Hey this is Pastor John Ryan Cantu from PNEUMA Church in Houston, Texas.

Thank you for listening to the message today.

I hope that it blesses you and all those who are. that you share it with.

God bless you.

Let's get into the word this morning.

So thank you so much for being here this morning.

Thank you, Pastor.

I always like to thank uh our pastors for for giving me the opportunity to to preach.

He he had the The privilege of taking two weeks off.

I'm sorry if you were expecting Pastor to bring the word and his ma with me, but I am going to share what the Lord gave me uh this morning.

Last last week, Brother Angel He brought a word on revival.

And if you didn't hear it, I want to encourage you to go back and watch last week's service.

It was an amazing word.

And some of the things that he mentioned, the Lord had already given me for this week.

And I was kind of like, wait, stop, don't, don't, don't keep saying that.

Um, because that's for next week.

But this is just to let us know that the Lord is speaking, that He's aligning things Um I was having a conversation with my sister and and she was telling me that the youth uh went over on Wednesday over the and I have a hard time with this word the Olive It Discourse And so what we're gonna go about today is actually in what they're going over.

So I truly believe the Lord is speaking to all of us, not just some of us as a whole.

And so I have um I have a little thing I want to share, a little illustration.

Uh I like to start with my illustration so you can grasp what we're gonna talk about.

So if a person wants to be a doctor, they don't wake up one day and say, I want to be a doctor, right?

Then they start practicing.

The decision to be a doctor would have been made years in advance.

The decision would have determined what college they went to and would have required years of commitment to make it through an internship and residency.

In other words, if a person doesn't become a doctor, a person doesn't become a doctor the day they decide that a medical career is what they want to pursue.

The decision about direction requires a process.

And another person, if he wants to become a lawyer, he's not gonna wake up one day and say, oh tomorrow I'm gonna start going to trial, right?

Preparation is required.

A decision has to be made long in advance of taking clients.

So, for any professional career, there are requirements that must be met in order to enjoy the benefits of that decision.

A career requires an investment of time and energy before it becomes a reality.

Now, there is a day of reckoning coming when all men will have to be confronted by God and where every Christian is going to have to give an account.

And when that day comes, it will be too late to make any adjustments.

Your decision about that meeting, that day of reckoning, in which you and I are going to have to meet Jesus Christ.

Will have to have been made long in advance of that occasion.

I've entitled my message this morning, Which One Am I?

I truly believe that Jesus' return is around the corner, and we keep hearing that, but I really truly believe it.

I believe that we are running out of time.

I know that a lot of us, especially if you grew up in the church, you've been hearing about this for years, right?

But I truly believe that we are in the last days, the last hours.

The prayers for my loved ones, and I don't know if I'm the only one that do not know Christ, they have intensified as of lately.

I pray in desperation because I really truly want them to come to the feet of Jesus.

I don't want Jesus to come and they didn't get to meet him.

Unfortunately for some, even inside the church right now, lukewarm Christianity has become the norm.

They come to check a box.

They know of God, but don't truly know God because there is no relationship.

An example, you ask me about the Astros, all I can tell you is they play for Houston.

It's a Houston team I may go to a game or two.

Don't ask me anything else.

I really don't know anything about them.

Ask my sister and my brother-in-law.

That's a whole different story.

They know everything.

They will tell you everything about them.

Because they're interested in that.

So, I show no interest, I don't know anything.

Same thing goes with God.

How's your relationship with God?

The enemy has done a wonderful job at keeping us distracted and thinking that Jesus' return is not happening soon, so we can continue on the same path, the same patterns, the same mindset.

And many, even inside the church, are walking around with a blindfold.

But my prayer for today was that the eyes of many will be open, that lukewarm Christianity will not be a part of this house.

And that we will wake up to the reality that we are running out of time and we must be ready.

Revelation 3:15 says I know your deeds, that you are neither cold or hot.

I wish you were either one or the other.

So because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

Let's go ahead and stand so we can read the scripture.

And I'm going to ask you to open your Bibles to Matthew 25.

And we're going to read verses 1 to 13.

Matthew 25, and in good old Pentecostal way, can you shout Amen if you got it?

Hallelujah.

And I'm reading out of the NLT.

It says, then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lambs and went to meet the bridegroom.

Five of them were foolish and five were wise.

The five who were foolish didn't take enough oil for their lamps, but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil.

When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

They all became drowsy At midnight, they were roused by the shout, look, the bridegroom is coming.

Come out and meet him.

All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps.

Then the five foolish ones asked the other ones, please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.

But the others replied, We don't have enough for all of us.

Go to a shop and buy some for yourself.

But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came.

Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked.

Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, Lord, Lord, open the door for us.

But he called back, believe me, I don't know you.

So you too must keep watch, for you do not know the day or the hour of my return.

You may be seated.

So, why did Jesus speak in parables, right?

We know that it was a way that he told the story so that People would understand the central message of his stories.

And he would relate it to everyday things that they would see or they were experiencing.

And so I decided to look up, okay, so how was a Jewish wedding back in those days, right?

Because he's Talking to them, telling them about the wedding, right?

It's gonna be like when the groom comes.

So I looked it up, and I was so amazed.

By how it was conduced, the wedding.

Okay?

So stay with me.

The wedding process was a series of stages The first stage was the matchmaking stage.

The second one was the bethroat and prep stage.

The third was the celebration stage.

And the fourth was the consummation stage.

Now the matching stage.

Marriages were legally binding oaths.

So the betrothed stage starts with the formation of the marriage contract.

It was a legally binding document that outlines the groom's obligations to the bride to protect her.

And this process had a performative multi-step process.

The groom and his father would go to the bride's father's house and knock on the door.

Once the door was opened by the future bride The groom and father will be invited inside the home, given bread and wine, and then the negotiations would happen.

Once this was completed, the agreement will be taken to public for review.

He will knock on the door.

Revelation 3:20 tells us, here I am.

I stand at the door and knock.

If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person and they with me.

Okay, now that'll be throat stage.

The bride and groom would undergo a MiGvet, and I'm probably chopping this word, ritual cleansing bath.

They would stand under a tupa where the groom would give the bride uh her matan gifts, with two or three witnesses, witnesses observing, as he promised to return for her At this time, the couple is legally bound to each other, but does not yet live together as husband and wife.

Now Ephesians 1:13 tells us.

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, when you believed you were marked in him with a seal.

The promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit, a gift, guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession.

Now, most grooms did not have a home of their own, but they lived in a side edition at his father's house.

So the newly betrothed groom would begin construction on full expansion unto his father's home for them to live in.

What does John tell us?

My father's house has many rooms.

If that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

Now, this is a time that the bride will learn all about the groom, all the lessons on how to be a wife.

She would sew her valuable and spotless wedding dress.

For this period, the bride and groom will not see each other.

Revelation tells us: let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory, for the wedding of the Lamb has come.

And his bride has made herself ready.

Fine linen, bright, and clean was given her to wear.

Now the wedding stage.

Ni suin, correct me later, Pastor, which means to take This is a stage of the wedding process in which the groom returns for his bride.

In this process He symbolically and literally, exultingly lifts her up from her father's household and brings her to the groom's father's house, where he has built an extension onto.

This arrival is announced with a gray shofar horn blast, and often at midnight, as the groom's procession is lit by oil lamp walking down the street.

Although the bride trusted the groom will return for her, she did not know the day nor the hour, neither did her bridal party.

And this was, psh, to me, it was only the father of the groom that gave the final approval for the son to go and collect his bride.

Knowing that the Son had fulfilled his obligations.

Matthew tells us, but about the day or hour no one knows.

Not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father Now the bride and her party always make sure to keep oil lamps filled and ready at all times, not knowing when he will come and not wanting to keep him waiting.

So the groom, having lifted his bride in a celebratory parade, would then return to the home of the father for a private, locked consummation and feast.

Can you see that whole picture?

Can you see how the weddings, how they they took place, how the Lord left us little clues all over his word?

So that we would understand the concept that he is coming back and why he spoke to them in parables and why they were able to understand every single word that was coming out of his mouth.

Because this is exactly how it happened.

The bridesmaids needed to be ready because they did not know the time nor the hour.

Spiritually, the oil represents readiness, faithfulness, and expectation.

The oil, the heart, and the return of the bike room.

Readiness.

How is your oil?

In this parable, we read the five of the virgins did not take enough oil for their lamps.

And I want to ask you today, how's your oil lamp looking?

Are you walking with burley and up oil?

Or are you running on what you receive on Sunday alone?

Because if that's you, and I tell you this in love, that oil will not last.

There will come a moment when the bridegroom returns, and if you are not filled, Your lamp will be empty.

The word says that the other five were wise.

They came prepared.

They didn't just have enough.

They had overflow.

And that overflow doesn't happen accidentally.

It comes from a lifestyle: daily seeking, daily prayer, daily time in his word.

Church, how well do you know your bridegroom?

I wanted you to I don't know if Louis will be able to put a picture.

I wanted you to see a picture.

My sister went to a museum with some of the young adults.

That that little thing on the side, that's the lamp.

It was a tiny little thing.

And the the one in the back is where they had the extra oil, the vase where they had the extra oil.

So it makes sense that when they were asking, give us some of yours, it's like, oh hold up.

It was a tiny little thing, but they had extra oil.

Thank you, Andrea.

Can I be real with you?

My relationship with my Abba, because that's what I call him, has grown so much in this past year.

But it didn't happen overnight.

It came through consistency.

It came through choosing him first before I graph my phone in the morning, before my schedule, before the noise of the day And I'll be honest, there are days when I don't do it.

Because I sometimes we don't do it.

Life, you just get up and you start your day.

And I feel it.

I feel that something's off, and I feel that something is missing.

But I crave the time with my father because when you've tasted his presence, you don't want to go without.

And when I say consistency, sometimes we have this picture of I have to go, you know, you see the pictures, right?

of like the Bible, the notebook, the markers that you know for the ladies.

Like everything and and then the coffee, you know, perfectly, the foam, you know, we see all this like beautiful and it's like oh the time with my father right and you take a picture whatever and and that's awesome but sometimes busy moms That have little ones, I don't anymore.

But they don't they can't.

They can't.

By the time they already got the notebook out and the markers that kids are already writing all over, you know, so they can't So, how does that look like for you?

I want you to think about it.

How does consistency look for me?

Whether it's five minutes, as soon as I wake up, and this This is something that has really helped me before you grab your phone, before you see the emails, before anything, spend time with your father.

Start with five minutes Open the word.

Start with one chapter.

You don't have to read a whole, the whole book of Jeremiah in one thing.

No.

Start with one Start with five minutes, but be consistent.

And I promise that that's gonna make a difference in your life with God.

The Bible says that the bridegroom was delayed.

And if we're honest Some of us have wrestled with that, really.

Like I said, especially if you grew up in the church.

Jesus is coming back.

Jesus is coming back.

And it hasn't happened yet.

And as I was preparing, I was reminded of 2 Peter 3:9, where it says, the Lord is not slow in keeping his promise as some understand slowness.

Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

The Lord is not slow, church, he's patient.

He's given us time not out of delay, but out of love.

And that is mercy.

But while heaven waits, the enemy works.

He wants to keep you distracted.

He wants to keep you passive.

He wants to keep you in cruise control.

But you were created with purpose.

Even from your mother's womb, and sometimes it's hard to understand the love that we talk about and the love of the father and the mother.

Because maybe you didn't grow up with a father or with a mom, but can I tell you that the love that the father can offer you has no comparison?

No comparison.

He's your father, he created you.

He loves you and he's waiting for you.

Let his love define you.

The second thing that I mentioned was faithfulness.

Staying filled in every season.

We read that all of them became drowsy and fell asleep Not just the five that were foolish.

They said all of them.

Even the wise.

So let's be honest.

There will be days when you're gonna feel tired.

There will be days when life is hard.

There will be days when your worship feels weak.

But even in those moments, he's still worthy.

He's still God.

Our circumstances do not define his goodness.

And if we just push through that little Space that we're having a hard time pushing through.

And we instant we tell our soul, Praise the Lord, my soul, praise the Lord, because your life many people did not wake up this morning.

You did, and you're here.

So he's good and he's faithful.

There have been times I've come into his presence honestly with very little left.

And I've led worship like that.

When I'm like, I'm barely making it, Lord, but here I am.

But here I am.

But it's in those times that he has met me here because he is my source.

So life will throw things your way.

But if he is your source, I promise that he's gonna get you through it.

And through it all, through every single thing that I've gone through, the way I saw it in my mind, I was like, man, God, you are so awesome.

Because through the pressing He has squeezed a little more oil.

Through the crushing, he squeezes a little more oil.

Through denying my flesh a little more oil.

Through seeking him a little more oil.

And see, in those moments where I've had nowhere else to go, no one to go to, I've just laid myself before the presence of God.

I'm honest.

And I'm Lord, this is how I feel, this is what I'm thinking, this is blah blah blah.

And a lot of times there's correction that comes when I'm just like having my pity party.

But the Lord is so good that after He corrects me, healing comes right behind it.

He heals you after he corrects you.

And guess what?

A little more oil is produced.

And if more oil comes from correction Correct me Lord.

Correct me Lord.

So that my lamp will not run out of oil.

God has given each one of us an assignment.

And like I was telling you before, the enemy knows that if you walk in obedience and in your authority, you are a threat.

If you walk in obedience and in your authority, you are a threat.

And you may not see yourself as a threat, but the enemy sees you as a threat.

So what does he do?

He doesn't try to take you out.

He just makes you comfy.

He tries to keep you with just enough oil to feel saved, but not enough to be ready.

That is what I call cruise control Christianity.

But we are not called to cruise, we are called to burn.

I saw a thing on, I don't know where I saw, I read it somewhere, that if if you throw a frog in a in a boiling pot, it's gonna jump out.

But if you leave the frog in in room temperature water and you put it on the on the stove and little by little you bring up the temperature, it will die.

And that's what the enemy does.

He's not gonna just it's little by little.

It's little by little.

It's little by little.

Till you're so far gone that you don't even know how you got there.

Number three is expectation.

Do you know him?

The Bible says at midnight the cry rang out.

Look, the bridegroom is coming.

Come out and meet him.

And this is where everything shifts.

Because in that moment, your preparation will be revealed.

The Bible warns us in Matthew 7 22 that many will say, Lord, Lord, didn't we do all these things in your name?

And he will say, I never knew you.

That's one of the most alarming verses in Scripture to me.

Because this isn't about activity.

This is about intimacy.

You can look the part in public, but what does your private life look like?

What does your private life say?

Small plug.

We're going over Romans on Wednesdays.

If you don't come, come.

And we just went over chapter two, two weeks last week.

And chapter two reminds us that God will judge, not might.

Will judge our secret lives.

So I ask you again.

How's your heart?

And which lamp are you If your private life was put on screen for all of us to see right now, what would it reveal?

But today is not about condemnation, but it is an invitation.

It is an invitation to search our hearts.

It is an invitation to return to intimacy.

It is an invitation to be filled again.

I don't know about you, but I don't want to look just ready.

I want to be ready.

I want to be ready.

I don't want to have just enough oil.

I want to overflow.

Overflow.

I don't want to do things just for God.

I want to know Him.

Know Him.

Because at the end of this race For me, Demaris, there is only one thing I want to hear.

Well done, good and faithful servant He's not gonna call me by anything other than servant.

Well done When that day comes, you will have to respond according to us in your lamp, not somebody else's.

Youth, you cannot live off of your parents' oil.

You have to have your own Wives, you can live off of your husbands.

Husbands, you can live off of your wives.

When we stand before the presence of God, and that day comes.

I'm gonna have to respond for what I demeris did.

Not for what my husband, not for what my sons, my daughter, for what I demaris did.

How is your oil?

How is your lamp?

The five foolish were trying to borrow oil.

It doesn't work that way.

We need to have our own personal relationship.

Wouldn't it be sad to hear Man, you were there every week though.

You were there for sure.

You were there every Sunday.

I'll give you that.

Attendance 10.

You were there.

I was listening.

You were listening.

I was worshiping.

You were worshiping.

But you did not know me.

You didn't have a relationship with me.

You had a relationship with the church.

You had a relationship with your job.

You had a relationship with what you had to do.

Even in ministry, you had a relationship with leading worship.

You had a relationship with your instrument.

You had a relationship with Usher and you had whatever it is.

But you did not know me.

You didn't know me.

Wouldn't it be sad to hear you almost made it You almost made it.

I'm gonna ask you to stand And this is a search your heart moment.

And I'm going to ask for everyone to close their eyes and for the prayer team to come.

This is an invitation to search your heart this morning, this afternoon.

What is it that you need to give up?

What is it that you're still struggling with?

What's keeping you from that oil?

Flowing, what's keeping you from living in the overflow of the presence of God Because the day is coming.

It's not it might.

It's not who know it is coming.

Whether it is because he comes or we go, one or the other.

What is a fact is that we will stand before the presence of our holy God.

And when the groom comes for our for his bride, for us, for his church.

Is he gonna find us worthy?

Is he gonna find us ready?

Are we gonna have enough oil?

Are we just surviving?

Are we just living out of what we receive week after week?

Or are you living on the overflow?

What is keeping you from?

Living in the overflow this morning, and I'm gonna say a prayer before they start singing, and I'm gonna ask for you to come to the altars.

Not necessarily, if you need prayer, go to the prayer team.

But not necessarily as a if I go to prayer, they're gonna know that I'm messing up.

Hey, pray for me.

I need more oil.

There's no shame and saying uh uh I've been slacking, I've been lacking.

I'm not living on the overflow.

Lord, fill my cup this morning.

Father God, I've delivered what you gave me.

Not one more word, not one less word, exactly what you gave me.

Father, I've moved in obedience to what you said to do.

I ask now, Holy Spirit, that you do what only you can do.

Holy Spirit.

Search our hearts.

Holy Spirit, if there's anything or anyone that is keeping us from being ready for when you return for your bride, Jesus.

That we may be able to be honest with ourselves this morning.

That we may be able to confront it, renounce to it, and begin to live in the overflow of your presence.

Holy Spirit, do what only you can do in this place.

Move the hearts, search our hearts, search our hearts, Lord.

Search our hearts, Lord.

Remove the Blindfold this morning, Lord, the spiritual blindfold, Lord, that is keeping us just living Sunday after Sunday.

Father, allow us to be renewed, Father, to transform our mind to transform.

Transform our character into your image, Lord.

That anything, Father, that is staying in the way, that is standing in the way, Father, of a relationship with you, that we may be able to renounce to it and push it aside.

This morning and just surrender all that we are to you, Lord, through the crushing, through the pressing, through the correction, more oil, more oil, more oil, more oil for when you come, Jesus.

For your bride, we shall be ready.

We'll be able to say, We're ready, we're ready, we're ready.

And for those of you who are ready and you say, I'm living on the overflow, begin to intercede for those who are not.

Begin to share Jesus with those that do not know a Jesus that you know because we want everyone to go to heaven.

If you're living in the overflow, begin to intercede.

This morning, because the Holy Spirit was showing me that there are many people in this place that are coming and they're leaving everything at the altar Sunday after Sunday.

And the minute they walk out of this place, they pick it back up, and the Holy Spirit.

Was telling me, tell them that it's time to let it go.

Tell them that it's time to surrender it once and for all.

What is it?

Is it addiction?

Is it lust?

Is it anxiety?

Is it a troubled mind?

What is it?

What do you need to surrender this morning?

And he was so clear.

So, church, listen, I can force you to come to the altars because we don't.

That's between you and the Holy Spirit, but I do know that there are people that need to surrender things in this place.

I was obedient, I released the word.

The Holy Spirit you take over in Jesus' name.

Thanks for listening.

If you'd like some more information on PNEUMA Church, visit us on our website At mypneumachurch. org.

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Thanks again and God bless.