The End of the World as We Know It

CONSECRATE Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.  Jesus, I belong to you. I lift up my heart to you. I set my mind on you. I fix my eyes on you. I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice. Jesus, we belong to you.  Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.  HEAR Matthew 25:1–6 NIV “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’” CONSIDER When you are leading an awakening mission like the Wake-Up Call, you are always on the lookout for texts like today's: The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. Isn't Gospelling glorious fun? So yesterday, Jesus captioned the end of the world as we know it with one word: Noah. Three points there: a) It will happen quite suddenly, b) we won't be ready, but c) we can be prepared.  Today, Jesus gives three visionary pictures of  the end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it along with at least three words of counsel.  1. “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom." For those who are prepared, the end of the world will be like an eagerly expected wedding celebration. Be prepared. Preparation is a mindframe. Bring lots of extra oil . . . because The bridegroom was a long time in coming, This will take a while.  2. “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them." (v. 14) Become a kingdom of heaven on earth venture capitalist. The capital of the kingdom is faith. I regularly ask my church in Gillett this question: How do you spell faith? They now shout it back to me: R.I.S.K. I'll test a brand new acronym by you today. Risking Investment to Sow the Kingdom. How about you take a shot at the acronym. I'll send a signed copy of my new Romans book to my favorite. If you are on Facebook, share your entry on our group page.  3. “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. (vv. 31–32) The kind of kingdom-venturing risk-taking that matters the most involves showing mercy to those most in need of mercy and doing so in a self-forgetful way. You will have become so merciful you won't even remember it all.   Be prepared. Be patient. Risk big. Love mercy.  PRAY Lord Jesus, thank you for the promise—the guarantee of your return. Change our mindset from fear to hope and from anxiety to anticipation. Indeed, the last day of history will be the best day ever for it will be eternal life in complete fullness. In that spirit, make us bold risk takers in the interest of bringing in as many people as possible. Train us to be joyfully prepared. Praying in Jesus's name, amen.