BY PASTOR BRANDON YOUNG
At times, waiting can be so difficult, especially if we are waiting on something we desperately want or need. At other times, waiting is easily done, especially when we don’t want to do something, and we try our best to put it off to a later date. I can remember as a child, it was easy to wait on weeding the garden, mowing the yard, and raking leaves, but it was difficult to wait for that new toy I wanted at Christmas. When we want the help of others, we are not willing to wait, but when it comes to others needing our help, waiting comes naturally. Procrastination hinders progress, but there is power in “NOW.”
Satan knows he has a short time, so he is working overtime to do as much damage as possible. Right NOW he is destroying lives, homes, marriages, relationships, and churches, but he proclaims to others that they have plenty of time to get right with God, and they should wait. The Devil loves delay when it comes to doing the will of our heavenly Father. Satan has convinced the church for years to wait, but if there has ever been a time to get up and do something, that time is NOW! Satan does not attack you because of your past; he troubles you because of your future — that is his primary target! For most of the time, when Satan sees that he cannot derail you in destiny, he delays you. When you are delayed long enough, you are destroyed.
Paul says in Romans 13:11-14, “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. 13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. 14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” We must awake out of sleep and get about the Father’s business. While we have been waiting, the spiritual weeds of sin have choked out the church, and the world around us has gotten worse. It seems we are always waiting on someone else to make the first move to do something. We have waited long enough! The time to act is NOW! God is urging the church to get up, shake off the sleep and slumber, and direct the world to him in love.
Genesis 19:15-16, “15 And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. 16 And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the Lord being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth and set him without the city.” God sent angels to tell Lot to get out of Sodom before it was destroyed by fire and brimstone, and the scripture said that Lot lingered. How many times has the Lord given us a direction, and we chose to wait? Thankfully, a merciful God had the angels grab Lot, his wife, and his daughters by the hands and lead them out of the city before its demise. It seems that message after message is preached and directions are given from God, but the words are falling upon deaf ears. We are hearers of the Word, but not doers, and the Bible says we deceive ourselves. If there has ever been a time to take heed to the Word of the Lord and live accordingly, that time is NOW! Unlike the story of Lot, God will not force us to uphold the Word of God nor get about his business. He lets us choose our paths and deal with the outcome.
Five foolish virgins delayed the purchase of their oil. They bought what they should buy, but they waited too long to do so. They delayed, and the door was shut. The door of destiny is close-able. The foolish virgins knew that they did not have oil with them, yet we read in Matthew 25:7 that all the virgins jumped up from sleep and trimmed their lamps once they had been notified of the bridegroom’s arrival. They all thought they were ready. Outwardly, they all appeared prepared. They knocked on the door hoping to get them to reopen the door. The fact that the five foolish virgins knocked, expecting to enter the marriage supper, indicates one of two things: (1) they thought they could prepare themselves after the bridegroom came, or (2) knowing that they at first had not been prepared to enter, they were hoping for mercy. Either way, the door was shut.
Indeed, the foolish virgins believed they were entitled to enter in with the bridegroom. Having received an invitation and made the effort to await His arrival, they thought all was well, yet they lacked one thing: the oil.
When the bridegroom tarried and did not come until midnight, the foolish virgins realized that despite all their outward demonstrations of piety, they had failed to prepare sufficiently and thus could not make the final journey. Speaking later to these foolish virgins, the bridegroom said: “I know you not.” Their failure to heed earlier warnings and prepare for the wedding displayed these virgins had not internalized the principles they outwardly professed to acknowledge and obey. So many church folks are not fully ready for the coming of Christ, although they try to persuade others. The time to live righteously and holy is NOW! The time to love others to Christ is NOW! The time to serve God is NOW! The time to worship Jesus is NOW! The time to attend church is NOW! The list can go on and on, but I feel we have gotten the point. There is a power in NOW! Act NOW because tomorrow could be too late!
(The Solution Column is provided by Pastor Brandon Young of Harmony Free Will Baptist Church and his associate, Hunter Greene.)