ICS Daily Devotions
The Lamp and the Oil
Matthew: 25:1-4 Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
In the parable of the wise and foolish virgins, all the virgins had lamps in their hands but only the wise virgins took extra oil in their vessels with their lamps.
Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.
The lamp in this parable represents the Word of God. It is important for us to be well grounded and well-versed in the Word of God so that we can rightly tell what is right and wrong. We should not just have head knowledge but truly live out what the Word of God teaches us. Our faith in God is established in the Word and it gives us an anchor for our soul.
Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed.
The oil in the parable represents the Holy Spirit. The wise virgins had brought extra oil in their vessels for their lamps. Jesus was anointed to do the work of the ministry. In the olden days, they would smear the entire body with oil when a person was being anointed. The fullness of the Holy Spirit was evident in Jesus. He was empowered by the Holy Spirit and went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil. Jesus was very strong in teaching the work and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit empowers, energizes and renews our strength to serve Him. The Holy Spirit also helps us in our weaknesses, in prayer and gives us the ability to overcome temptations. Jesus was strong in both the Word and in the work of the Holy Spirit.
Like the foolish virgins, we cannot just have the lamp without the oil. Neither should we have the oil without the lamp. If we have both the lamp and the oil, then we will not burn out as a Christian. We will be able to serve the Lord with the gifting that He has given us and continue to walk with the Lord. Therefore, we should learn from Jesus and be like the wise virgins who had the lamps and oil in the vessels in order to finish well as we wait for the bridegroom to return. When we have the Word and the Spirit of God operating in our lives, we will live balanced Christian lives and be focused on what He has called us to do.
There must be a balance between the Word of God and the move of the Holy Spirit in our lives and the life of the church in order for us to finish well in this marathon that we are in. If we just have the Word without the work of the Holy Spirit, then we will dry up because there is a part for the Holy Spirit to work in our lives and the life of the church. Conversely, we cannot just have the works and the gifts of the Holy Spirit without God’s Word as this will make us very unstable. God’s Word gives us a strong foundation. Therefore, we need to be established in the Word and also be led by the Holy Spirit. We need both the lamp and the oil.
Sermon Series: The Wise and Foolish Virgins
