Awake But Not Ready
About this sermon
In “Awake But Not Ready,” Pastor Dean Odle presents a Scripture-centered message about faith, the authority of Scripture, biblical love. Drawing especially from Matthew 25, 1 Corinthians 11, Matthew 5, Psalm 119, the teaching emphasizes that biblical faith trusts God’s character and acts upon His promises. Odle connects that foundation with the conviction that Scripture is presented as the standard for doctrine, discernment, and daily obedience.
Chronological teaching outline
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Odle focuses on the authority of Scripture while working through Matthew 25, Matthew 5. The message argues that Scripture is presented as the standard for doctrine, discernment, and daily obedience. It connects this with the conviction that unresolved offense can become bitterness, while forgiveness releases judgment to God and protects the heart. The practical emphasis is to trust God’s promises and refuse decisions governed by fear.
Odle focuses on holiness while working through Matthew 25, Psalm 119, John 16. The message argues that God calls believers to reject compromise and pursue practical holiness. It connects this with the conviction that the Holy Spirit leads, equips, corrects, and strengthens believers who yield to God. The practical emphasis is to test the teaching by Scripture and apply it through faithful obedience.
Odle focuses on Bible prophecy while working through Matthew 25. The message argues that prophecy should produce discernment, readiness, and faithfulness rather than speculation alone. It connects this with the conviction that the church is called to recover biblical faithfulness instead of accommodating compromise. The practical emphasis is to remain watchful, grounded in Scripture, and ready to obey Christ.
Odle focuses on the authority of Scripture while working through Matthew 25, John 12. The message argues that Scripture is presented as the standard for doctrine, discernment, and daily obedience. It connects this with the conviction that God’s judgment is treated as righteous, certain, and a reason to repent while mercy is offered. The practical emphasis is to trust God’s promises and refuse decisions governed by fear.
Odle focuses on faith while working through Matthew 25. The message argues that biblical faith trusts God’s character and acts upon His promises. It connects this with the conviction that biblical love is demonstrated through truth, patience, sacrifice, and conduct toward others. The practical emphasis is to trust God’s promises and refuse decisions governed by fear.
Odle focuses on prayer while working through Matthew 25, Proverbs 23, Ephesians 4. The message argues that prayer expresses dependence on God and prepares believers to hear and obey Him. It connects this with the conviction that biblical love is demonstrated through truth, patience, sacrifice, and conduct toward others. The practical emphasis is to seek God in prayer and act on what Scripture requires.
Odle focuses on faith while working through Ephesians 5, Hebrews 1, John 6. The message argues that biblical faith trusts God’s character and acts upon His promises. It connects this with the conviction that the promise of eternal life directs believers toward hope, holiness, and perseverance in Christ. The practical emphasis is to trust God’s promises and refuse decisions governed by fear.
Odle focuses on prayer. The message argues that prayer expresses dependence on God and prepares believers to hear and obey Him. It connects this with the conviction that believers are urged to remain sober, alert, prayerful, and ready amid spiritual danger. The practical emphasis is to seek God in prayer and act on what Scripture requires.
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- 0:00:00
felt the Lord speak very clearly to me this morning the title of this message is going to be awake but not ready awake but not ready because I'm I'm beginning to see and I have for some time but there's a serious problem going on among people who call themselves Christians now I've taught on this Parable before we're going to look at the parable of the ten virgins this morning I broke this down many times I've preached it over the years and in fact God really revealed to me all the different parts of this Parable probably back in 1988 and it was the first time I preached on it um but he continues to reveal things about it and develop things in it and and now that we've moved you know 1988 goodness 26 years ago a long time we've moved further in to these last days and there's a situation that I'm seeing that I want to bring out but I'm going to I'm still gonna break this down because there are people who heard me teach on this even though I taught on it in our first uh Bible prophecy conference back in 2012. um but I still want to break down some of it and so you're going to need to if you're taking notes you want to keep up because I'm going to give you the scriptures on this and let me say this I've said this before I'm going to say it again when we have something in Scripture that uses symbolic language the Bible is not of any private interpretation let the Bible interpret the Bible doesn't matter what Pastor Dean thinks that matter what any other preacher thinks it matters what the Bible says the Bible means it's one of the first rules the fancy word hermeneutics used in seminaries and Bible schools the laws of biblical interpretation let the Bible interpret the Bible okay now we're going to do that this morning now remember Jesus spoke in Parables and he said he spoke in Parables because to some people who were hard-hearted and stubborn and always leaning to the flesh he said there are no sin and we belong to it but he said to his people to you it is given to know the mystery of the Kingdom of Heaven God wants all of his children to fully understand every parable every Vision every bit of symbolic language in the Bible God wants you to understand now you might have to seek it you might have to study to show yourself approved you might have to fast and pray pray God giving you the spirit of wisdom and Revelation and some things but I can assure you this if you belong to him if you are born again believer follower disciple of the Lord
- 0:03:02
Jesus Christ to you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven God wants you to know it he wants you to understand it doesn't mean you do already everything but he wants you to and that's why you should always continue studying and seeking study in the Bible seeking him we will never exhaust his Revelation his knowledge his wisdom I have one of my family members not too long ago who's unsaved a little bit older than me cousin of mine tell me that well his his age he probably he'd hurt everything I said first of all you're not that much older than me and second of all I said you I'm sure you haven't heard everything I said there's some things I can tell you I know and so of course you didn't want to hear that awake but not ready let's look at this Matthew 25 verse 1 let's just read through it first then shall the Kingdom of Heaven be likened of the ten virgins which took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom and five of them were wise and five were foolish and they that were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps and while the bridegroom Terry they all slumbered and slipped everybody say they all slumbered and slept okay that's important and at midnight there was a cry made behold the bridegroom cometh go ye out to meet him then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps and the foolish said unto the wise give us your oil for our lamps are gone out but 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 and while the bride while they went to buy rather the bridegroom came and they that were ready say say this with me 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 say unto you I know you not watch therefore pay attention keep your eyes open what that means watch therefore for you no needs of the day nor the hour We're in the son of man coming now this parable really it speaks for itself and I'm going to run through this very quickly so you write down these passages but some of you are going to know the passages first of all it's very clear in the scripture here that the bridegroom is Jesus all right we see that in the Book of Revelation I believe the church is the bride there's a whole new teaching out there saying that the bride is some City
- 0:06:04
that Jesus is going to marry it's about ridiculous um because that that one reference in the Book of Revelation has to do with uh it's a symbolic reference of the church being the city on a hill but we are his bride the true Born Again believers that make up what we call the body of Christ which again that's another symbolic language to show our unity and our Union with the Lord but this right here clearly Jesus is the bridegroom no one would argue with that not even liberal theologians would argue with that one the ten virgins represent the church because we're multiple churches we're multiple people right so we use 10 virgins to represent the church now I'm going to say this the term ten virgins here and the and he uses virgins on purpose I believe represent true born-again Christians now why do I say that second Corinthians 11 verses 1 through 4 Paul made this statement he said it is my job to present you as chaste virgins to Christ he was speaking to the Corinthian Church all right matter of fact let's just hold your spot in Matthew 5. I want you guys to see that this is letting the Bible interpret the Bible because there are people out there that think that the ten that only the five wives were saved and the five foolish were never saved that's not what this is teaching second Corinthians chapter 11 let's look at it verse 1 he said with the god that you could bear with me a little in my falling indeed bear with me for I am jealous over you with a Godly jealousy for I have espoused you to one husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ but I Fearless by any means as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety so your mind should be corrupted from the Simplicity that is in Christ Jesus for if he that cometh preaches another Jesus whom you have whom we have not preached or if you receive another Spirit which you have not received or another gospel which you have not accepted you might well bear with him so he's clearly here talking to Christians born-again Christians the Church of Corinth and he says I'm jealous over you with a Godly jealousy I have espoused you to one husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ so this term virgin is the term to represent purity now the only way that any of us can be pure in the eyes of God because all of sin and come short of the glory of God there is none righteous no not one so the only way to ever be looked at is pure in the eyes of God is to be born again and washed in the blood of Jesus so so the term virgin is a symbolic language of Purity could never be applied to an unbeliever
- 0:09:05
okay are y'all understanding where I'm coming from this moment ten virgins here represent the whole group we call the born-again Believers of Jesus that at some point in their lives have believed that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead they've accepted him as Lord and Savior they've been washed of their sins they asked God for forgiveness they repented all of them at some point now I can prove that that this continues In this passage because he says here that after he says that five of them were wines well let's let's read verse one again then shall the Kingdom of Heaven be likened to the ten virgins which took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom so I've already presented to you these are 10 Christians who took their lamp now the lamp is the word of God the Bible how do I know that Psalm 119 verse 105. somebody ought to be able to quote that with him Thy word is a laugh unto my feet and a light unto my path the word of God the Bible the written Bible Genesis the Malachi Matthew to revelation is the lamp folks and let me just say this you better have that lamp in your life and how many of you know the darker it gets the more you need the land but notice it says that all these virgins all ten took their lamp the Bible the word of God and went forth to meet the bridegroom so they were all going after Jesus to know him to get close to him so this this Parable has nothing to do with the unbeliever the person who's never been saved at one point at all they fall in a different category this is just dealing with the people of God but they say so all of them all ten took their took their Bibles and went out to meet Jesus to get close to Jesus verse two and five of them were wise and five were foolish and they that were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them but the wise took oil in their vessels with the lamps now the oil again another simple reference easy to figure out the oil in this represents the anointing the ministry the work the whole of the Holy Spirit or the Holy Spirit himself now folks I can tell you right now there's a lot of people in the church world that have their Bible and have no voice they don't have the Holy Spirit at all now let me also tell you and I'm going to give you the scriptures here
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