Christian in Name Only — David Wilkerson

The Parable of the Ten Virgins and the Need for Readiness

Christian in name only. Matthew 25, 25th chapter of Matthew, first 13 verses, a very familiar passage of scripture. I'll read to you Matthew 25, 1 through 13, and all of our guests in the Annex, guests in the Annex and our people there in the overflow rooms, God bless you.

We trust the Word will find its place in your heart today. Beginning to read Matthew 25 verses 1 through 13,. Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom.

Five of them were wise, five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them. The wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. When the bridegroom carried, they all slumbered and slept.

In midnight there was a crime made. Behold, the bridegroom's coming. Go you out to meet him. All those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil. Our lamps are gone out.

The wise answered, saying, Not so, lest there be not enough for us and you. But go ye rather to them that sell and buy for yourselves. When they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut.

Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I send you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour when the Son of Man cometh.

A Christian in Name Only

A Christian in name only. Heavenly Father, this is an evangelistic message to the Christian, and I pray, Lord Jesus, that you make this everything you want it to be. Lord, I'll not let up. I'm not. I will not soft peddle it.

I'll not try to sugarcoat it. I'm going to preach it as you said it. Lord, there are people here that call themselves Christians are not going to heaven. They're going to be lost. It's that plain. It's that simple.

And Lord Jesus, we're in a time that we can't play games in church. It's not a time just to be coddled. It's not a time just to be told you're OK. Lord, we have to measure ourselves by the word of God.

And I've come to you and I've come to your holy word. And I ask you to put an unction on me that I may speak this with divine love. Lord, I know you love us. But Lord Jesus, you're also a God of justice.

You're a God of holiness, a God of righteousness. And we can't put that aside. Lord Jesus, I pray that you speak to us about the coming of Christ, about the soon return of our Lord and whether or not we are ready and prepared in Jesus name.

Amen. Now, I think it's a very tragic thing. Probably the worst thing I can think of is being an atheist. And yet, I believe even more tragic is to be a Christian in name only. More tragic than being an atheist.

The sad truth, there are millions today that call themselves Christians. And if you ask them, they're convinced they're going to heaven and they're not. Not at all. Even though they have the name. And when I pray and ask God in my prayer closet for him to share his heart with me and tell me what grieves him so that I can preach it and what blesses him so I can preach it.

I feel the greatest grief of God right now when I pray, is the grief over so many becoming foolish virgins. Those who were once wise, those who had been preparing, those who were diligent, somehow getting caught up with the spirit of this age, somehow allowing themselves to drift away from Jesus Christ, from faithfulness to the house of God, becoming Sunday morning Christians.

And many that sit here right now, that's exactly what you become your Sunday morning Christian. You don't come to any other service. You don't go to any other, whether it's this church or another church.

In fact, it's quite a job for you to make it through Sunday morning. It's not just being a Sunday morning Christian. It's much more than that. But this foolish virgins is another term for a Christian in name only.

The Coming of Christ and the Call to Watchfulness

You don't hear much preaching today about the coming of Jesus. Not at all. You preach, you hear mostly about coping with problems and a little bit of pop psychology. And I dare you to go to churches today and ever hear a message anymore about getting ready for the coming of Jesus, that the coming of Christ could be right at the door.

And we just don't hear that anymore because people, pastors, would tell you, my congregation is so full of fear. There's so much turmoil in their families. There's so much difficulty, so much pain that we just have to give the message how to cope, how to deal with it.

And many Christians have to just be propped up just to get through the week, just to get through another day or through the week. But Jesus preached so much about his return. He warned over and over again about being ready to meet him when he comes.

He told of a day when he's going to stand, he's going to come with the sound of a mighty trumpet and the whole world is going to see his appearing. Listen to the scripture, and then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven.

And then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. The Bible said he's going to send his angels the sound of great trumpet.

He's going to gather his people from the four corners of the earth. And he said in the twinkling of an eye, suddenly he's going to take them and they're going to be gone from the earth. Jesus cautions, but of that day and the hour, no man knoweth.

No, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. Now that doesn't say that Jesus doesn't know. I've heard that said. But Jesus, if you've seen me, you've seen the Father. The Father knows. And he said, if you've seen me, you've seen the Father.

He said, we are one. But he said, no angel knows. No man knows. Watch, therefore, for you do not know the hour when your Lord is coming. Therefore, be ready also, for in such an hour as you think not the Son of Man is coming.

He's speaking to his own disciples. He's not talking to heathen. He's talking about Christians or believers, those who love him, being ready for his coming. Now, there's a lot of confusion about the coming of Christ.

Competing Views of the Rapture and Tribulation

There are many people, majority of evangelicals, believe in what they call the rapture, a sudden taking away that no prophecy has to be fulfilled. Jesus could come at any moment. He could come in the next five seconds.

He can come tonight. He can come tomorrow. He can come any time at all. Many others believe that Christians will not be taken. Jesus won't come until halfway through what is called Jacob's Trouble or the Great Tribulation.

It's supposed to be a seven-year period according to prophecy, and many believe that he's coming in the middle of that, that there's going to be a lot of suffering, and there'll be a mark of the beast, and that many Christians will be lost during that time, and others will be saved.

And the others teach that we will go through seven years of Great Tribulation, then Christ will come. And there's another school that teaches this, that Jesus will not come probably thirty, forty thousand years from now until Christians overcome all evil in the earth, and we will subdue the earth and push out all evil, bring Jesus back as king.

That's far-fetched. The Bible said, Woe to any man who say the Lord delays his coming. He said he's an evil man who says the Lord delays his coming. Now, folks, listen to me. I believe all of these doctrines miss the point, completely miss the point.

I have readers, as I told you, we have about 800 ,000 right now on our mailing list all over the United States, and I get so many letters saying, Brother, we're asking you to take a stand. What do you believe?

Do you believe in the rapture? Do you believe in Jesus coming? When do you believe Jesus is coming? Well, folks, I'm not going to get involved in this. Let me tell you what the point of Jesus is trying to make.

He said, Be ye ready at any time. It's all about readiness. Folks, you see, if you're truly living in readiness, and you're preparing for his coming, it doesn't matter when he comes tomorrow, or a year from now, or ten years from now, you are living in readiness, and being in readiness gives you joy and peace.

You can't lose by being ready. You can be very lost by not being prepared. So please don't write me about this. Now, Jesus commands that we're to be always in a state of readiness. Be ye ready. Watch.

He said he's coming for those who are looking for his return, and then he warned against any suggestion that he would delay his coming, for the evil servant will say in his heart, My Lord is delaying his coming.

Now, folks, I'm not speaking against those who say he's coming halfway through the tribulation or seven years. I don't think those who believe that have any attempt to deceive or say the Lord's delaying his coming.

In fact, if you were in Afghanistan, if you were in North Korea today, if you were in parts of Russia, in Georgia, part of Russia, or former Russia, and if you were in some of these Muslim countries, you would believe that you were in the tribulation right now.

They are going through tribulation, and I personally believe with all my heart that there's going to be a lot of suffering. Usually, we Americans don't like to suffer. We like the prosperity. We like it easy, and we want to go to heaven in an easy manner.

We don't want to suffer. We have not suffered, and we're not going to, we just, I'm not going to suffer. I'm telling you, there's going to be a lot of suffering. I was in Russia recently, and when I was in Moscow, and there were pastors who'd been in prison for 18 years, their wives in jail for five years, seven years, and come through such suffering.

You can see the marks on them, and when I warned and prophesied that they're going again, Russia is going into a time of great persecution. All of these pastors have been in prison. They've only been free for nine years now, only nine years of freedom, and every one of them confirmed it, said, we believe the same thing.

We see it coming from the Russian Orthodox Church, now supported by the Communist Party to stop all evangelical ministries. Even in St. Petersburg, our attempt to rent the large ice hockey arena was hindered, and fortunately, we were able to get the hockey arena in Moscow, but they all agreed it's right at the door again.

Tremendous persecution and suffering, and when you talk to these people about being taken away without any suffering, they would say, that's a wine thing, but we've already been through this suffering.

I've been in jail for 18 years. I've been beaten, and I went hungry, and we were separated. There was tribulation of all kinds. You see, the point is, it is the Lord saying, be ready. You don't know. You really don't know when I'm coming.

I'm going to come suddenly, but he said, you're to be ready at all times. You're to be ready today, at any moment, you'll be ready for his coming. Jesus warned what would happen to Christians who persuaded themselves in their own heart that he's delayed his coming.

He said, you'll start drinking with the drunken. He said, you're going to beat your fellow servants. In other words, you're going to start gossiping, and you're going to have murderous tongues and hatred thoughts, because you see, you don't believe you're going to have to stand before the throne and give an answer.

You say, you have all this time. The Lord's delayed his coming, so eat and drink and be merry. He's not coming. I'm not going to have to answer. In the mid -1800s, here in the United States, there was a pastor, a preacher by the name of Miller, and he was a statistician and a very brilliant man.

William Miller and the Danger of Date-Setting

In his calculations, he had charts. He went all through the scripture, and he decided that he knew the exact day when Jesus was coming, and through his charts and calculations, he announced. Now, he had quite a following, and they were called Millerites, and Pastor Miller announced to the United States that he was coming on a certain day.

The whole country, the news picked it up. It was all over the nation. Jesus was coming on a certain day, and so, I think it was in Kansas. I forget the state. The Millerites began to gather from all the United States.

Now, I'll tell you, many of them sold everything they had. They gave up their houses and their lands. They started confessing their sins, and husbands became nice to their wives, and wives confessed everything to their husbands.

Some of them had their last fling, because they said, I still have a week. That's true. A lot of Christians went out and had a fling, because they said, I believe I can repent. The Lord is merciful. I'll repent the day before, because he's coming tomorrow.

He's not coming today. You begin to understand why Jesus said, I'm not going to tell you the time. You're not going to know. I want you to live expectantly. And so, the day came, and they were singing, shouting.

Many of them dressed in robes and went up on a mountain. They were going to meet him on the mountain. Thousands of people gathered, and in other states, you know, because this is me. I didn't get the whole story.

I read it once, but I forgot all the details, but you know the time changes around the world. But he says he's coming at midnight. Well, midnight in California, midnight in New York are three hours apart.

Didn't take that into consideration, but they gathered. It was supposed to be before midnight. He was going to come, and so they're gathered on the mountain, and they waited, and they began to sing and shout just before midnight, because this was the last few moments, and he didn't come.

Miller went back to his calculations and figured he'd made a mistake in one of the years, and he reset the date, and they gathered again. When did he come? He tried to reset it again. By this time, those who'd been fooled are now backslidden, many of them turned away, and the Millerites became a very small group of people still holding on to that truth, and I think some of them may still remain.

But you see, Jesus said, no man knows that day. Suppose the Lord had set a date, and he told his disciples, I'm going to tell you when I return, and he sets the date, let's pick one, January 25th, 2085, midnight.

I'm going to return 2085. Now, he said this at the beginning, that would have been year zero, but in the year 2085 years from now, on a certain day, January 25th, I'm going to come, be ready. How many generations would have gone to hell?

How many generations would have said, I'll be letting go by then. He's not coming, I don't have to give an account. If I die, I've got to give an account, but I've got plenty of time. First pain I have in my belly, I'll repent.

First time somebody says cancer, I'll repent. I have time. If Jesus had done that, even today, how many in New York, how many in this church right now would ease up and say, I don't want that, he's not coming.

This is the motivation Jesus gave us toward holiness. You say, well, love alone should be holiness. No, the Bible said we're bent on backsliding. We are bent, God's people are bent on backsliding. It takes everything the Holy Ghost has in his divine power to keep the saintly of us on fire for God.

The Wise and Foolish Virgins

Now, to illustrate this call to readiness, Jesus gave us a parable, this parable of the ten virgins. The ten virgins represent the whole body of believers who call themselves by the name of Jesus. All of them were appointed to be ready, every one of them.

Now, if you call yourself a Christian, if you say you're a lover of Christ, you love Jesus, you believe in Jesus Christ, then you are a virgin. According to the scripture, you're one of these ten virgins.

That represents the whole body. Now, this parable is all about being prepared for the coming of Jesus, because the bridegroom here is Christ. The virgins are those who call themselves by his name. Jesus sums up the parable with this warning.

After he's given us the parable in verse 13, then, watch therefore. Now, these are the words of Jesus, they're not mine. Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour, the hour wherein the Son of Man comes.

Now, see, the five wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps, and the foolish took none. They had just enough in the lamp itself, and it was burning, and it went out. But the wise virgins had oil with them.

Now, I've heard many people say that oil represents the Holy Spirit. The Bible talks about the oil of gladness, the oil of anointing. There are a number of definitions of the oil. I have a problem with all of that, because the Bible doesn't say what the oil is.

And these foolish were said, go buy the oil. We can't share ours. You go buy some. But who sells the Holy Ghost? I mean, come on. How do you buy the Holy Ghost? We're not talking about the Holy Spirit here.

We're not talking about any other thing. But that which causes us to be ready, that force in us, this desire, this oil of preparation, it can be nothing else. The Lord, the whole thing has to do with being prepared.

Anything that motivates you to prepare for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the state of readiness. Now, the word foolish here in Greek means careless, heedless, and it also means blockhead. Get your Greek concordance and look at it.

In the blockhead in the original, it means an unconcerned person whose mind has just gone lame. It's from a root word that means mystery or secret. They're secret believers. Nobody really knows. You can't tell by the way they live.

You can't tell because they have no testimony. They never talk about Jesus, and yet they call themselves by his name. It's a mystery. They're Christians in name only. It could have been a time years ago or sometime that they made a confession.

They said a sinner's prayer. In fact, at the beginning, there may have been a time in their past life that this particular Christian, this kind of Christian, this brand of Christian, may have read the Bible occasionally, may have whispered prayer, and may be in a crisis.

They even cried out to God. But over the years, there's been a drifting away. They don't think about him. They don't talk about him. They go to church. They're sweet people. They're loving people. They'll do anything for you, and if you ask them, are you going to heaven?

Yes, I'm going to heaven. Are you a Christian? Yes, I'm a Christian. I'm a believer. But it's in name only, because they have no passion for Christ. They spend no time with him. They're not seekers after him.

They're still virgins, but the Bible said they're foolish, and they're in real danger if they don't soon recognize how vulnerable they are because they're totally unprepared to meet Jesus when he comes.

National Sin, Judgment, and the Need for Repentance

In Isaiah, don't turn there, but in the third chapter of Isaiah, there's an account of awful judgments that fell on Israel because of their sin. The Bible makes it very, very clear that they were provoking the eyes of his glory.

They declared their sins as Sodom did. Folks, isn't that what America has become right now? We are sinning just as Sodom did. We have become a sinful, ungodly nation where anything goes. Folks, I was reading a paper yesterday, and some of the people who used to be performers on MTV said this is the worst filth that the nation has ever had spewed upon it.

These are those who were once in it, and they said, we can't even handle it. Those who just five years ago were on the cutting edge of immorality are saying, hey, this is too far. We've stepped too far now.

We have stepped over the line, brother, sister. We have totally stepped over the line. And I don't even know what goes on because we don't have TV in our home, but I do a lot of reading, and it appears to me, it sounds to me like we have come to the very abyss, to the very brink of the abyss of hell.

And this is what happened in Israel, a time just like this. And the Lord said, I'm going to strike the economy. And he said, I'm going to take away the whole supply of bread. That means their livelihood.

He said, it seems to me the only way I'm going to get the attention of these people is to hit their pocketbook. Folks, it's the only way God's going to get the whole of America. It's the only way God's going to get attention of this mad nation.

It's the only way I'm going to get attention of Wall Street. God says, I'm going to cut off your supply of bread. I'm going to affect your livelihood. Those who are going to build this 52-story building on top of us because we don't have the air rights, they canceled that primarily now because of the economy, mostly because we prayed that the economy also.

But you see, in that day, when you get to chapter 4, and chapter 4 is a continuation of chapter 3, this is what you read. And in that day, when God begins to judge, in that day of immorality, seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, we will eat our own bread, we'll wear our own apparel, only let us be called by thy name.

To take away our reproach. This is an amazing thing because this man is Jesus. I believe Isaiah is talking about Jesus. In that day, in a time of turmoil, there are going to be people, there are going to be a certain kind of Christian who are going to try to have a marriage of convenience with Christ.

A marriage of convenience, no courtship mentioned, not a word of forsaking all others, not one word about faithfulness, not a mention of the marriage bed, no talk about engagement, no talk about intimacy.

They don't want this husband, seven women, what one man said, it represents the things of God, the perfection of God, things that are spiritual. These are people who appear spiritual or claim to be part of the kingdom of God, and they're saying, no, we will provide for ourselves, we will make our own living, we'll do our own thing, we just want your name.

To take away our reproach. So we'll appear good before man. You see, this is the arrangement that many, this is the Christian in name only. They don't want the commitment. They don't have intimacy with Christ, there's no talk about the marriage bed.

There's no talk about total commitment to Jesus Christ. There's no talk here at all about love, devotion, commitment. Just be called by your name. And we are seeing that prophecy being fulfilled before our very eyes today.

Our churches in America and around the world are filled with millions of so-called Christians who have no intimacy with Jesus Christ. They called themselves by their name, they somehow attached their name to him.

They did it on their own because Jesus will have no part of this kind of arrangement. He might have it, but some have taken his name and said, I am married to Christ. Ask them the last time they spent 15 minutes in his presence loving him.

Ask them the last time they picked up this Bible just to find out who Jesus is and even read one chapter. Here are people that God has blessed. Here are people that God has touched. He's kept them. He's given them health and strength.

He's given them children that love them or young people even that God has blessed and kept and protected. And they can't even lay down at night and say, thank you, Jesus. Listen to the heart cry of a true Christian.

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall be joyful in God. He that hath clothed me with the garments of salvation. He's covered me with the robe of righteousness. As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments and a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

That means that the bride, the true Christian, his heart goes out or her heart goes out constantly to Jesus. There's a longing. There's a yearning. There's a cry. Lord, put your robe of righteousness on me.

I'm dependent on you. But you see, the Christian in Amalia really doesn't want to depend wholly on Jesus. There's not dependence. It's I can do it on my own. I've gone my own way, do my own thing. And when I die, I'm going to change.

Everything will be different. This all happens, the scripture says, in that day. That's in the day when the Lord shakes the earth. When the child behaves himself arrogantly against the elderly. And when the wicked rise up against the righteous.

When God's judgments are upon the land. And in that day, there'll be many Christians who claim to be married to Christ and claim his name and talk about his name. And Jesus will have no part of it. And they are truly not his.

The scripture says, the wise virgin cries out, Oh, Lord, we wait for you. The desire of our soul is to your name and to the remembrance of you. Our soul desires thee in the nighttime. In my spirit within me, I seek thee early.

I get up every day. And my heart goes to you, Jesus. I yearn after you. That's the true Christian. The true Christian cries out, my beloved is mine and I am his. And the Bible says, when the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

Spiritual Sleep and the Falling Away

This tells me we're living in the fulfillment of that prophecy right now. They all slumbered and slept. Would you please go with me to Mark? Turn right. Mark, the 13th chapter. Are you still with me? I've asked the Holy Spirit to help me preach this with the love of God.

I'm not mad at anybody. But, beloved, if I'm a true pastor, if I've been on my knees with God and he's speaking to my heart. If you have any love for Jesus, if there's the smallest desire for Christ, you've got to hear what he says.

You've got to take it to heart. You can't sit in your seat and say, this is for somebody else. You've got to say, Lord, if you're a genuine person, if you really have heart for God, otherwise you'd be an atheist.

But you sit here and say, I want to know him better. I don't want to be left out when Jesus comes. Then I would say, you've got to hear. I'm not hitting you. I'm not railing at you. I'm telling you a verse and he still loves you and his great desire is to draw you.

And what he'll do, he'll send arrows of conviction in your heart. He'll speak the truth to wake you up. That's why I'm trying to preach this quiet. For me, this is quiet. All right. Mark 13, verse 35 and 36.

Watch you therefore. Here it is again. You know not when the master of the hour cometh, even or at midnight or at the clock crowing or in the morning. Lest coming suddenly, he what? Finds you sleeping.

And what I said to you, I say unto all. Watch. Watch. Even the wise were sleeping. Now, folks, when I was preparing this message, that stuck in my throat. I said, Lord, how can wise people who have been preparing have extra oil?

How can they go to sleep? I follow one scripture from Song of Solomon said the bride says, I sleep, but my heart was awake. Well, that may be it. Maybe, maybe the wives were just kind of nodding and their heart was wide awake.

And that didn't satisfy me. So I called a doctor friend of mine who knows a lot about sleep from the clinic. And I said, Doctor, I'm preparing a sermon about the virgins in this. I'm stuck on this idea of the righteous or the wise virgin sleeping.

I have a hard time with that. And I said, I heard that there are various stages of sleep. And he said, you know, actually, there are four. Brother Dave, he said, first of all, is REM. REM. And that means rapid eye movement.

And that's the dream stage. And then he said there's the moderate stage where you, you know, you're not dreaming right now. And you come out of moderate into that every 20 minutes. He said 80, 80 minutes.

Usually you're in stage two. He went all through this to the stage four to the extreme and a deep sleep and all of that. Because the Bible does talk about deep sleep. The Lord put them into a deep sleep.

And I thought, that's it. The foolish virgins are in this stage four. Deep sleep. I got it all figured out. And I was going to come here this morning and tell you that you wise, all of us as wise virgins, we're in stage one rapid eye motion.

We're in REM. And our hearts are wide awake. And the Lord said, away with all your technicality, sleep asleep. I had to blow it all away. All those hours of research down the drain. The truth is, Jesus prophesied in the last days, there's going to be a great falling away.

Why would Paul the Apostle admonish brethren, holy brethren, he called them, in the same chapter, to wake out of sleep, for now your salvation is much closer than when you first believed. Go to Ephesians, go further right, will you please, to Ephesians.

Ephesians the fifth chapter. There are a few people here saying, when will he ever finish this? Ephesians the fifth chapter, verses 14. Or wait, yeah, Ephesians fifth chapter. I'm sorry. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Ephesians five. Fourteen. Wherefore he saith, awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. Now look at chapter five, verse one. Who's he talking to? Be ye therefore, what?

Followers of God as dear children. He's talking about those who are walking in love. Read it again, verse 14. Wherefore he saith, awake thou that sleepest. He's talking to the beloved. And arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.

See that you walk circumspectly, not as fools or foolish virgins, but as wise, wise virgins. Redeeming the time because the days are evil. Wake up, saints. Wake up, Christians, is what he's saying. And he finishes, 2 Thessalonians 5, 6 and 7.

Therefore let us not sleep as others do, but let us watch and be sober for they that sleep, sleep in the night. What he's saying, listen closely. What he's saying, when just prior to his coming. Now this is very important, I want you to hear it.

This suggests to me that just before Christ comes, there's going to be a great sleep. And slothfulness and slumber come upon many Christians. Many, many believers are going to be tested by this. I believe with everything in my heart.

The Judgment of the Christian in Name Only

When I ask God to show me his grief, that I could preach what is on his heart and his mind. Begin to think, Lord, why would you want to bring to heaven a couch potato? Who spends all his time in front of TV watching sports, you know, 5, 6 hours.

Has never had a moment for Jesus. Why would you want to bring into glory, to be with you a Christian in name only, who really has been ashamed of you. Why would he want them in heaven? Because they're bored now.

Why would he take him to heaven, be bored for eternity? Why would God want somebody with him? Why would he want you? He said, because, you know, 15 years ago, I said, I believe the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm a sinner.

God forgive my sins. Well, Bob said, even the devil believes in troubles. You're not even trembling. Why would God want with him for eternity? Those who have no time for him now. He said, well, it's different when I die.

I'm suddenly going to change. I'll suddenly want him. How do you stand at the judgment seat of Jesus Christ when he comes and you stand there and he says, give me a count of your time. And he's recorded everything that you've said, everything that you've done, and he can't find in the records even thoughts of him.

Christian in name only. You say, well, God loves me. Yes, he does. He loves you. There are going to be many, many people lost. Even though God loved them. Because he's a God of justice. He's a God of holiness.

He's a God of righteousness. Nobody believes he loves sinners more than I do. But even though he turned to Israel when Balaam mocked and said, I see no fault. Those are the same people all died in the wilderness.

They died in the wilderness because it was in name only. Their hearts had never been changed. God still loved them. You know what I hear in my heart? The Lord speaking. Not only do they neglect me. Not only are they not in love with me.

Not only do they have no passion for me, no intimacy, but they don't even think about me. Now, I've got a loving word for the wise virgins also before I close today. Those who have begun to slumber. This is what I believe is the grief of God.

There's so many wise servants are becoming foolish virgins. They are turning away. They were in this category and now they're moving into this category. And God grieves over those he loves so much. This has been burning in my spirit.

The prophets wept on the backsliding preachers of his time. And Isaiah cried out. The watchmen have become blind. They're sleeping now. They're lying down. They're loving to slumber. And I have a message.

And I want every every Christian here. Every one of you said, well, brother, I don't fit that category. I'm not a foolish virgin. I have a love in my heart for Jesus. I read my Bible. I'm faithful. I have a heart for God.

I have a passion for the Lord. Here's what the scripture says. Proverbs 1915 slothfulness cast into a deep sleep. Slothfulness means beginning to allow things that you've never allowed before in your life.