Matthew 25:1–13
When was the last time you checked your oil? Not your car, your generator or your phone battery. Your spiritual oil.
Jesus once told a story that is somewhat unsettling. In Gospel of Matthew 25:1–13, He describes ten virgins waiting for a bridegroom. They all looked ready. They were dressed right, invited, positioned correctly with lamps in their hands.
From the outside they were identical, but five of them ran out of oil and that changed everything.
The Danger of Looking Ready
Here’s what is striking. All ten virgins were pure, invited, expectant, lamp-carrying.
They looked saved, prepared and spiritual, but heaven does not respond to appearance.
Heaven responds to preparation. This isn’t just about salvation. It’s about sustainability. It’s about whether what’s inside you can survive delay.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: It is possible to be close to the coming of the Lord and still be unprepared. That thought should humble all of us.
Delay Reveals What’s Inside
In Gospel of Matthew 25:5, the Bible says the bridegroom was delayed, and they all slumbered and slept.
Notice something important. They all slept. The sleep was common, but the disposition was different. The wise carried extra oil, but the foolish assumed timing would favor them. Delay did not create their problem, it revealed it.
We all get tired, we all feel weary, we all have seasons where we slow down. But weariness is not the problem. Neglect is.
God does not condemn tired people. He confronts careless people.Even Paul heard the Lord say in Second Epistle to the Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”
Weakness isn’t disqualifying. Unpreparedness is.
So maybe the real question isn’t: Did you once have oil?
The real question is: Do you still have oil?
Gifts Are Not Oil
You can sing powerfully and still be empty. You can preach deeply and still be dry. You can lead, serve, organize, and still be spiritually drained. Gifts are not oil. Position is not oil. Past encounters are not oil.
Oil represents something deeper. In the First Epistle of John 2:27, we are reminded that the anointing abides in us. Oil represents: The Holy Spirit, spiritual vitality, ongoing intimacy with God, the inner fire that sustains obedience.
And here’s the sobering part: Oil is not just a gift, it is also a responsibility. When the foolish virgins realized their lamps were going out, they asked the wise to share. But oil cannot be borrowed.
You cannot borrow someone else’s prayer life. You cannot inherit someone else’s intimacy. You cannot live on your pastor’s fire. You cannot survive on your church’s atmosphere.
Corporate anointing does not replace personal oil. A lamp without oil is decoration.
Christianity without oil is smoke without fire.
The Door Closes
In Gospel of Matthew 25:10, while the foolish virgins went to buy oil, the bridegroom came and the door was shut.
The tragedy wasn’t that oil ran out. The tragedy was that they waited too long to refill.
There is a dangerous assumption we sometimes make: “I’ll get serious later.” But delayed obedience is still disobedience. There will be a last time for everything.
The last sermon you hear. The last opportunity to repent. The last chance to forgive. The last moment to respond.
Oil is maintained in secret, not in emergencies. You can’t ignore your Bible all semester and ask the Holy Spirit to help you pass your exams without studying. That’s not faith. That’s panic.
Fire doesn’t die suddenly. It fades slowly. When prayer loses fervency, when repentance becomes casual, when worship becomes routine, when obedience is constantly postponed, when we grow comfortable with a faith we once trembled over.
Altars don’t collapse overnight. They cool gradually.
The Solution: Daily Refilling
In Leviticus 6:13, God commands that the fire on the altar must never go out. That wasn’t automatic. It required attention. Daily refilling. Daily maintenance.
Jesus said in Gospel of Matthew 24:42, “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.” Spiritual sleep in Scripture often symbolizes spiritual laziness.
Paul mentioned this in Epistle to the Romans 13:11–14, urging believers to wake up because our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.
Salvation has phases. In the past, we were saved from sin’s penalty, as seen in Epistle to the Ephesians 1:7. In the present, we are being sanctified, shaped by the Spirit, as described in Epistle to the Romans 8:2. In the future, we will experience complete redemption, resurrection, transformation, eternal glory (1 Corinthians 15; Romans 8:30).
That future moment is closer now than it has ever been.Which means this isn’t the time to drift. It’s time to refill.
The Oil Check
Now the bid question. Are you still charged? Is your oil fresh or fading? Are you running on memory or intimacy? When pressure comes, do you leak or burn? If the Bridegroom came tonight, would you be filled enough to enter?
And if He delays longer, are you filled enough to endure? Because here’s what I’m realizing:
God is not asking for perfection. He is asking for preparation. Our citizenship is in heaven, as Epistle to the Philippians 3:20 reminds us. We are waiting for a Savior.
But waiting is not passive. Waiting requires oil.
Say this prayer: Lord, show me the true condition of my heart. Help my heart stay constantly aligned to your will. Holy Spirit, help me to continually stay on fire for you, in Jesus’s name. AMEN.
