From: Dean and Susan Wheelock
To: heb_roots_chr@hebroots.org
Subject: Preparing the Bride: Oil for Our Lamps (Part 3 of 3)
Dean and Susan Wheelock have a ministry called Hebrew
roots. They produce a quarterly magazine called Hebrew roots. If
you
would like to receive the magazine, please send an e-mail to Dean
and
Susan at: (dewheelock@aol.com)
or write them at the following address:
Hebrew Roots
P.O. Box 98
Lakewood, WI 54138
1-715-757-2775
Preparing the Bride: Oil for Our Lamps
(Part 3 of 3)
From the website:
http://www.geocities.com/hebrew_roots/html/hr-2-3-01.html#Lamps
Our eye must be good,
(sincere) in our devotion to our Husband Yeshua,
our Father in heaven and to the instruction book of God (the
Torah)
which He has so graciously given us. if we are full of the
righteous
oil of the Torah, then we will have plenty of fuel for our light
to
shine brightly and it will be `good' light. However, there is
another
kind of light which is a mixture of good and evil. Some people
think
this `light' is the good light, but it is really a very old
`light'
that is total darkness at its core.
"For such are false
apostles, deceitful workers,
transforming themselves into
apostles of Christ. And no
wonder! For Satan himself
transforms himself into an
angel of light. Therefore it is
no great thing if his
ministers also transform themselves
into ministers of
righteousness, whose end will be according
to their works." (II
Cor. 11:13-15)
~ Flickering Light ~
If our Torah fuel should run low, then
our light will begin to
flicker. When this happens it is urgent for us to return
immediately to our source book of oil for replenishment.
"Through Your precepts I get understanding;
Therefore
I hate every false way."
(Psalm
119:104)
As a result of industrious Torah study
and diligent application
of Torah into our lives, we can be assured that:
"He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And
your justice as the noonday."
(Psalm
37:6)
Even if we have abundant Torah oil it is
still possible that our
light of Messiah might go out, for in order for there to
be light there must be fire.
If we blaspheme the Holy Spirit and God
removes it from us, then
our source of heat (fire) and oxygen (air) is gone, and all we
are
left with is empty knowledge of Torah with no possible
way to put it into effect.
"`And anyone who speaks a word against
the Son of Man,
it will be forgiven him; but to
him who blasphemes against the
Holy Spirit, it will not be
forgiven." (Luke 12:10)
If our lamp (our own human spirit)
becomes damaged to the point
that the oxygen of the Holy Spirit cannot reach the flame, or it
is
broken to the point where it can no longer hold Torah oil, then
once
again the light of Messiah will be extinguished. This is why we
are told:
"Quench not the Spirit."
(I
Thess. 5:19)
"And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you
were
sealed for the day of redemption."
(Eph.
4:30)
We quench the Spirit when we refuse to
follow his lead. We grieve
the Spirit when we commit sin. Both have a
dampening effect (water is one way to prevent oxygen from
reaching the
flame) upon our light.
~ Summary ~
This has been a rather lengthy journey
through the Parable of the
Ten Virgins. However, the lessons to be learned are most
profound:
The great lesson is that we must always
be ready for Messiah's
return. Even if He does not come back
during our lifetime; He
will, in effect, come for each of us
individually when we die.
Now is the time to make preparations for
our wedding to Yeshua,
while it is still day. "`I must
work the works of Him who sent Me
while it is day; the night is coming
when no one can work." (John
9:4). Now is the time to be studying
Torah and learning how to
live a Torah lifestyle. Now is the time
to repair our `righteous
love vessel' so that it can be filled to
the brim with Torah oil
and not lose a single drop. We can do
this by putting into action
those things we learn from the Torah.
Now is the time to cleanse
our own spirit (lamp) of all iniquity,
bitterness, hatred,
jealousy, lust, vanity and greed; so
that it can burn clean and
bright and not prevent the pure oxygen
from reaching the flame.
This can be accomplished by confessing
our sins to God (I John
1:9) and beseeching Him to forgive them
through the precious
blood of our Savior Yeshua. Now is the
time to accept
wholeheartedly the igniting fire of
God's Holy Spirit. This will
mean a recognition and acceptance of all
the spiritual gifts
found in I Cor. 12 and Romans 12. This
means a total commitment
not to quench the Spirit through
inactivity or grieve the Spirit
through sin. Now is the time to let our
light shine before all
men. We must not be ashamed of our
calling but be willing to
confess openly that Yeshua is our
Messiah, lest He not confess us
before the Father when He returns.
If all of these pieces are in place: the
vessel of righteous
love, the lamp of our spirit, the oil of Torah understanding,
and the fire and wind of the Holy Spirit of God; then we will be
able
to clearly see our way to the great wedding that is to take place
in
heaven.
"`Let us be glad and
rejoice and give Him glory, for
the marriage of
the Lamb
has come, and
His wife has made herself ready. And to her it
was granted to
be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright,
for the fine
linen is the righteous acts of the saints.'
"Then he
said to me, `Write: "Blessed are those who are
called to the
marriage supper of the Lamb!"'"
(Rev. 19:7-9)
(End Part 3 of 3)
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