Get The Lamp Working - Trim Your Wicks

Yamba NSW 6th March 2013

Trim Your Wicks/Buy Extra Oil

Matthew 25:1-13 NKJV: "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.'  (10)  And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.  (11)  "Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!'  (12)  But he answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.'  (13)  "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming."

What is meant by "trim your wicks"?

In the days when Jesus walked the earth they had oil lamps. We have all seen the lamp that Aladdin had rubbed to bring out the Genie. It was an elongated brass container that was filled with olive oil and at the pointy end there was a hole in the middle of a small, flared opening. A short piece of rope or cord (string?) was put through the hole and submerged in the oil with the other end sticking out of the hole a little bit. This bit of cord is called the wick. Now the oil soaks into the wick and is drawn up into the flared opening where it makes a little pool. That end of the wick is then lit and the oil in the pool burns and the flame gives off light. This continues until there is no more oil in the lamp. It is primarily the oil that burns but in the process the wick becomes charred and needs to be drawn up periodically or will burn away enough that it is no longer able to transfer the oil and the lamp stops working. Once it goes out it will be difficult to light again, even when more oil is put into the lamp. The charring of the wick stops the flow of oil into the bowl. To overcome this difficulty you need to "trim" the wick. That is a process where the charred bit of the wick is cut off so that there is only fresh cord. Then the lamp will light normally again.

Jesus told us the parable of the wise and foolish virgins waiting for the bridegroom to appear. They all had their lamps but they had waited so long that they were running out of oil. In order to go with the bridegroom, each one needed their own fully functioning lamp. The wise virgins had brought spare oil with them and when He came, they trimmed their wicks and went with Him. The foolish virgins did not have enough oil and asked for the wise ones to give/loan them some. The wise ones refused as then they would not have enough for themselves and told the foolish ones to go and BUY more oil for themselves. While the foolish ones were off doing that the bridegroom took the wise ones with Him and locked the door. When the foolish ones returned He wouldn't let them in, sending them away and telling them He didn't know them.

It is clear to me from this story that each of us needs to have his own light and to maintain it properly. This is something each of us needs to do for himself. If we give away our oil (anointing) then we will not have enough. I have seen many ministers riding of the power and anointing of others without BUYING their own. Getting the power of God happening in your life (filling the lamp) COSTS. If you don't pay the price you can't have it without stealing it. Those who steal it never really understand the cost and waste it on their own selfish ambitions. God will call them into account. But for now let's look at the cost and how we get if for ourselves.

The lamp

 - made from beaten brass or bronze.

This metal is tough and will not melt under the heat of the flame or shatter when dropped.

Brass represents law (and judgement) and is strong and inflexible.

The vessel must be fashioned in this way.

The oil

This is made by pressing the olives until all the juice is squeezed out. This juice is then purified. The process of purification involved beating the juice until the impurities make a froth on top. This froth is then removed and the process is repeated until all that is left is the oil. Impure oil will gunk up the wick and will not flow as easily as fine, well refined oil. Impure oil can also cause the lamp to splutter or even go out. As we allow praise to come out of us as we are crushed by life's pressures we have the start of the oil. As we endure the beating and whipping and allow God to remove the froth and impurities it is refined.

The wick

 - the cord

This in our lives is where we allow ourselves to become entwined with Him and His Spirit and His word. "One will put a thousand to flight, two ten-thousand, and a three-fold cord will not easily be broken". This refers to relationship in general but more specifically in the context of this message it refers to a balanced relationship on a personal level between us and the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. When these are out of balance the cord is just string and in this case, it loses its strength and its ability to "wick" the oil, or in other words, draw the fuel up from the reserve tank in order to be burned.

The flame

It says that "our God is a consuming fire". As we worship Him and lay our lives down, as we give our very essence to Him, the lamp will shine.

The relationship between the lamp and the oil is an interesting one. We can have all the oil in the world but it will not allow the light to be shone in remote places and in homes, etc.

 if it is not used in a lamp or similar device. It would just all burn out of control in the one place and then it would be gone. Kind of reminds me of several movements where the fires of revival burned without boundaries, out of control, like the Toronto Blessing and many similar "outpourings" within the charismatic and Pentecostal moves.

 If we wish to be effective in the dark times and "so let our light shine that men should see our good works and glorify God" then we need have a LAMP mechanism working in our lives. How do we do this? We use the word of God to bring structure in our lives in such a way that we become a "vessel of honour" where we are able to carry that anointing easily and safely, where we are able to use the oil to bring light instead of spilling it and burning down the house. This is where Jesus is no longer just our saviour but is also LORD. It is where we say "no longer I who lives but Christ who lives in me" and "not my will but Yours be done" and we allow the word to constrain the Spirit. The oil needs to be constrained by the brass container and only be released in the proper way in order to bring the light. Otherwise it will not be useful but will just create a spectacle and fail to achieve its purpose.

Oil speaks of the anointing

The anointing is the power of God on a particular object or person in order to achieve a particular task or purpose. In Hebrews it quotes the old testament prophecy in regard to Jesus, the Anointed One. It says:

Hebrews 1:9 NKJV  "YOU HAVE LOVED RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HATED LAWLESSNESS; THEREFORE GOD, YOUR GOD, HAS ANOINTED YOU WITH THE OIL OF GLADNESS MORE THAN YOUR COMPANIONS."

In order to develop the anointing in our lives we need to love being right with God and we need to HATE lawlessness. In this context lawlessness refers to a life lived outside the constraints and boundaries of the Word of God. There is that BALANCE again. We need to LOVE and we need to HATE. We just need to make sure that what we love and what we hate are lined up with the principles and standards in and of the Word of God. Speak the truth in love.

In Corinthians 13 it tells us of the qualities of God's love. This is the only kind of love that counts in God's economy, in the Kingdom of God, and in the long run. Here it says that love HATES evil but REJOICES in good. So in reality the application of the authentic love of God (as opposed to all kinds of human love) brings the anointing and is an expression of it. 

To allow the anointing to grow we need to decrease and He needs to increase.

The other side of it all is that the lamp without oil is just another piece of junk. If we have the structure of the law without the love of God and the anointing of the Holy Spirit then we are useless.

Trimming the wick

After a time of burning the wick gets charred. Regardless of the purity and abundance of oil, the wick (our lives) will become worn out and inflexible, unable to draw more oil. Every move of God has a season and an end date. If we want to shine on for Him we need to put the lamp out for a bit, cut off the damaged and burnt-out parts and leave the fresh new stuff exposed. We then plumb the depths of our relationship with God through His anointed word and ignite afresh. We repeat the process until there is no more wick and we have come to the end of our lives. Then God will say "well done good and faithful servant, enter into my rest".

How do we trim the wick?

When a season or more in our lives is over we need to recognise that and stop holding on to it. We need to stop trying to re-live our glory days and put it to bed. We look at where we are in relation to where God wants us. We remove the dead, burned bits through cutting off the dead and unproductive habits, traditions, and sometimes relationships with people and organisations and start afresh. This cutting off must not be nasty but in a spirit of love, forgiveness and letting go. Some may come with us but if they don't have enough oil or if they don't trim their wicks we move on without them. Remember, Jesus showed us that this is an individual thing. There were a number of them, wise and foolish. 

There were two groups, or categories, but it was determined by each individual's preparation and the cost they paid along with their recognition of the situation. They all ended up paying but only half entered in, that is the ones who paid up front rather than when there were no other options left.

There are no hitch hikers. Each one must make his own way in this.

  Sure, it should be in a group as it is not good for us to be alone but we need to make sure that we are with the right group.