wanted me to work over, so I was there Wednesday and I just didn't feel it. And I was so down and so out and I just couldn't, I don't ever go this far without missing church. I felt like I was pretty low, Brother Anthony. What did I do? I turned to the Bible and I went to God and I talked about it and I went to church. And with those things combined, Sister Andrea, you've been sick quite a bit lately. I can only imagine. I don't even know if I can only imagine, but I was pretty sick myself this week, this month, this past month, so I can rest assured I didn't care for it too much. And one of the things that I'm going through right now at work is some kind of class thing and it has a lot to it, but there's one thing that they told us is every person that you talk to, when you're in a conversation with you and me, Brother Anthony, while I'm talking to you, you're worrying about you and I'm worrying about me. And the only person in that conversation that matters is the one talking or the one you're talking to, that person, the self in that, is looking, what is this going to benefit me? Please, while you're sitting in the church, don't let this be a parking ride and just worry about you. Don't worry, because Brother Camden, you standing up tonight and obeying the Lord, the other night when you stood up, you really blessed my heart. You were helping us. It's not just about that. We are our own strength for each other. I'm here to tell you tonight, we are depending on each other to get through this. This isn't just, and I know I'm kind of a little bit everywhere tonight, but I'm going to turn over to Mark chapter number 13. Mark chapter number 13, verse number 35 and 36 and 37. But that's one thing that we can rest assured is the Lord is coming back. While we're sitting there, Brother Jameson, and while we're feeling like it's just never going to come, tomorrow is never going to come, I can turn you over here to Mark chapter number 13, verse number 35. I've watched thee therefore, for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even or at midnight, or at the cock crowing, or in the morning, lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you, I will say unto all, watch. Watch. We've got to be actively watching, saints. We can't just get complacent. We can't just worry about ourselves. We've got to keep on with the fight. We've got to keep on helping our brothers and our sisters, but we've got to make sure that we keep our lamps trimmed and burning. We've got to make sure that the brethren are on, that they're full, that we don't get complacent, and we just... I'll fill it up tomorrow, or I'll just wait for just a little bit longer, but I'm here to tell you tonight, saints, you've got to do it today. You've got to do it right now. You can't just depend on that tomorrow's going to come. I'm going to lay my head down, and I'm going to go to sleep, and when I wake up at my alarm clock, I'll go ahead and I'll pray it in. No, you need to pray now. I'll just go to church next Sunday, because I don't just feel it today. You've got to go to church now. You've got to get in these altars now. When the Lord deals with you, you've got to get in now, Brother Jameson. You can't just depend on it. I'm my own self to try to take care of my own problems. I testified very recently that the first thing I try to do is just handle it myself, and that's a bad thing. It's a good thing in some cases, but it's a bad thing when it's spiritual, because I can't. I didn't get here on my own, and I can't get through on my own. Brother Jamie used to say when he talked to me a little bit, I don't know if he ever preached it, but he'd say I had to get down in an altar, and I believe he may have preached it, but he said I had to get down in an altar to get saved. I expect I have to stay in an altar to stay saved. And he would say that quite often, and I like to reminisce back on it a lot, because I need to make sure that I stay in my altar, as do we. This isn't something we can ride on a shirt tail and make it through because our parents are there, or make it through because my aunt and uncles are there, or my spouse is there. I've got to make sure I do it, and I do it to the fullness that I have been given the ability to do. We have quite a bit of reading, so I'm just going to keep on going with the reading here. Hebrews 9, verse number 28. So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many, and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation. Without sin unto salvation. We'll keep on going here. The Lord's coming back, saints. You might think that it's just never going to happen, but the Scriptures after Scripture after Scripture just verify that the Lord will be returning. And we've got to be patient, church. We've got to be patient. James chapter number 5, verse number 7. Be patient, therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waited for the precious fruit of the earth and hath long patience for it until he received the early and the latter rain. Be ye also patient, establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. We can look at this and we can keep on going, and I'm going to move on to the next one here. 2 Peter chapter number 3, 9 through 13. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but His longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with a fervent heat. The earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up, seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, that what manner of persons ought ye to be in all the holy conversation in godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with a fervent heat. Nevertheless, we according to His promise look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. We're looking for a time when the Lord's going to come back, and if we sit here and we get complacent, and we get to worry about today's life problems, and we get to worry about our job tomorrow, and we're not looking at our spiritual strength, and we're not looking for, depending on God, or depending on the word we're going to get on Sunday when the Lord has dealt with a preacher, or lay the anointing on and the Holy Ghost has come down, and we've not taken advantage. I'm raising my hands up just a little bit higher than I did last time. Or I'll start with a praise. I appreciate Brother John Tennant's text this morning. I read that, and I read it again. I read it twice, and then I loved it. But I appreciate that. It's not just to get down and just save my knees, and this is what I'd like to have today. And Lord, I appreciate you and everything you've done for me, and just going about that nonchalant prayer, but you need to really, really praise God for everything He's done for you, and mean it. Don't just have dull words that go out, Brother Ron, because they're just things you've said for years. I know a lot of times you pick up things, habits, like preachers. I myself start prayer pretty much almost the same time every time I don't mean to. I just do. When I start praying, I just start praying almost the same way I do every time. But that text this morning kind of hit me hard. And I was smitten because I was like, you know what? I think I'm in the rut of starting the same way every time. And it just really helped us out a lot. I really appreciate that text. But I'm here to tell you tonight that it's more than just getting stuck in that rut of life and just riding along. You don't want to park and ride. You want to get into the Spirit with God, and you want to get into the will of God, and you want to fill your lamps, and you want to trim your lamps and fill them up, and you don't ever want to go to sleep. Rest is good. Rest is good. There's a time for it. There's a time and a place for it, but not while we're waiting on the bridegroom. Because he's going to come like a thief in the night. It's said in the chapter 24, right parallel to 25, in verse number 38, for as in the days that were before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered unto the ark. Verse number 39, and knew not until the flood came and took them all away, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. It's going to hit us just like we never expected Him to come. He's going to come in the middle of the night. He's going to come in the morning. We don't know. He's going to come when we think not. You're complacent. You're thinking, you know what? Tomorrow we'll be here. I'll go to sleep for a little while. I'll leave my lamps burning while I'm sleeping, and the Lord will come back, but I won't be taken by surprise. I think I got this. That's going to get you in some serious trouble. We'd all stand tonight. Sister Michelle, if you could, it's a song tonight. So as we look at this text tonight, and we ponder on it, we look at it, Brother Camden, how does it pertain to you? How can I look at that myself? And how can I change? What can I do, Brother Jameson, to get prepared? To get ready? If you get anything out of this tonight, are we there yet? No. Are we sitting there thinking? How many of us just think, you know, it could be on the way home today, this evening? How many of us really think about it? We've assumed for years He's coming back. You can have people live life for years, and they die of old age, and they say right before they die, He's coming back tomorrow. I know He's coming, but they've went on in strong faith that He's still coming. He is. I had a witness to a guy years ago when I first started OutTek. His name's Justin, and he's went on to another opportunity since then. He doesn't work there no more, but I was witnessing him to Brother Anthony, and he told me, he said, you know, you can probably just save it. And I was like, it kind of struck me. And he said, you're wasting your time. The Lord's already come back. He said there's no way that He would let anybody go through the things that we go through now. He said there's no way. So you can just save your speech. You can save your spiel. I'm not worried about it. I'm just living life like I have, and I'm going to continue. And in that same conversation, there's another gentleman there, and his name's Slink, and you've met him. And he said, as long as I live right, I don't feel like it matters. And you know, I treat people good, and you know, I'll be alright. That's not what it takes. We're not saved by our works, Brother Camden. By grace. By the blood of Jesus Christ, who went to a cross on Calvary and died for us. We can't forget that. We've got to stay on that. We cannot forget that. There's a lot that we get put on in this life, and there's a lot of things that we deal with, Brother Ron, but we can't get stuck on the fact that life has a lot of things thrown at you. And I'm going to be good, and I'm going to get up every morning. I'm not going to turn on the TV, or I'm not going to do this, that, and the other. I'm not going to put a TV in my house, or I'm not going to trim out my sleeves and make it shorter. Or I'm going to keep my hair short and don't look at my hair. It's a little bit longer. Usually it's starting to get that wave, but it'll be taken care of soon. Don't trim my hair, ladies. Or there's things that are convictions, and there's things that's in the Bible that absolutely back that up, by the way. The holiness that we live day by day, if that's all we've got, if that's all we're depending on, Brother Ron, we're coming up real short. We've got to depend on the blood of Jesus. They were virgins. It said ten virgins. They were pure. They were already bought by the blood, would say, just like we. There's a lot more than just that. We've got to stay true. We can't get complacent, saints. We've got to stay true to the blood of Christ. We've got to stay true to our convictions, and we've got to live by this Bible, and we can't ever let it go. Revelation 22, verse 12, And behold, I come quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gate into the city. For without our dogs and our sorcerers and our whoremongers and murderers and adulterers and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie, I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David and the bride and morning star and the Spirit and the bride say, Come, and let him that heareth say, Come, and let him that thirst, Come, and whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. For I testify unto every man that heareth the word of the prophecy of this book, if any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book. Verse 19, And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life and out of the holy city and from the things which are written in this book. He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. That's the last Scripture text of this Bible. Revelation 22. He's coming, church. He's coming rather quickly. It may not feel like it's quickly, but He's coming. There's not a specific time. None of us have it. None of us do. There's all kinds of proclamations that all these things are going to line up and all these signs of the times are going to happen and then He's going to come back. And I've got a few times because five or six of them haven't happened yet. He's coming. We cannot be complacent. We've got to keep pressing on, Brother Quentin. We're not there yet. I'm saved. I think I'm good. That's all I needed, right? There's a lot more than just coming to this altar and getting saved. There's a continuing growth. Brother Ron, I'm nowhere where I was when I got saved. But I'm nowhere where I don't want to be. Nowhere where I need to be. Let us come to this altar and search ourselves. Lord, take me farther than I was when I come down here. Take me farther than I was this morning. I don't want to get complacent. If all of us would come up to these altars and ask God, please be with me today. Lord Jesus, search my heart. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God. Oh, show me what You would have me to do, God.