"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, 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!' "Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed
their lamps. The foolish ones said to
the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.' "'No,' they replied, 'there may not be
enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for
yourselves.' "But while they were
on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready
went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. "Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!'
they said. 'Open the door for us!' "But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I
don't know you.' "Therefore keep
watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. Matt 25:1-13
(NIV)
Kingdom Now or Later?
Most of Christianity is like the
5 unprepared virgins from Mt 25, because they are waiting for the rapture. The
reality is that entrepreneurs who create wealth and convert money into ministry
are not waiting! They are waiting for the Lord also, BUT, while they are
waiting they are like the 5 wise virgins, they are taking action to have
everything in place and they are about their Father's business. I want to suggest that this parable is about
the Kingdom on earth right now (Mt 25:1). It's not about the rapture and it's
not about a millennial Kingdom after the rapture. All three parables in Mt 25
(the 10 virgins, the talents, and the sheep and goats) are about a Kingdom that
is available right now!
But if I
drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you.
Luke 11:20 NIV
"The
Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news
of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into
it. Luke 16:16 NIV
The Gospel of the Kingdom
The genius of marketplace
ministry is that it is the Gospel of the Kingdom and it works. God is
assembling an army of believers who are willing to pursue their spiritual and
natural inheritance right now (Mt 25:34). This army is not waiting to make a
quick escape to Heaven; they are changing cities and nations now. They even
believe they are commissioned to disciple nations and that it is possible to
change this world instead of abandoning it.
Amazing!
They are not being defeated by
secular institutions, they are the leaven, infiltrating those same institutions
and changing them so they bless the nations; Thy Kingdom come on earth as it is
in heaven. They are not afraid of
wealth, power and influence. Those are simply the necessary ingredients to
bless nations, names have to be made great (Rom 12:2-3)! Any volunteers? Traditionally, believers have worn a cloak of
false humility that precludes them from responding to this altar call.
It Starts With Me
How do we change cities and nations? Well, the natural place to start is by changing myself. We are discovering the Kingdom of God is within us. What does that look like?
1. I'm free to be myself, created in God's image.
2. I've made a connection with my heart and I've
given myself permission to pursue the desires God wrote on my heart. It's fun!
3. I've added one more spiritual discipline: the
ability to create wealth. I don't apologize for it because money is the engine
behind every ministry.
4. I track my finances with cash flow and monitor
the progress on my business plan and life goals.
5. Instead of supporting other ministries, I've
finally realized that I am a ministry, and I'm converting some of my money into
the ministry God has called me to fulfill. I'm free of passing the offering
plate and I'm no longer trying to leverage other people's money.
6. I'm a player in God's strategy to build the
Kingdom and fill the earth with His glory. I'm networking with like-minded
people in business and ministry. I'm losing the distinction between business
and ministry, education and ministry, politics and ministry, art and ministry,
media and ministry. I can see God working in all seven mountains.
7.
Because I'm enjoying being myself, I'm actually
content to help others become themselves. It changes my style of leadership to
something that works and improves my ability to love people.
8. I'm leveraging other people to action based on
the desires of their own hearts. Godly mentors don't focus on accountability;
they focus on making you a success and letting you hold yourself accountable to
something that works.
9. For the first time, fruit is growing on its own.
I'm not straining, just doing what I enjoy, having fun, making money, loving
people and going to Poland.
10.
You can do it too.
The Secret is not a Secret
Are you like the 5 virgins
running out of oil? Well, if we've been waiting 2000 years for Jesus to come
back, most of us should be running out. Here's the secret: the Kingdom is
already here. Jesus is ministering among us via the Holy Spirit. Yes, He's
physically coming back in all his glory and splendor, but it might be another
2000 years. No one knows. What we do know is that we have a job to do until he
comes. Why not release Kings and join the party now? We can build the Kingdom
now. That's what the Father is doing.
The party started 2000 years ago.
The music is playing and some people are so excited that they are forcing their
way into it. You're invited. It's not too late.
The Law
and the Prophets were proclaimed until John; since that time the gospel of the
kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.
Luke 16:16 NASU
But seek
first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to
you as well. (Now) Matt 6:33 NIV
The Kingdom is already here; It
started small and has been steadily growing for 2000 years. The seed grows
quietly (Mark 4:26-29); the kingdom starts as small as a mustard seed (verses
30-32) and is hidden like yeast (Matthew 13:33). These parables suggest that
the kingdom is a reality now before it comes in a powerful and dramatic way. In
addition to being a future reality, it has reality right now.
PS: Mt 24 and 25 are part of the
same discourse by Jesus. Nearly all of Matthew 24 has already been fulfilled
and the same is true of Matthew 25. When we push it all into the future, we
also push our inheritance into the future; please don't do that!
John Garfield
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