Give Me Oil in My Lamp (Derrick Collins, 05/03/25)

What does the Bible say about foolishness? How

does it describe it? Well, in Proverbs 1, verse

Proverbs 1:2

2, a fool hates knowledge. In Proverbs 18, verse

Proverbs 18:2

2, it takes no pleasure in understanding. In

Proverbs 10, verse 23, it enjoys wicked schemes,

Proverbs 10:23

proclaims folly in Proverbs 12. spurns a parent's

discipline in Proverbs 15, speaks perversity

in Proverbs 19, it mocks at sin in Proverbs 19,

and it's deceitful in Proverbs 14. It despises

his mother in Proverbs 15, and a foolish child

brings grief to his parents in Proverbs 17 and

19. A foolish man commits sexual immorality in

Proverbs 6, 32 and chapter 7, verses 7 to 12.

And a foolish woman tears down her own house

in Proverbs 14, 1. We can start to see a picture

of what foolishness is defined by in the Bible.

It doesn't look like it's something that has

godly properties. Can you say amen to that? In

Proverbs 53, verse 1, it says, The fool has said

in his heart, there is no what. We can see these

are characteristics of the foolish virgins. One

of the things that I think is very striking,

I'm straying away from my notes a little bit

here. These virgins are supposed to be in the

church, and yet they're defined as foolish. What

is that telling us about these particular people?

Are you guys starting to see a picture of what

Jesus wants us to see with these foolish virgins?

When we think about wise, wise is equal to godly.

It's pious in Proverbs 13. It's wise to salvation

in 2 Timothy 3. So the question is, were the

five following the church crowd? I mean, they

seem to be associated with the church. They seem

to be associated with God's people. So why would

Jesus call them out? In the story, perhaps, there's

something significant to this quality of the

virgin that we need to pay attention to. It mentions

that they ran out of something important. What

did they run out of? Okay, the Bible calls it

oil, and oil, and some of you guys have jumped

ahead of me, represents what? The Holy Spirit.

Very good. Thank you. So oil equals the Holy

Spirit in 1 Samuel chapter 10 and 16 and Luke

1 Samuel 10 · chapter mention Luke 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4 and Acts chapter 10. What does the

Acts 10 · chapter mention

lamp represent? Yes. Thank you. The lamp represents

the word of God in Psalms chapter 119, 105. We're

Psalms 119 · chapter mention

seeing that there's oil and there's a lamp, and

they need them both. They need the oil, the Holy

Spirit, to what? Amplify the lamp, which is the

word of God. Are you guys kind of seeing what's

happening here? One time I remember, I mean,

is this? I guess is this important that they

need the Holy Spirit to amplify the scriptures

so that they can understand what's happening?

Is that important? Absolutely. You know, I remember

going on a backpacking trip in California. It

was actually quite close to where we lived, which

is kind of cool because usually you have to travel

a long distance or whatever. But there were mountains

that weren't very far from where we lived. And

we hiked up through the mountains. We're kind

of in a little bit of a valley. And I remember

not bringing a flashlight. And it got really

dark at night. Like, you know how sometimes you

can kind of see your way, maybe there's a little

bit of moonlight? It wasn't like that here. It

was dark. And the ground was very uneven. And

this person needed to go to the bathroom. And

I thought I could make it. I really did. I thought

I can get there. I will do what I have to do.

I couldn't make it. I couldn't even get to the

bathroom because it was so dark and I couldn't

see my path. And it reminds me of what it's like

for us as Christians. See, we can pretend. We

can tell ourselves, I got this. I can make it.

But in the story, God is saying something different.

He's saying you need the oil and you need the

lamp to be successful when the bridegroom comes.

So one of the things that the story mentions

is that because the virgins didn't have the oil

and they didn't have the lamp, or they had the

lamp, didn't have enough oil, They ran into problems.

Let's look at verse 5. While the bridegroom tarried,

they all slumbered and slept. And in verse 6,

what happens? Midnight came. Uncertainties happen

in life. People start to lose their hold on truth.

There starts to become questions about whether

or not we're actually in the right path or if

there's another path that we should be looking

for. I don't know if you guys have been following,

but have you noticed that prominent people in

the church have started to drift away? Have you

guys noticed that? And they started to question

the Adventist church. Is this really God's church?

Do we really, is there something else out there?

What are we doing here? You guys kind of, have

you guys seen that? You know, the Bible talks

about midnight coming. And midnight in ancient

times were the dark parts of the night. In this

story, midnight is symbolic of judgment. And

it's talking about oil and a lamp, and then it's

talking about midnight. And there's dark times

that are coming. And what do we need to hold

on to to keep ourselves on track? Are you guys

seeing what God is trying to say to us here?

We need that oil. We need the Holy Spirit. We

need to keep our noses in the Bible so that when

midnight comes, we're not among the foolish virgins.

So darkness comes in everybody's life. When the

bridegroom came, all the virgins knew about it,

but those without oil were not ready. They tried

to borrow oil. Can I get a little bit of your

oil for me? Can we borrow oil from other people?

This kind of oil? Are you guys following what

I'm saying? Can you, can I? Okay, I don't want

to ask this question. But who in the church is

admired for their spirituality? Can you borrow

oil from that person? No. And yet, these virgins

were trying to borrow oil. You can only get oil

from the oil provider, who is God. I can't give

you oil, and you can't give me oil. This oil

is what's helping them prepare for the bridegroom

and to know what to look for when he comes. So

the foolish virgins asked for oil from the other

virgins and they were not able to obtain any.

They tried to find some oil from other sources

and lost out on the opportunity for salvation.

So let's talk for a minute about this oil. Several

things I want you to glean about this oil, about

the Holy Spirit. I'm not going to read these

texts, but I'm going to give them to you with

a reference if you want to jot them down and

look them up later. That may not be a bad idea.

Number one, the oil, the Holy Spirit is the helper

who teaches and reminds in John 14, 26. The oil

convicts the world of sin in John 16, 7 -8. It

dwells in believers and fills us in 1 Corinthians

3, 16. It's the source of revelation, wisdom,

and power in Ephesians 1, 17 -20. It guides to

all truth and knowledge of what is to come. In

John chapter 16, verses 13 and 15. It gives us

John 16:13

spiritual gifts to believers in 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 12:7

chapter 12, verses 7 and 11. It seals in the

lives of believers. Ephesians chapter 1, verse

Ephesians 1:13

13. It helps in our weakness and it intercedes

for us in Romans 8, 26 and 27. It makes believers

new and grants us eternal life. In Romans chapter

Romans 8:10

8, verses 10 and 11, it sanctifies and it enables

good fruit in our lives. In Galatians chapter

Galatians 5:16–25

5, verse 16 to 25. Here's the application. We

have two types of Christians. By all external

appearances, they both look the same. And they're

studying the word of God. But one's not transformed

through the power of the oil. We need to study

the Bibles. I hear people more and more talking

about that. We've got to study the Bible. We've

got to study the Bible. We've got to study the

Bible. But have you noticed that we're more busy

than we've ever been? Have you noticed that,

you know, when you look at your day, you're like,

whoa. It's gone, but what did I do with it? What

did I spend my day doing? Jesus knew that down

through the ages, we would also need advice about

how to prepare for a second coming. So he gave

us a choice to either be smart or foolish. And

we can choose. We can take ownership. It's important

for us to understand midnight is coming. And

which of the virgins do you choose to be? See,

we need the oil of the Holy Spirit to guide us

as we study the word of God. God wants us to

be so needy on him. And I work with people that

I encourage to not be so needy on other people.

But God wants us to be so needy on him that we

are constantly going to the Holy Spirit. We're

asking his advice. What do I do, Lord? How do

I handle this situation? What is your will? God

wants us to be needy. He wants us to be just

like little children. And we don't want to be

that if we're being truthful. Here's what Ellen

White says in Christ's Object Lessons. The special

gifts of the Holy Spirit are not the only talents

represented in the parable. It includes gifts

and endowments, whether original or acquired,

natural or spiritual. All are to be employed

in God's service. In whose service? In God's

service. Becoming his disciples, we surrender

ourselves to him with all that we are and have.

These gifts he returns to us purified and ennobled

to be used for his glory in blessing his fellow

men. Let's go back to Matthew chapter 25. You

Matthew 25 · chapter mention

know, there's something that's interesting about

this chapter. See, Jesus tells us some stories

about... These virgins, some of them were wise,

some of them were foolish. And then the author

just abruptly moves away from that story into

another story. This time, the story is about

talents. I wonder if that's a coincidence or

if there's a purpose for why this talents story

follows the virgin story. The Bible often talks

about or uses repetition and enlargement to help

us understand something that's important that

God wants us to understand. So you guys know

the story of the talents too, right? We know

the story of the virgins. We often hear the story

of the talents. And I don't think that we often

hear them together. Would you guys agree with

that? Let's talk about this for a minute. So

we know the story of the talents. There's a man

that he calls his servants and he gives them

talents, right? He gave one five talents, he

gave another two talents, and he gave another

one talent, each according to their ability.

And then we know the story. Like the one who

received the five talents, he made another five

talents, right? The one who received two talents,

he gained another two. So we see these guys are

actually doubling their talents, right? It's

pretty cool. But then there's one who received

one talent. He went and dug in the earth and

hid his Lord's silver. Now you guys know the

story. We'll pause there. But how did the servant

feel about the one servant who hid the talent?

How did he feel about that? Was he happy? Good

job. At least you didn't lose anything, right?

One of the things that we know is that the master

was angry. He was angry because he didn't use

his talents. One of the things that the oil does

is it gives us the ability to use our talents.

For God's purpose. You guys following me? So

what are the fruits of the Spirit? We have wisdom,

knowledge, faith. These are gifts of healing.

We have the working of miracles. We have prophecy,

intelligence, speech, influence, time, money,

health, strength, love, and kindness. These are

some of the talents of the Holy Spirit. How many

of you guys know what your talents are? How many

of you know what God has blessed you with? It's

really important for us to know what our talents

are. If you don't know what your talents are,

that's okay, but you'll at least know one of

them by the end of this message. So they all

had talents. Daily, we should be using our talents,

our gifts for the glory of God. Many people find

excuses not to use their talents for God's purpose.

You know, one of the things that always bothers

me is, you know, you'll have people in the world

like your Katy Perry's and your Beyonce's and

there's probably other people. And guess where

their talents started? In the church. They started

singing songs for Jesus and now they're not.

We'll just leave it there. But their talents.

They had talents. We have talents. The Holy Spirit

wants to connect with us so we can use our talents

to glorify God. In verses 16 and 17, we can see

the cheerful servants using their talents for

God, and he blesses them with more. In verse

18, the servant that's chosen not to use his

talents at all, what does he do? He buries them.

I don't want to lose it, but I don't want to

use it. Does that sound about right? He buries

it. Here's something that's really important

for you to understand. God is going to come and

settle his accounts with all of us. Which of

the servants in the story would you like to be?

Are you using your talents to glorify God? Are

you using your talents to further God's kingdom?

Everyone is going to be accountable for how they

use their talents. You know, sometimes the church,

and it seems like sometimes the bigger the church,

the fewer people are willing to serve. We need

somebody to teach children Sabbath school. I'm

too busy, Pastor. I'm sorry, I can't do it. The

church has needs. What about where you work?

God put you in that job. How many of us are,

we praise God, praise God for blessing me with

this job. I'm making really good money. But then

what do you do with that job to glorify God,

to say thank you for putting me here? Do you

look for those opportunities? Do you unite with

the oil to share your talents with God? You following

me, church? God is pleased with what his servants

have done with their talents, at least two of

the servants. But he gets mad with the servant

for not using his gift. Why does God call the

servant wicked and lazy? God could have just

said, you didn't do it, okay, well, shame on

you. But that is not what he does. Why does he

call the servant wicked and lazy? There has to

be something that this servant is doing that's

outside of God's will. Are you guys following

me? Not only is he not using his talents, but

God is not pleased with him. Perhaps the message

is not how talented you are, but that you use

your talents to glorify God. You know, maybe

sometimes we branch off and we try something

new and we go, man, that didn't work. But maybe

using our talents might be about looking and

seeing where is God working? And uniting our

talents there and serving in that capacity. If

you're ever in doubt about where God can use

your talents, look and see what God is doing

and join in. Be a part of it. Let me read something

to you. This is so powerful. I hope you guys

don't miss this message. This is found in Christ's

object lessons. And here's what Ellen White says.

As the will of man. cooperates with the will

of God, it becomes omnipotent. And that just

means having unlimited power, able to do anything.

Whatever is to be done at his command may be

accomplished in his strength. All his biddings

and enablings. Did you guys catch what this is

saying? Okay, let me read it again because I

didn't even get one amen. Let's try this again.

As the will of man cooperates with the will of

God, it becomes omnipotent. Whatever is to be

done at his command may be accomplished in his

strength. All his biddings and enablings. Are

you guys catching what's happening here? God

unites with us. First of all, he kind of leads

us in that direction. Okay, you go over there.

I want you to start a ministry. And then he says,

and when we return to him, okay, God, I'm going

to do what you asked me to do. What do you want?

How do you want this to happen? And God's like,

watch this. And he just puts his power on you

and your ministry starts to thrive and be successful.

Isn't that amazing? So here's the... deal that

God and I have. So I'm a mental health therapist.

That means I work with people that have problems.

And it is where one of my talents is. It's something

that God truly has blessed me with. And the reason

I'm saying this, and I'm not bragging, is because

when I went back to being a teenager, adults

were coming to me saying, what should I do in

this situation? And the Lord would bless me then

too. I'd tell them what to do. They'd do it.

It worked perfectly. So this is a gift. And God

and I talked about this gift before I even went

to college. What do you want me to do, Lord?

He told me two things. He said, I want you to

go in the ministry and I want you to be a counselor.

And I did it. So here's what happens. Sometimes

when I'm sitting in my office and I'm working

with somebody, I'm like, okay, I need your help

here. And I hear the Holy Spirit whisper in my

ear. And so I'll say things. Sometimes it's things

I'm like, are you sure you want me to say that?

And I'll say it. And sure enough, it's exactly

what I need to say. And things start to unlock.

And I see God working. Are you guys following

what I'm saying? I don't really claim to be a

good counselor. I just know who helps me. What

I want to challenge you guys to do. We need the

Holy Spirit to be with us. So one of the things

that happens is, you know, God calls His servant

wicked and lazy. God is adamant about us using

our talents, that He takes the time to reemphasize

the importance of us sharing in His work. Could

it be that part of the reason that God was so

angry with his servant was because one of the

talents that he has, that he gives everybody,

regardless of who you are, is the ability to

share his love. This servant buried his talent.

He didn't even use, though at least the one that

God calls us to use, to share his love with somebody.

You guys following me? He buried his talent and

God called him wicked and lazy. You know, if

we keep going in this chapter, I'm going to make

my point to show you what I'm talking about with

this talent. Because he moves directly from talent

to the final judgment. Now he starts talking

about judgment. He talks about talent. And then

he goes back to judgment. Isn't that interesting?

But this time, this is what he says. He goes

to specific people and he says to them, he says,

when I was hungry, you gave me food. When I was

thirsty, you gave me drink. I was in prison and

you came to see me. I was naked and you clothed

me. I was sick and you visited me. Why does the

author suddenly jump to this? And so what do

the people say? When do we do that? I honestly

do not remember giving you anything to drink.

I don't remember. talking to you i don't remember

clothing you i don't remember helping you and

yours i don't remember any of that and what does

the bible say are you guys catching this if you

did it to the least of these you did it to me

we all have at least one talent What's that one

telling? We got to show God's love. That's what

this man buried. He didn't want to show his love.

And Jesus called him wicked and he called him

lazy. Because God wants all of us, and there

are no exceptions. You've got to do something

for his kingdom. So let's see if we can put all

the pieces together. This is the teacher in me.

In the first parable, what was the emphasis?

They needed oil, the Holy Spirit, right? In the

second parable, what was he encouraging them

to do? And what do they need to be successful?

and using their talents. You've got to have the

Holy Spirit. And then in the third section, what

do we see? This is truly the final judgment in

that section. Well, what is God saying? Yeah,

He's congratulating those, and some people He

doesn't congratulate. We know some people go

to hell and destruction, but... But God is taking

the time to say, man, you did a really good job.

Even if nobody else saw what you did, I saw it.

Well done. Are you guys connecting the dots here?

This is a love message. God is trying to tell

us, listen, I got the Holy Spirit that's going

to hook you up. And that's what we need to partner

with, the Holy Spirit, so God will empower us

so that we can do His will. Let me show you something.

We're going to end this, but I just want to show

you this real quick. Here is it. Mercy. Okay.

It's going to be Zechariah chapter 4, verse 6.

Zechariah 4:6

Zechariah chapter 4, verse 6. When you have it,

Zechariah 4:6

say amen. Okay, he answered and spoke to me saying,

this is the word of Jehovah to Zerubbabel saying,

not by not might. nor by power, but by my spirit,

says Jehovah of hosts. We need the oil so that

we can do the work. You guys follow what I'm

saying here? Are you seeing the message that

God wants us to get? Are you seeing the love

message where he's saying, I need you to partner

with me. I need you to do some work for me. And

I have designed this work so that it's special

just for you. Other people can do the work, but

not as well as the way I've designed it for you.

And for them, I have special work for them too.

And God is saying, I don't want anybody to be

lost, but here's what you need to survive midnight.

You guys following? Is this a love message? Is

God speaking to your heart? Stand with me. Let's

pray. I want to pray a special prayer. I know

that some of you guys are doing the work and

I want to say thank you. But there's more work

to be done. And God is calling us to do that

work. So I just want us to pray and we're going

to ask God, please help me. Help me to fight

that selfish part of me that doesn't want to

do your work. I want to pray that God will bless

us with the Holy Spirit so that we will be empowered

to do what God calls us to do. Let's pray. Father

God, we're so grateful for your love message.

We're grateful, Father, that you were able to

break it down and make it clear to us. We are

your servants and we need the Holy Spirit, Father.

so that we can do your work. Father God, I want

to pray for each person here. We battle against

our flesh, which tells us somebody else has got

it. Somebody else will do it. But we want to

be, we want to say, Father, here am I. Send me.

Use me, Father, to further your cause. Father,

if there's fear, we know that perfect love casts

out all fear. Bless us, Father. Help us. And

Father, I just pray if there's somebody that

needs to reach out to the pastor to have a conversation

about the Holy Spirit coming into their heart

because they're not a part of your flock yet,

I just want to pray that you will give them that

motivation as well. But God, we are so grateful

for this message. We're grateful for the timeliness

of it. And we just want to pray for your strength

and your wisdom. Thank you, Father, for hearing

our prayer. Thank you for inspiring this message.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.