Is Your Wick Well Trimmed ?

 

IS YOUR WICK WELL TRIMMED?

This blog is written by Navaz D'Cruz. She believes this is a word for each one of us to take and examine ourselves and use this time to re-set our hearts.

Like John 15, I believe this is a 'now' word. God is putting His finger on our vertical and horizontal relationships. Both John 15 and Matt 25 have those elements: our relationship with God, our intimacy with Him and our relationship with our fellow Christians.

Jesus is talking about the end of all things in Matt 25. The signs will be wars, pestilence, earthquakes etc and they are only a sign that we are closing in on the curtain call for all of creation.

We are in a preparation season. There are 3 parables in this passage. All have a warning that if we behave like the foolish persons, we will face the same fate.

Let’s look at the parable of the Virgins. Matt 25:1-13

Who are the virgins? All are believers. The question is are we the wise or foolish ones? Don’t be quick to assume you are the wise one!

We have all made a covenant with Jesus and He with us. We have been betrothed to Him and now we are in a season of preparation.

They all had lamps – i.e God’s Word. Ps119:5 His Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.

Lamps are also our service to God. It is our life and service. We are those earthen vessels in noble service.

Light We are called the light of the world

They all had oil – that is the Holy Spirit. It is the source of power to keep the light going/our witness for Christ to shine. They were all anointed.  They all started off well. They were all filled with the Spirit, passionate about being the light etc. The Holy Spirit keeps us passionate for Christ and pure

They were all waiting for the Bridegroom. We are all waiting for His return.

In this parable, we are warned not to be like the foolish virgins. Don’t assume you are not. Examine your heart.

The bridegroom takes his time coming. When he comes it will be a great day and a terrifying one

At the midnight hour – midnight is significant in Biblical symbolism. It is the point of breakthrough. The Israelites were delivered at midnight. It’s the darkest hour. It also refers to a time when people get offended and all kinds of wards, hardships are upon them.

Samson went to the temple pillars at midnight. The Philippian jailer was saved at midnight. Paul and Silas were set free at midnight.

So midnight is when problems are at the greatest but it is also the point of breakthrough.

 

Midnight hour - the virgins were asleep. It could refer to the regular cycle of life or that they were unaware of what was happening. Asleep the state of a lot of churches and Christians.

 

Then there is a cry – it is a prophetic cry that rings out announcing the Lord’s return announcing His return and that we should be ready. I believe that cry is going out in this season.

All the virgins wake up and trim their lamps. I feel the Holy spirit arrest my attention here. This is what we need to look at in this season of preparation.

The oil lamps have wicks that need trimming or they will give off a lot of soot /smoke that will dull the light.

The wick is the channel to receive the holy spirit and be a witness.

The church is beginning to wake up from her slumber and realizes that the wicks are smoky and the light is dim.

Oil is the activity of the Holy Spirit that flows well through a surrendered heart

The wick is symbolic of your heart. Out of the heart flows the issues of life. When the heart is impure you give off smoke viz selfish ambition, pride etc. What Jesus is saying is that we need to deal with our hearts and love God with all of our heart soul mind and strength.

Trimming the wick speaks of sanctification and repentance. Cutting away things that are clogging our hearts. We need to be constantly saturated with the Holy Spirit. This is something the wise and foolish had to do. Over time our hearts can get clogged with sin, and unresolved issues that dull our Christian witness. The lamp gives out light for others to see. We all need to guard our hearts for it is the wellspring of life.

What are some of the soot we are carrying in our hearts today? Unforgiveness, offence, bitterness, pride, envy, jealousy, disappointments, trauma, grief, betrayals.

In order to be light in the nation, we need to deal with our hearts that are giving off a lot of smoke. Some of us have our lamps and have a little oil but the wick still needs to be trimmed.

Has the light of the Church gotten dim today? What can we do about it? Each of us needs to trim our wicks and sort those issues out.

Some hard work needs to be put into repentance and a change of heart

God is committed to transforming us and making us more like His Son Jesus. But we need to cooperate with Him.

Today there is a lot of smoke in the church and in Christians with the marriage, family life, relationships etc. That is why people don’t see the difference between you and the world. Our hearts need to be changed and cleansed so that our ministries carry the life of God.

The difference between the wise and foolish servants is the value they placed on the oil. The wise ones paid the price of intimacy on daily basis. The oil and wick work in unison.

This is time to reset our hearts. COVID-19 has forced us out of our big gatherings into our homes. This is a time to reset your walk with God, develop your intimacy with God. Don’t squander away this time because it is not coming back. Then it will be too late. This is the warning and we would be wise to heed this.

The foolish virgins are not evil people. They just did not value intimacy with Jesus. They go to the others and ask them for some oil. No one can give that to you. You have to pray the price. You have to buy it. It means you have to be willing to give up something in exchange for it. You have had to have invested time with God and forged a history with Him. It is not transferable. 

No one can lay hand on you and give it to you. No one can pray you into intimacy. I feel that is the picture of the foolish ones going to the wise ones asking or oil. It is like “pray for me”, “lay hands on me”. No, it won’t work. You have to do something to cultivate intimacy with God and get ready for Jesus return. We have to be that bride that has made herself ready. What am I doing to get ready for the greatest marriage of all time? There is a cleansing and a beautification process like queen Esther went through. She took the trouble to find out what pleased the King. Do I know what pleases my King?

What does intimacy look like? Its is a close bond between 2 people that develops over time. It is progressive as time is spent in each other’s presence.

V13 – Watch. Stay alert, vibrant. The opposite is sleepy, halfhearted, unaware, no prayer life.

What are you watching for? What is happening in your heart, the influences that are affecting you. Watch the places of brokenness that you gathered. Rebuild the altar of prayer and worship by cutting off other things.

What is at stake here is whether or not you get to enter the celebration. Whether you enter in with intimacy, with honour and glory that everyone can see. This is not about salvation. The door is shut. It will be heartbreaking to be left out

“Never knew you”- no intimacy developed. You were happy for the benefits but did not want to put in the work of knowing Him. The wise ones enjoyed the intimacy celebration and joy.

The key thing is to be ready. Allow God to trim your wick- cleanse your heart and invest in intimacy so your light will shine.  Thank God that we have his Holy Spirit that comes to aid us in our preparation. We are not alone. We also have a community. Let us spur one another on towards love and good deeds as we await His coming.

You can read more her Blogs here https://somequietthoughts.blogspot.com/