News and Updates
February 1, 2010
David Copeland · February 1, 2010
Newsletter · Volume: 10 Issue: 2
February 2010 Vol. 10 # 2
In my devotions this week I got stuck reading in Matthew 25.
All my Christian life I have head this passage preached that these were five believers and five unbelievers; five saved people and five unsaved.
It dawned on me that this is not true! Look at Matthew 25: 1-4
1.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.
First thing I notice is these are ten virgins. So many times we look at scripture from an American mindset and we miss some powerful spiritual truths. We assume that everyone that studies numerology is involved in witchcraft or superstition and we just write them off of being a crack head. Every word and every number in the Bible was God inspired and carries a powerful spiritual truth that we need the mind of Christ to reveal to us.
The number 10 in Scripture is the number of covenant. When God established covenant with Israel, He did it with 10 Commandments. Secondly, these were virgins. Virgins were pure, undefiled, holy, separated, set apart with a specific function and duty. In this case, they were charged with being ready to shine their lamps to light the way for the bridegroom to come and take his bride away!
These virgins were dedicated to the cause of God! THEY WERE VIRGINS! They were believers, all of them. But Jesus emphatically states five were wise virgins. Verse 4 tells us the wise took vessels filled with oil as well as their lamps with them.
These lamps Jesus is referring to were not Coleman Lanterns or the hurricane lamps we have in our homes for an emergency when the power goes out. They were sticks with strips of shredded cloth wrapped around the end of the stick that had been soaked in oil to be ready to be used when needed. These lamps (sticks) were designed to need constant care and refilling with oil in order to function properly. They didn’t have a reservoir of oil with a wick or a tube feeding the oil to the burning cloths. They needed constant attention and they needed oil to be poured onto it…constantly. I am ready to shout right now!!!!!!!!!
Then we have the foolish virgins. Again these were not unsaved people; these were not ignorant people who didn’t know what was about to take place. They knew the bridegroom was coming. That’s the reason they were there. The event they had trained and prepared for was about to arrive. But when the call came they forgot something very important: Oil. They didn’t have enough oil!
There is much more here that I don’t have time to expound on. My question to you is, do you have enough oil? Many who read this newsletter shutter to hear anyone preach or teach unconditional eternal security. Yet, many Spirit filled believers live their lives as if they are once filled, always filled!
Do you have enough oil? I didn’t ask you have you spoken in tongues? I did not ask you had you felt the Presence of God today? I didn’t ask did you read five chapters from the Bible today?
Do you have enough oil!
Is your life burning as brightly today as it did when you first gave you life to Jesus?
The road of life is littered with men and women who started out all right; and ended up all wrong. They had enough oil to start…but not enough to finish. I want to finish strong in the Lord and in the power of His mighty!
Lord, help me make sure I have enough oil!
This month, Pam and I will be traveling to Kenya for a few days with Wild Olive Ministries laying the groundwork to begin helping build a Leaders Training Center in Kilgoris Kenya. This Training Center will help equip the 85% of the Maasai pastors who have no adequate Bible training. We will also be conducting several crusades and conventions in Kenya in both August and December; Guyana South America in July. Of course we will continue to travel across the US preaching the message of repentance, restoration and revival!
Thank you for your continued prayers and financial support! And thank you for helping us raise funds for the Haiti Earthquake relief.
The best is yet to come! David & Pam