A HOLIDAY SPECIAL- INTIMACY: THE SECRET TO EXTRA OIL

We are in the Holidays, a season when we are away from the gathering where we normally would have been challenged to seek God the more: to go for more of God. A season when we are not constantly among the fellowship of the brethren and it is at this season that what we have been gathering will be truly put to test. Will you come out of this season and still remain strong as you were before and as if you never passed through the season at all? Or will you come out of the season wishing we never went for the holiday at all?
The answer pivots on one major question?

Did you take extra oil with you?

A parable of our Lord Jesus Christ that best gives perspective to this is the parable of the ten virgins. Let’s take a look at it.

“1. 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. 5. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept 6. And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ 7. Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9. But the wise answered saying , ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves”

(Matthew 25:1-9).

We need to take note though, that the bible refers to both the wise ones and the foolish ones as virgins. This goes to imply that they were all serious Christians as we can infer from the scriptures. They weren’t wise virgins and “foolish defiled”, they were all virgins but what distinguished them was the ability of the wise ones to take extra oil with them so that when the bridegroom tarried, they were able to successfully sustain their lamps to keep it burning.

The scripture in Proverbs 20:27 says that; The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly.
The word candle there in the Greek translates lamp. Our spirit is the lamp of God with which He searches our inner man. The lamp is set ablaze by God according to Psalms 18:28a and like every other lamp there’s need for adding of oil to make it run continuously.

Oil in the Bible is often a representative of the Holy Spirit, so to have oil in our lamps means to have the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit illuminating our lives with His zeal and glory. Without the oil of the Holy Spirit, our lives become lifeless, and our light is extinguished. The Lord has graciously given us the word for the month as The Holy Spirit to the end that we might have a consciousness of the fact without the Holy Spirit we will run out of oil and burn low until our altar is nothing but a husk of ashes.

You would then want to ask; how do I get this extra oil. Verse 9 of the chapter above showed us explicitly how to. The wise virgins responded by telling the foolish ones to go and buy oil for themselves. It is your personal responsibility and it is bought in the place of intimacy with the Holy Spirit. The word buy signifies that it will require intentionality and being deliberate, you’ll pay a price, and that is the price of staying!

So again, the question goes to you, did you take extra oil with you? This time, I’m sure an answer will be brewing in your mind already, whether a yes or a no.

If the only intimacy you had with the Holy Ghost ended when the school session ended, then you are presently on the verge of burning out; you’ve been running on deficit and by now your lamp might no longer has oil in it to keep you going. You are drying out fast!

It is not too late though, get yourself up and come back to the giver of oil. Come back to the place of the altar where oil is given as you get intimate with the Holy Spirit. You might no longer have the capacity to get back to the secret place yourself, but like it was said above, it is a personal thing. Nevertheless, you can be shown how, just like the wise virgins told the foolish ones how they can get the oil. No man can give you the oil but they can show you how.

Seek prayer partners, seek people to study together, join Bible study groups, insist that you won’t stop until the fire is stoked again in you and you become a burning and shining light.
Go back to the place of intimacy and buy oil for your lamp!

EDITORIAL AND LIBRARY UNIT

TACSFON UI

SHALOM.