Keep Your Lamp Burning

 *Keep Your Lamp Burning*

*Ps Marylin*(His Will Worship Centre)

*31 January 2021*

Key Scriptures: Matthew 5:14-16 – Leviticus 24:1-4

The light that is in us must shine and give light to everyone around us. In order for this to happen it means we have a responsibility as children of to keep our lambs burning continually and not allow the flames to burn out. In Leviticus 24 the Israelites where out of Egypt. Out of the land of slavery. The Lord spoke to Moses and said, “command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives, so that the lamps in the tabernacle may be kept burning continually.” 

Aaron and his sons the priests where to tend the lamps from evening until morning continually, outside the curtain that shielded the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy Place. Aaron and his sons the priests where given the responsibility to tend the lamps continually so that they must not burn out. How does this relate to us the new testament believers? The commandment that God gave during the time of Moses, how does it relate to us today? 

1 Corinthians 3; the Bible says that we are the temple of God. God lives in us through his spirit. You and I, and every child of God are the temple of God. The tabernacle of God. God lives in us through His Spirit just like He dwelt in that physical tabernacle which was built during the time of Moses as well as the temple that was built by Solomon in Jerusalem. The dwelling place of God must have light all the time. You have heard God commanding Moses that Aaron and his sons the priests must tend the lamps continually, so that they may burn continually in the presence of God. 

Now the dwelling place of God must have the light all the time. God’s temple which in the new covenant refers to you and I must have light all the time. As the Bible says that we are the temple of God, the tabernacle of God. It means that we must have the light all the time. Jesus has given us this light by virtue of accepting Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, we have the light of God in us. We have a responsibility to tend that light so that it must not grow dim and eventually burn out. 

During those days the responsibility to tend the lamps was the responsibility of Aaron and his sons the priests. For us today; 1 Peter 2 says we are a chosen people a royal priesthood. Which means that because we are a royal priesthood the responsibility to tend the lamps and to keep them burning throughout has been shifted to us. Every child of God has a responsibility to tend his own light. The light which he was given freely by God. We did not do anything to receive the light of God. That light was given to us freely by grace through Jesus Christ. 

We have the responsibility to keep the light in us burning so that it must shine all the time. We have the responsibility to tend the lamps so that the flames must not burn out. We tend the lamps continually to keep the flames burning all the time. We have a responsibility to keep extra oil. To keep oil in store so that the lamps must never burn out. That is our responsibility. We tend the lamps and we must also see to it that the cylinder that keeps the oil has oil all the time, it must never run dry. If it happens that it runs dry, the light in us will grow dim and eventually it will go out. There will be no light in us at all.

Why must we keep our lamps burning continually, since Jesus has given us His light?

1. Our lamps must continue burning continually so that we may provide light in this dark world. The world today is walking in darkness. 1 John 5:19 says the whole world is under the influence of the evil one. That is to say the world is walking in darkness, but the few that have the light of God in them who are you and I, must make our lights shine and provide light in this dark world. In Matthew 5 Jesus said “we are the light of the world.” Our light must shine and give light to everyone in the house, or everyone around us. 

Jesus has done His part. He has deposited His light in us. So that unbelievers may see that light and come to His kingdom. Jesus has deposited His light in you and I and the rest of the believers. So that our light must continue to shine and be seen by unbelievers. When the see the light that is in us, they will come to the kingdom of God. They will come to the kingdom of light. If after receiving Christ we do not tend the lamps, the light in us will grow dim and eventually burn out. 

This will mean those around us who were meant to benefit from it, will no longer benefit. We have got family members who are unbelievers. We have relatives, we have friends and colleagues, and many people around us who are not yet in Christ. It is the will of God for them to come to Christ as well. It is our duty, it is our responsibility to keep our lamps burning so that the light Jesus has deposited in us burns continually and be seen by unbelievers. That light will draw unbelievers to Christ, and they will become children of God as well. 

2. The light in us must burn continually for our own sake not for the sake of others only. The first point said that the light in us must provide light for this dark world. It is for others to benefit from us. That light also, when we keep it alive continually, when we keep it burning it is also for our own sake. Not only for the sake of others. In Matthew 25:1-13 Jesus gave the parable of the ten virgins. The ten virgins took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five were wise and the other five according to the word of God were foolish. 

The wise virgins took extra oil with them so that their lamps may keep burning all the time. They took extra oil with them because they did not know at what time the bride groom would arrive. The foolish ones did not take any extra oil with them to keep their lamps burning. The bridegroom took a long time to arrive and since they did not have any extra oil with them their lamps were off by the time the bridegroom arrived. 

As Christians we are all waiting for the arrival of the bridegroom Jesus Christ. Every one of us are waiting eagerly for the day which He will appear, but we do not know the day or the hour that our Lord and our Saviour will appear on this earth. As new testament believers, as royal priesthoods each one has a responsibility to keep his lamp burning continually so that we may go in with Him in wedding banquet when he appears. 

If we allow our lamps to grow dim, and eventually die out we will miss the wedding banquet. We do not know the day or the hour when Jesus will come back to this earth. 1 Thessalonians 5:2 says the day of the Lord will come like a thief. Who of you know when the thief will come? If we knew we would have kept our house under guard. We would have locked the house more than usual on that day, but we do not know. The thief comes at a time we do not expect them to come. The ten virgins in the parable refers to the Christian community as a whole. 

Everyone in the Christian community is represented by the ten virgins in this parable. The wise virgins who took extra oil are Christians who are always ready. They are Christians who always keep their lamps burning morning, afternoon, and evening. Day in and day out. The five virgins who were wise in the parable refers to every child of God who is always ready at all times. When the bridegroom appears those who are ready will go in with him to the wedding banquet. 

The foolish virgins, as the Bible refers to them; are Christians who do not stay ready at all times. They are ready today, tomorrow they are out. Their lamps are burning today and one week later, or a month later the lamp is growing dim and eventually it burns out. These are the Christians the Bible refers to as the five foolish virgins. When the bridegroom appears they will run around trying to fix whatever needs to be fixed in their lives and the door to the wedding banquet will be shut whilst they are still running around trying to fix this and that, to make themselves worthy to enter into the wedding banquet.

Not everyone will enter the wedding banquet. Only the wise virgins who have kept their lamps burning throughout. The door to the wedding banquet will be shut in the face of the five foolish virgins who will be running around, still trying to fix whatever needs to be fixed. Still trying to fix that which is not right in their lives to make themselves worthy to enter the wedding banquet. There will be no time to run around and fix. There will be no time to start to make our lamps burn. Our lamps must be kept burning throughout, for we do not know the day nor the hour in which Jesus will come back.

Children of God, even if Jesus does not come back during our lifetime it is still important to keep our lamps burning throughout, because we do not live forever on this earth that is well known. There is a day of our coming, and when we come, there are a number of days that each one is given. Unfortunately, God does not tell us how many number of days he has given us but leaves heaven having been assigned specific number of days to stay here on earth and do what God has sent him to do. As ambassadors each one has a certain number of days we are meant to stay here on earth, and we don’t know on which day we will depart from this earth. 

We do not know on which day we shall change address. We do not know the day we shall be called home. If we are called home, then that is good but if we just depart and we do not enter the wedding banquet or we do not go back home, then that is a disaster. If we are left out like the five virgins who were not ready; the five foolish ones then it is a disaster because they too knew themselves to be Christians, but they allowed their lamps to burn out. They allowed the flames to grow dim day by day and eventually the light in them diminished. 

We do not stay on the earth forever. If Jesus does not return and find us still living on this earth, we shall go before His return. Therefore, it is important children of God to keep our lamps burning all the time. God told Moses, “command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives so that the lamps in the tabernacle must be kept burning continuously.” That is to say that the tabernacle of God must have light all the time. God does not want to see darkness in His tabernacle all the time in His dwelling place which I said in the new covenant His dwelling place refers to you and I. 

How do we keep our lamps burning? We all want to enter the wedding banquet, but our lamps must be kept burning all the time. We mentioned two reasons as to why the lamps must be kept burning. Now we need to find out how we keep our lamp burning continually. Deuteronomy 6:6-9 shows us how to keep our lamps burning. It is also written in Joshua 1:8 in a different way. We keep our lamps burning by reading the word of God all the time. Each time we read, we are adding oil to the cylinder that keeps oil. 

Each time we listen to the word of God, each time we mediate on the word of God we are adding extra oil. Each time we talk about the word of God, we are adding more oil to the cylinder that keeps the oil. All that is written in Deuteronomy 6:6-9 refers to impressing the word of God in our lives. How do we impress the word of God in our lives? We impress the word, by continuously reading the word, by continually talking about the word, by continually mediating on the word. That is what they mean by putting the word on your door frames, on your gates, bind them on your foreheads and everywhere so that wherever you turn the word is in front of you and I. 

Each time we read we are adding oil, each time we mediate we are adding more oil. Each time we talk about the word we are adding more oil. God says we must talk about the word when we are sitting at home, when we are lying down, when we are waking along the street. That is how we will keep adding the oil and the oil cylinder will never run dry. A good supply of oil will keep your lamp and mine burning throughout.

What else is needed to keep our lamps burning? Lastly; James 1: 22 says that we must not only listen to the word. We must not only read the word, but we must do what we read. In other words, we keep our lamps burning by reading the word and meditating, and talking about it. We also keep our lamps burning by keeping the commandments of God, by doing what we read. It must not end up in reading only, or in listening to the word of God, or in talking about the word of God. We need to go a step further and do what we read. Reading the word, and doing what we read works together.  One cannot work without the other one. 

The lantern lamps of old which were used to bring light in our houses before electricity came about. Those lantern lamps use oil and something called a wick. The lanterns would not just give light, they used oil and a certain rod inside called a wick. Now, if we put oil in the lantern cylinder and do not put a wick that lantern will never give light. The lantern will not work. Which means reading the word of God without obeying what we are reading is not going to work. It is not going to give the light that we need. It is not going to give the light that have been given by Christ burning all the time. The responsibility to receive light is not ours, we were given by Jesus Christ. The responsibility to keep that light burning all the time is ours. Jesus is not going to come and read His word for us. Jesus is not going to come and do the word for us we read the word by ourselves and that is to add oil. As we continue we are adding oil, and we go ahead and do what we read because these two work hand in hand the same way I gave an example of the lantern lamp working with the oil and the wick.

We are encouraged as children of God through this message to keep our lamps burning. No one is supposed to be counted amongst the foolish virgins who were children of God, but missed the wedding banquet because they did not keep their lamps burning all the time. Every one of us wants to be counted amongst the five wise virgins, every one of us wants to enter the wedding banquet and enjoy forever with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and with our Lord, but that will happen only if we keep our lamps burning throughout our lives. For I said we do not know on which day Christ will return if He doesn’t return during our life time. We do not stay on this earth forever there is a day we shall depart from this earth and we don’t know that day.

As we are being distracted these days by the pandemic ravaging the world today. Children of God, let us not forget to keep our lamps burning, let us not be distracted to a point which we shall forget to tend our lamps. The whole world today is being distracted by the pandemic and we did not choose to be distracted. As children of God, let us be wise like the wise virgins and see to it that our lamps must keep burning throughout. Even during this pandemic period, because we shall not stand before God and say my lamp went off because there was a pandemic on the earth. That is not an excuse enough to allow us into the wedding banquet. 

Let us do like the wise virgins even during this time of the pandemic and keep on adding oil day after day. As well as seeing to it that the wick in the lantern lamp is also in. When the wick is not in that lamp cannot work even if it has oil. Let us pray and thank God for His word. Let us pray and ask God to grant us the grace for we are human beings we can become easily distracted because of the trouble we are going through. It is not easy to ignore this trouble, it is for that reason I say let us pray and ask God to grant us the grace.