The Five Wise and the Five Foolish Virgins

Podcast: Light on Life Season Five Episode Nine

Five Wise and Five Foolish Virgins

A pastor entered a tavern where a man, wishing to embarrass him, rose and suddenly called out quite loudly, “There is no God”. The pastor went to him, calmly laid his hand on his shoulder, and said, “Friend, what you have said is not at all new. The Bible said that more than 2,000 years ago.” The man replied, “I never knew that the Bible made such a statement.” The pastor informed him, “Psalm 14:1, tells us, “The fool says in his heart, there is no God.” But there is a great difference between that fool and you. He was quite modest and said it only in his heart; he didn’t go about yelling it out in taverns.”[Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times (Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc., 1996), 483.] Many are yelling ‘There is no God’ by the lives they’re living. They are unwise. The foolishare not looking to Him. They are not looking for Him. The indifferent are unaware of Him. They are like the Five Foolish Virgins in Jesus parable in Matthew twenty-five. In today’s Light on Life, we take a fresh look at the Parable of the Five Wise and Five Foolish Virgins, so that we could ascertain for ourselves How to Live Wise in an Unwise World.

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[Tweet “Flowing in his God-ordained place is the wise man’s first priority.”]

Is Praise and Thanksgiving Pillars of Your House?

Podcast: Light on Life Season Five Episode Eight

Is Praise and Thanksgiving Pillars in Your House?

Recently, I ran across this illustration that ties into what praise and worship are to our spiritual lives. In the Chilean village of Chungungo water is nearly as valuable as precious metal. The region is arid and parched, forcing the village to truck in freshwater over dirt roads from miles away. Until recently the average person could afford a mere four gallons a day (compare that to the average American who uses ninety gallons a day), and buying even that meager amount soaked up 10 percent of household incomes. In Chungungo bathing was a luxury. But then scientists experimented with an ingenious new system for obtaining water. The 330 residents of Chungungo now drink water—the freshest they have ever tasted—from high above, atop nearby El Tofo mountain.

Under the direction of Dr. Robert Schemenauer, a Canadian cloud physicist, workers hung on eucalyptus poles a “wall” of finely woven propylene nets, each the size of eight queen-size bed sheets sewn together. Seventy-five such nets sift the clouds that sweep in incessantly from the Pacific Ocean. A close look at the plastic nets reveals propylene fibers meshed in tiny triangles. Like dew collects on grass, infinitesimally small water particles from fog collect on these fibers. Ten thousand such water particles must coalesce to produce one drop of water the size of a tear. Still, each water net collects forty gallons of water a day. The seventy-five nets on El Tofo sift a total of three thousand gallons daily from the drifting clouds and fog.

Sometimes our lives feel as dry and parched as the rocky soil around Chungungo, where only shrubs and cactus grow. What we need are spiritual water nets. Few things will flood the reservoirs of your soul like giving thanks to God.1 It’s that Thanksgiving time of the year. Worship, praise and thanksgiving, that’s what we’re talking about in this week’s Light on Life.

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Why It’s Important to Flow in Faith’s Domain

[Tweet “The higher you go in God, the stronger, the more stout your pillars need to be.”]

What’s So Important about the Days of Noah?

Podcast: Light on Life Season Five Episode Seven

What Do the Days of Noah Have to Do with End-Times?

Jesus said concerning His Second Coming that no man, no angel, not even Jesus Himself knows the day or the hour of His return. Only the Father God knows it. But, one thing Jesus did tell us was that His coming would be like the days of Noah. What did Jesus mean by that? What were the days of Noah like? That’s what we are going to take a look at in this weeks Light on Life.

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Why It’s Important to Flow in Faith’s Domain

[Tweet “The Flood came suddenly to an unprepared people.”]

#S5-006: What You Need to Know about Israel as the Fig Tree [Podcast]

What You Need to Know about Israel and the Fig Tree

The disciples asked Jesus about the end of the world in Matthew twenty-four. In the last podcast, we’ve looked at the Tribulation timeline up to and including the Battle of Armageddon. Right on the tail end of these comments, Jesus instructs His disciples to look at the fig tree and to learn it’s lesson. When it puts out leaves, you know that summer is near. What did He mean by that? Should we know about the fig tree as a symbol for Israel? What is the lesson we are to learn? That’s what we are going to take a look at in this week’s Light on Life.

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[Tweet “Like the fig tree, believers are supposed to bear fruit. It’s the expected thing.”]

#S5-005: Who Makes It Out of the Tribulation? [Podcast]

There will be a great separation of sheep and goats after the Tribulation.

At ten o’clock in the morning of May 19, 1780, people in the Eastern Seaboard noticed a strange haze spreading across the sky. Then a thick darkness settled over the eastern part of the US. By noon, schools were dismissed, candles lit, and torches set in the streets. Birds went to roost. By one o’clock in the afternoon, fear had turned into panic as the “premature nightfall” continued. Thousands crowded into churches to hear ministers expound on the Day of Judgment. In Hartford, Connecticut, both houses of the legislature were meeting, but one of them quickly dismissed since its members thought the world would end at any moment.1  If this was some of the reactions to a ‘premature sunset’, what do you think the reaction will be during the Great Tribulation when the sun is blackened for three days and there is no light? We are going to continue talking about the Tribulation in this podcast specifically, ‘Who Makes It Out of the Great Tribulation?’

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[Tweet “The Battle of Armageddon ends with the Second Coming of Jesus.”]

#S5-004: How to Escape the Battle of Armageddon [Podcast]

How to Escape the Battle of Armageddon

Belgium is called “the cockpit of Europe” because it has been the site of more European battles than any other country—such as the battles of Oudernarde, Ramillies, Fontenoy, Fleurus, Jemmapes, Ligny, Waterloo, etc. The plain of Megiddo was also the scene of many decisive battles in Israel’s history. Here Gideon defeated Midian (Judg. 6:33). Here Saul died on Mount Gilboa (1 Sam. 31:1). Here Josiah was slain against Pharoah-Necho (2 Kg. 23:29, 30). Here also, battles have occurred between Egyptians and Assyrians, between Babylonians and Greeks, between Seleucids and Ptolemies, between Romans and Arabs, between Crusaders and Turks. Napoleon called this area “the world’s greatest natural battlefield” because of the ideal terrain for the world’s armies to maneuver. 1 It’s coming folks, the Battle of Armageddon. How to escape it. That’s what we are talking about on this week’s Light on Life.

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[Tweet “The Battle of Armageddon ends with the Second Coming of Jesus.”]

#S5-003: Who Makes It Out of the Tribulation? [Podcast]

Who Makes It Out of the Tribulation Spoken of in the Book of Revelation?

At the close of World War II General Douglas MacArthur said: “We have had our last chance. If we do not now devise some greater and more equitable system, Armageddon will be at our door. The problem basically is theological and involves a spiritual recrudescence and improvement of human character… It must be of the spirit if we are to save the flesh.”1 We get over into talking about Armaggedon when we talk about the ‘bowl’ judgments in Revelation because it is the last bowl judgment of the Tribulation. So, “Who Makes It Out the Tribulation?” – All this and more on this week’s Light on Life.

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[Tweet “Mercifully, the Lord is giving people a taste of what’s to come, if they don’t repent.”]

#S5-002: What Do Priorities in the Kingdom of God Look Like? [Encore Podcast]

What Should Your Priorities Be in God?

There’s no better verse on the subject of priorities than Matthew 6:33, Seek first the kingdom of God. Here are some quotes which echo the thought that priorities will help us to live spiritually successful lives.

Lewis Sperry Chafer, referring to a friend who was devoting most of his time and energy in pursuit of an insignificant matter, said, “He reminds me of a bulldog chasing a train: what’s he going to do with it if he catches it?” 1 When Charles E. Hummell was going into the ministry, a businessman gave him an excellent piece of advice. “Be careful that the urgent doesn’t crowd out the important.” 2 Put first things first and we get second things thrown in: Put second things first and we lose both first and second things. 3

Let’s take a look today, in this week’s Light on Life, at what God says our priorities should be when it comes to the Kingdom of God.

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[Tweet “It is impossible to have loyal devotion to God and money “]

#S5-001: Escaping the Carnage of the Great Tribulation [Podcast]

A Scale of the Tribulation period

A few years ago, when inflation was overwhelming the average worker, Arthur Garcia, 43, who supported a wife and five children on a $19,000 wage as a worker in U.S. Steel’s South Chicago mill said: “You really want to revolt, but what can you do? I keep waiting for a miracle—for some guy who isn’t born yet—and when he comes, we’ll follow him like he was John the Baptist” (From “Inflation: Who Is Hurt Worst?” Time, January 15, 1979).231 This may be just one of many scenarios which allow the Antichrist to rise to power. The table is being set. Jesus is coming again, that’s a Bible fact. In this week’s podcast, we pick-up where we left off last week, where we began to look at some of the carnage that arises out of the Great Tribulation.

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[Tweet “Trust the Word here, this Tribulation period is no cake-walk. You don’t want any part of it.”]

#S4-052: Why Jesus Referred to the End of the World As Corpses and Vultures [Podcast]

The End Times Series

Revelation Details the Ned of the World

What do these dates have in common (1248, 1306, 1689, 1792, 1836, 1844, 1914, 1936, 1960, 1974, 1981, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1994, 2011)? They all represent the times at which people predicted that the Second Coming of Christ would occur. No one, not even Jesus knows the exact time of Christ’s coming (Matthew 24:36). What we do know is this: Christ’s coming will be unexpected and dramatic. “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up” (2 Peter 3:10).1. In this podcast, we continue our series on End-Times by looking further at Jesus answer to the question, ‘What shall be the sign of your coming and of the end of the world.”

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[Tweet “Trust the Word here, this Tribulation period is no cake-walk. You don’t want any part of it.”]

#S4-051: What is the Answer to the Question, What is The Sign of Jesus Coming? [Podcast]

The End Times Series

What is the Answer to the Question, What is The Sign of Jesus Coming?

National Geographic did a survey about the End of the World back in 2012. With tsunamis, earthquakes, and financial concerns dominating headline news, National Geographic asked what Americans’ thought about a potential “Doomsday scenario. More than 62 percent of Americans thought the world would experience a major catastrophe in the next 20 years. And nearly three out of every four people (71%) envision a major disaster in their lifetime as an act of God, not man. When the question was asked, ”Which of the following, if any, do you think might happen in the United States in the next 25 years? these were the responses: earthquakes (64%), hurricanes (63%) and terrorism (55%) are the most feared, followed by financial collapse (51%), significant blackout (37%), a pandemic (29%) and nuclear fallout (14%). It’s clear from these stats that the ‘End of the World’ is on people’s minds. In today’s podcast, we continue our series on ‘What the Bible says about the End of the World.’

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[Tweet “Jesus is coming again, that’s a great God thing. And His arrival will be like lightning.”]

#S4-050: Why Did the Disciples Ask Jesus about the End of the World? [Podcast]

Why Did the Disciples Ask Jesus about the End of the World?

The Danish philosopher, Kierkegaard, tells a parable of a theater where a variety show is proceeding. Each show is more fantastic than the last and is applauded by the audience. Suddenly the manager comes forward. He apologizes for the interruption, but the theater is on fire, and he begs his patrons to leave in an orderly fashion. The audience thinks this is the most amusing turn of the evening, and cheer thunderously. The manager again implores them to leave the burning building, and he is again applauded vigorously. At last, he can do no more. The fire raced through the whole building and the fun-loving audience with it. “And so,” concluded Kierkegaard, “will our age, I sometimes think, go down in fiery destruction to the applause of a crowded house of cheering spectators.”1 In last week’s podcast, we began to delve into some keys to understanding Jesus End-Time message given in Matthew twenty-four. You can rest assured from what Matthew tells us and what we read in the rest of the prophetic scriptures that the end of the world will be no laughing matter.

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[Tweet “Watch your words in life. The words of your lips can set the borders of your world.”]